Two Scotties veterans qualify for Kingston

There were no surprises coming out of the Manitoba or Northwest Territories/Yukon Scotties playdowns this year, as a pair of long-time contenders earned the right to compete in the 2013 Canadian Women’s Curling Championship.

Jennifer Jones, Kaitlyn Lawes, Jill Officer and Dawn Askin will represent Manitoba again this year at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts (Photo CCA/Andrew Klaver)

A 16-team field took to the ice in Stonewall, Jan. 23-27 to determine the Manitoba representative for the 2013 Scotties Tournament of Hearts, Feb. 16-24 in Kingston.

Kerry Galusha (Photo CCA/Andrew Klaver)

Defending champ, Jennifer Jones, skipping the province’s top-seeded team, finished round-robin play with a 6-1 record, as did Colleen Kilgallen and Barb Spencer, who led Team Manitoba at the 2003 and 2009 Scotties. Jones downed Kilgallen in the 1 vs. 2 Page playoff game, then defeated Spencer in the final to qualify for her 10th appearance at the Scotties. She has claimed top spot on the podium at the national championship four times, including three consecutive victories from 2008-2010. Jones returns to the Scotties with third Kaitlyn Lawes, second Jill Officer and Dawn Askin at lead. The Northwest Territories/Yukon playdowns were held Jan. 11-13 at the Fort Smith Curling Club. The championship came down to a face-off between two teams playing out of the Yellowknife Curling Club. Kerry Galusha and Ashley Green skipped their teams to 3-1 records in the round robin, with Galusha winning the final to earn an 11th trip to the Scotties Tournament of Hearts – along with teammates Sharon Cormier, Megan Cormier and Wendy Miller. “You Gotta Be There” in the K-Rock Centre when the Scotties Tournament of Hearts makes its first visit to Kingston. Prime seats are available now just by clicking here.