Kerry Galusha Wins Ford Hot Shots Competition

Kerry Galusha, skip of the Northwest Territories/Yukon team, will be driving a brand new Ford Titanium when she returns to Yellowknife. She won today’s Hot Shots commanding fashion, outpointing Newfoundland/Labrador skip Heather Strong 19-14 in the final matchup of the annual competition at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts in Red Deer, Alberta. The Ford Hot Shots requires the participating curlers to execute six different shots: hit and stay, draw to the button, draw through the port, raise, hit and roll, and double takeout. Points are awarded on a scale of 0-to-5 based on the successful execution of each shot.

Kerry Galusha Wins the 2012 Scotties Tournament of Hearts Ford Hot Shots Compeition.(Photo by Andrew Klaver)

Ford of Canada provided Galusha with a two-year lease on a 2012 Ford Focus Titanium with an approximate retail value of $13,000. Second-place finisher Strong won $2,000, while third-place finisher Heather Kalenchuk, lead for Team Canada, earned $1,000. Curling is a Galusha family affair. Kerry’s dad Fred coaches the team while brothers, Kevin and Jamie, will be skipping teams from Alberta and the Territories at the Tim Hortons Brier next month. “Now my brothers have to step it up when they play Hot Shots to try to match my success,” she said with a chuckle. “This was the first time I’ve reached the top eight at the Hot Shots and it felt great,” added Galusha, who is playing in her eighth Scotties Tournament of Hearts. Galusha hammered Manitoba vice-skip Kaitlyn Lawes 23-14 in the semi-final round while Strong defeated Kalenchuk 21-18. In the earlier quarter-finals, Kalenchuk led the way to the semis with a 28 point effort with Lawes at 25, Galusha at 24 and Strong at 21. Eliminated was Heather Smith-Dacey of Halifax at 20, Amanda Gates of Sudbury at 16, Jill Officer of Winnipeg at 11 and Sarah Slywka of Regina at 10.