{ "blocks": [ { "type": "paragraph", "data": { "text": "Click here for Part 2 of this series, which covers provincial women’s and men’s championships from Manitoba east, to Newfoundland and Labrador." } }, { "type": "paragraph", "data": { "text": "In British Columbia, Corryn Brown and her Kamloops team are back in the Canadian women’s championship following a pair of playoff wins over defending champion Kayla MacMillan (of the former Clancy Grandy squad)." } }, { "type": "paragraph", "data": { "text": "Brown and teammates Erin Pincott, Sarah Koltun—a STOH veteran with Territories skip Kerry Galusha—and Samantha Fisher lost their last round robin game to MacMillan but defeated her 8-3 in the Page 1 vs 2 game and then 10-7 in the championship final." } }, { "type": "image", "data": { "file": { "url": "https://www.thecurlingnews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MjEyNDE1NjA0ODUzMDU3MDMz/25bcw-f-action.jpg" }, "caption": "CurlBC image" } }, { "type": "paragraph", "data": { "text": "In the Page 3 vs 4 matchup, Kristen Ryan stole a wild 11-10 extra-end game over Taylor Reese-Hansen." } }, { "type": "paragraph", "data": { "text": "MacMillan went on to beat Ryan 7-5 in the semifinal." } }, { "type": "paragraph", "data": { "text": "There were no steals or blanks in the final at George Preston Arena in Langley. Team Brown fell behind 2-1 at the start but began to assert themselves with leads of 3-2 and then 6-3 at the break." } }, { "type": "paragraph", "data": { "text": "A seventh-end deuce gave Brown an 8-4 lead but MacMillan, coached by boyfriend Niklas Edin of Sweden, cracked a three-ender to trail 8-7 but Brown nabbed a critical deuce in the ninth, for the eventual 10-7 scoreline." } }, { "type": "image", "data": { "file": { "url": "https://www.thecurlingnews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MjEyNDE1NTQzMTEyNzcxMDgx/25bcw-kayla-macmillan-throw.jpg" }, "caption": "Kayla MacMillan • CurlBC" } }, { "type": "paragraph", "data": { "text": "It’s the fourth B.C. title for Brown and Pincott since 2020, and Koltun will make her 10th Tournament of Hearts appearance in Thunder Bay (Feb. 14-23)." } }, { "type": "paragraph", "data": { "text": "Brown lost last year’s B.C. final to the Grandy/MacMillan squad, but qualified for the Scotties as the final Wild Card entry." } }, { "type": "paragraph", "data": { "text": "Veteran Brier thrower Jim Cotter—a surprise mixed doubles playoff dad at the recent Olympic Trials—is the coach for Team Brown." } }, { "type": "image", "data": { "file": { "url": "https://www.thecurlingnews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MjEyNDE1NTQzMTEyNzA1NTQ1/25bcw-team-brown-trophy-cotter.jpg" }, "caption": "Team Brown with the coach • CurlBC" } }, { "type": "paragraph", "data": { "text": "Meanwhile, the men’s B.C. Brier chase also played out in Langley, where there was no defending champion after Catlin Schneider’s foursome disbanded after the 2024 Brier." } }, { "type": "paragraph", "data": { "text": "The Page playoff 1 vs 2 game saw Penticton’s Glenn Venance defeat a Delta/Langley/Kamloops crew skipped by Jared Kolomaya, 6-5 in an extra end. " } }, { "type": "paragraph", "data": { "text": "In the Page 3 vs 4 matchup, Victoria’s Cameron de Jong defeated another hodgepodge squad, this one led by Connor Deane, by a 6-4 count. " } }, { "type": "paragraph", "data": { "text": "The semifinal was played on Saturday evening and saw de Jong upend Kolomaya 8-5. The latter trailed 3-0 after four ends, but mounted twin comebacks—5-4 after seven and 8-5 after a three in the ninth—to advance to the final." } }, { "type": "paragraph", "data": { "text": "Venance started Sunday’s championship match with the hammer and led 4-2 with a pair of deuces at the break. The fifth end, however, proved huge for de Jong who scored a massive four point to take a 6-4 lead." } }, { "type": "image", "data": { "file": { "url": "https://www.thecurlingnews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MjEyNDE1NTQzMTEyNzA1NjY0/25bcm-cameron-de-jong-throw.jpg" }, "caption": "Cameron de Jong • CurlBC" } }, { "type": "paragraph", "data": { "text": "Although Venance countered with a pair in six, another three points gave the Victoria foursome a 9-6 lead, and they managed the scoreboard the rest of the way for a 10-8 victory." } }, { "type": "paragraph", "data": { "text": "Team de Jong, which qualified from