Chelsea Carey offers many thanks
CALGARY—It was an exciting end to a great week of curling at the Markin MacPhail Centre.
The hottest team coming into the 2024 Scotties Tournament of Hearts continued to roll through the event, posting an undefeated record—for the second time, which is unreal—and are in a great position going into the world championship in Sydney next month.
Congratulations, Team Ontario Homan, now Team Canada. That was an incredibly impressive performance, and I’ll be cheering for you.
It felt to me that the whole team throughout the week, and Rachel especially, were on a mission. I physically felt the momentum shift in the fifth end of the championship final with Rachel’s perfect runback, made with nary a quiver.
Team Manitoba’s Jennifer Jones had a few ends set up for a multiple score or a steal, but Team Homan just kept making a big shot to slam the door shut.
It’s also been fun to watch Tracy Fleury, an absolutely elite skip (and also one of the nicest people and best teammates I’ve ever known) in her own right, step into and embrace the complete third role this year—sweeping, communicating, processing a different view of each shot than she’s used to—and she’s not only taken it in stride, but excelled in doing so.
Kudos, Trace, and congrats on your first Scotties win.
Of course, we also can’t forget both Emma Miskew, unquestionably one of the top thirds in the game, and Sarah Wilkes, also a Scotties champion at third, both moving to front end roles when this team was assembled. You cannot question the commitment of this team: they are constantly striving to improve.
It’s hard not to be impressed with Team Jones as well. Lauren Lenentine, Emily Zacharias and Karlee Burgess are young but their work ethic and talent are undeniable, and they put together an incredible Scotties run for two straight years.
There is nothing fun about losing a final, but I think we can all agree that it’s only a matter of time for these three outstanding players. Karlee in particular stood out to me this week, and earned a spot on the second all-star team.
Then there’s the skipper … the legend herself, the GOAT skip in my opinion, Jennifer Jones, in her swan song Scotties appearance. What can you even say about what Jen’s done for the game?
Jones won her first Scotties in 2005, when I was in my last year of juniors. Growing up in Manitoba, I was obviously watching and had followed her throughout juniors and into women’s play, so to witness that win was monumental.
As I aged out of juniors and started playing in the women’s ranks myself, I had the privilege of competing against her many, many times over the years (you could also call this my misfortune, as they were always a very hard team to beat, and I was not often successful).
I even had the opportunity to play a small part on their team this season, sparing in two events, and I consider that a great honour. The unit that they are, the systems, the communication … it’s easy to see why they’ve had so much success.
It’s hard to believe we’ll see a Scotties without Jen next year, but her legacy will live on. Thank you, Jen, for everything you’ve done for women’s curling.
In addition, congratulations and thank you to every player in the field this past week. Going to the Scotties is an amazing experience, and I hope you all enjoyed every minute.
When I decided not to join a full-time team this year, I knew watching the Scotties on television or at the rink would be tough, and I was not wrong.
But there’s a beauty in it as well… watching the emotions, seeing the first-timers live their dreams, and watching the teamwork, laughs, tears, triumphs and everything in between made it easier. Thank you all for that.
Thank you to those who read my stuff here at The Curling News; there have been many kind and supportive comments.
I must also thank my nephew Ethan—seen with me at two months old during the 2016 Scotties—for some amazing story ideas.
And a big thank you to the fans—the attendance was amazing to see, with multiple sellouts, and the atmosphere was tremendous when I was in the building.
The Scotties was not the same without you the last time we were in Calgary, so I’m very glad we got to see our city show off.
Cheers to everyone involved in producing another amazing Tournament of Hearts.
