(CurlManitoba Release) Five of the top twenty teams on the Women’s Canadian Team Rankings (CTRS) will compete in the Manitoba Scotties Tournament of Hearts presented by RME in Morden in late January. The five have been named the top five seeds in the championship.

The top seed status has been assigned, by the other competitors in the event, to Kaitlyn Lawes (Selena Njegovan, Jocelyn Peterman, Kristin MacCuish). Currently ranked CTRS #4, Lawes and her Fort Rouge team finished second in the preliminary rounds a year ago with a 7W-1L record but lost the semi-final to Abby Ackland. Team Lawes has a finalist finish and four semi-final appearances in eight events this season.

The second seed is CTRS #8, Kate Cameron (Meghan Walter, Taylor McDonald, Mackenzie Elias). Walter and Elias were half of the Ackland Scotties playoff team a year ago. The new team has played 11 events this season with two semi-finalist and a finalist finish along with qualifying once and losing a pair of qualifying games. The East St. Paul team also won the season-opening icebreaker event in Morris.

The third seed is CTRS #9 Jolene Campbell who returns to the Manitoba Scotties after a disappointing first appearance a year ago with Chelsea Carey. She and teammate Rachel Erickson have joined forces with Abby Ackland and Sara Oliver, the other half of last year’s finalist team. The Assiniboine Memorial team won the early season MCT Shootout in Selkirk and lost two finals, a semi-final, and two quarterfinals in seven total events.

The #4 & #5 seed positions go respectively to CTRS #14 Beth Peterson (Jenna Loder, Katherine Doerksen, Melissa Kurz, Kelsey Rocque) and CTRS #20 Kristy Watling (Laura Burtnyk, Emily Deschenes, Sarah Pyke). Peterson’s Assiniboine Memorial team had a 5W-3L record a year ago. Results in seven events this season include victory in the September MCT Challenge at St. Vital. Watling and her East St. Paul team won the Scotties berth bonspiel and a strong local bonspiel showing placed them at the top of the MCT rankings.

Two other Manitoba teams, also ranked in the top three of the Canadian Team Rankings, have already qualified for the national Scotties in Calgary in February. Kerri Einarson’s defending champions currently occupy the CTRS #3 spot while wild-card entry Jennifer Jones is currently CTRS #2.

Note that the CTRS rankings detailed above are current as of January 1, 2024 and are subject to change.

Depending upon results across the country, Manitoba could also be in line to pick up an additional wild-card entry at the national Scotties. The Nunavut berth was recently declared vacant and as a result one more team will be declared from the CTRS rankings, with provincial results taken into the calculation.

A complete team list for the 12-team championship, and the preliminary round draw, are attached.