Carey, Barker ready to go at Scotties Tournament of Hearts

It’s safe to say Chelsea Carey has been there and done that when it comes to the Scotties Tournament of Hearts.

Carey will be making her seventh appearance at the Canadian women’s curling championship when her rink out of Regina plays as one of three Wild Card teams in the draw.

The tournament in Thunder Bay is to begin Friday.

Penny Barker’s Moose Jaw rink earned the right to represent Saskatchewan after it won the 2022 Viterra Women’s Scotties with a 7-5 win over Carey.

Due to COVID-19 restrictions that limited several other provincial championships, Curling Canada elected to have an 18-team field at the Scotties — and that includes Carey’s team.

“We’ve done it before. We did it in the bubble (with) exactly the same number of teams,” Carey said. “I think given provincial championship cancellations and things, it’s the right decision.”

Carey believes it’s fair to have a mix of provincial representation to go along with some of the top teams to round out the draw.

“If you’re going to use this to decide who’s going to worlds, then I don’t think it’s fair to exclude a bunch of teams,” Carey said.

“Tracy Fleury is No. 1 in the world. She has one bad week at (Manitoba’s) provincials and she doesn’t get to go to our Canadian championships? That just doesn’t make any sense to me.”

Fleury’s rink and Rachel Homan’s team from Ontario join Carey as the Wild Card entries.

While the field is filled with all kinds of talented teams, Carey’s foursome appears to have just as good a chance as anyone else to wear the red-and-white jacket as Canadian champions.

According to the Canadian Team Ranking System, Carey’s team is currently ranked fifth.

Jolene Campbell, Stephanie Schmidt, Jennifer Armstrong and Rachel Erickson round out the rest of Carey’s roster.

“I’ve been lucky to have a lot of very experienced teams in the past,” Carey said. “We’ve been working hard all year to give ourselves a chance and I think we’re in a pretty good spot.”

Carey won the 2019 Scotties Tournament of Hearts representing Alberta.

(Team Barker/Facebook)

Team Barker

Barker will represent Saskatchewan for the second time. Her first Scotties appearance dates back to 2017, when the team finished with a 1-10 record.

But according to the Moose Jaw skip, a lot has changed since then.

“We have been putting a lot more time in the last few years into the game,” Barker said.

One of the biggest changes made has come from the mental side, according to the skip.

“We put a lot of pressure on ourselves (in her first appearance) and it wasn’t necessary. We just needed to go there and play the way we knew how,” Barker said.

“Having been there, and knowing what to expect. I think we’re more mature now after five years and a bit more relaxed.”

Barker says the level of commitment and dedication of the game has risen in the province, making it easier for local teams to compete in tournaments.

“Saskatchewan has developed pretty strong curling locally. Curlers don’t have to travel that far to get really great competition. That has really helped our sport,” Barker said.

Barker is ranked 11th on the CTRS list, just six spots back of Carey.

The two Saskatchewan-based rinks will square off against each other on Monday morning in the round-robin portion of the draw.