Two-time Canadian champion Chelsea Carey joins Saskatchewan rink

Chelsea Carey could be adding a bit more green to her wardrobe.

Regina’s Team Campbell rink, which was skipped by Jolene Campbell, announced Wednesday that Carey — a two-time Canadian women’s curling champion — would be its new skip for the upcoming season. The team changed its name as well.

We’ve got news.

We are thrilled to announce a new player joining our team! Please help us welcome our new skip,@chelscarey ! Chelsea’s resume of curling accomplishments and edge for strategy will be an asset for our new team. Can’t wait to get on the ice with her! pic.twitter.com/GlqbALG4af

— Team Campbell (@CampbellCurling) May 19, 2021

Carey’s previous team disbanded after the 2020 season.

Carey said she has been speaking to people for months about joining a team, but this move came together rather quickly.

“I had talked to Jolene at the start of last season about maybe putting something together and nothing worked out and then I had talked to (Stephanie Schmidt and Jennifer Armstrong) about playing with them and we were sort of not sure. When I saw Jolene join them, I thought, ‘Huh, interesting,’ so then we started chatting,” Carey said.

While it might not be an official record, Carey said she has been told by people that she has tied John Morris for most teams played for at a Canadian team championship.

She has played for Manitoba, Alberta, Canada and Wild Card over the course of six appearances. She won the Scotties twice — 2016 and 2019 — both while skipping Alberta’s entry.

Carey filled in as the skip for Tracy Fleury’s team inside the Calgary curling bubble for the Scotties in February.

Carey, who is from Winnipeg, has fond memories of playing in Saskatchewan, with her first world championship appearance in Swift Current in 2016 as the skip of Team Canada.

“I’ve played in Saskatchewan a lot growing up and it’s awesome. The fans are fantastic as far as curling goes, so that’s an exciting piece to it as well,” Carey said.

Carey, whose team will feature Campbell, Schmidt, Armstrong and Rachel Erickson, will be a five-person rink, similar to what Jennifer Jones’ team has been doing in Manitoba.

“The concept behind the five-man team is that it give everybody some flexibility. Jolene and Steph have families, we’ve got jobs and we’ve got commitments so the season gets to be pretty tough to play every single event that you want to enter so this gives us that degree of flexibility,” Carey said.

“I think it’s going to be a trend of the future for sure just because the season is going to be so long and so busy that it makes it so hard for four people to make it to every single event every weekend.”

But right now, Carey said her rink is just hoping to hear what a season could look like in Saskatchewan.

“We just don’t know; we might not even have a season to play in for all we know right now (due to COVID-19). We’re hoping that we get a chance to and we’re committed to putting our best foot forward if there is a season to play in, but it’s hard not knowing. But that’s the reality of the situation,” Carey said.