strong results on the BC Curling Tour, features Alex Horvath at third, Corey Chester at second and lead Brayden Carpenter." } }, { "type": "paragraph", "data": { "text": "The squad will be the hometown favourites when the Brier starts in Kelowna on Feb. 28. " } }, { "type": "paragraph", "data": { "text": "Next door in Alberta, the 2025 women’s fours championship was a 12-team triple knockout competition hosted at Peter Lougheed Community Centre in Rimbey. " } }, { "type": "paragraph", "data": { "text": "The event was thrown a curveball before it started, when the collapse of Team Chelsea Carey—due to the recruitment of Karlee Burgess to Team Einarson—meant that defending Alberta champion Selena Sturmay would get Carey’s spot at the Tournament of Hearts, Feb. 14-23 in Thunder Bay, Ont." } }, { "type": "paragraph", "data": { "text": "That brought Grande Prairie’s Janais DeJong directly into the Rimbey shootout." } }, { "type": "paragraph", "data": { "text": "The Page 1 vs 2 playoff eventually saw 2023 provincial champ Kayla Skrlik of Calgary’s Garrison Curling Club defeat Saskatchewan import Robyn Silvernagle by an 8-5 score." } }, { "type": "paragraph", "data": { "text": "In Page 3 vs 4 action, Nicky Kaufman took out DeJong by a 7-5 count." } }, { "type": "paragraph", "data": { "text": "The semifinal saw Kaufman defeat Silvernagle 5-4 with a critical deuce in the final end. " } }, { "type": "image", "data": { "file": { "url": "https://www.thecurlingnews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MjEyNDE1NjgzNzcyODE5MDcy/25abw-skrlik-trophy.jpg" }, "caption": "Team Skrlik • Curling Alberta" } }, { "type": "paragraph", "data": { "text": "The Sunday afternoon final saw Skrlik, who replaced Brittany Tran with former Kerry Galusha player Margot Flemming in the off-season, trade scores with Kaufman throughout the match. " } }, { "type": "paragraph", "data": { "text": "After blanking the ninth end Skrlik had the hammer coming home, and scored a single to capture the title by a 6-5 final score." } }, { "type": "paragraph", "data": { "text": "It was no wondershot, but it got the job done in 2025." } }, { "type": "paragraph", "data": { "text": "The Alberta men’s championship is still to come." } }, { "type": "paragraph", "data": { "text": "Over in Saskatchewan, the combined provincial women’s and men’s results provided all the feels." } }, { "type": "paragraph", "data": { "text": "Both the women’s Viterra Prairie Pinnacle and men’s Sasktel Tankard were contested at the Kindersley West Central Events Centre in Kindersley. " } }, { "type": "paragraph", "data": { "text": "Both winners scored their first hearts—one a long-suffering veteran, the other a youth who had lost the previous year’s final. " } }, { "type": "paragraph", "data": { "text": "Heading into Saturday’s women’s playoff, Regina Highland’s Jolene Campbell sported a 7-1 won/loss record with Nancy Martin’s Saskatoon Nutana squad second at 6-2." } }, { "type": "paragraph", "data": { "text": "The Page 1 vs 2 matchup was all Campbell, a 9-2 winner over Martin, while the 3 vs 4 Page playoff saw Moose Jaw’s Penny Barker fall 8-5 to Nutana’s Ashley Thevenot." } }, { "type": "paragraph", "data": { "text": "To say Martin rebounded in the semifinal is an understatement. Martin led Thevenot 5-0 after two ends and 8-3 after four. Thevenot and Co. hung in there by scoring two more deuces plus a steal, but the final score was a rather stunning 15-8." } }, { "type": "image", "data": { "file": { "url": "https://www.thecurlingnews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MjEyNDE1NTUzMDQ0ODE3NDE3/25skw-nancy-martin_curlsask.jpg" }, "caption": "Nancy Martin • CurlSask" } }, { "type": "paragraph", "data": { "text": "Martin, 51, is a veteran player and has come oh-so-close to Saskatchewan titles in women’s fours and national crowns in mixed doubles. She had lost four Saskatchewan fours finals coming into Kindersley, and recently struggled to a 2-5 won/loss record with MD partner Steve Laycock at the Olympic Trials in Liverpool, N.S. earlier this month." } }, { "type": "paragraph", "data": { "text": "The heartache came to an end, however, as Team Martin overcame a late three by Campbell and didn’t need to throw their last one to win the match 9-7, setting off a hearty celebration." } }, { "type": "paragraph", "data": { "text": "It may be mixed doubles connections that eventually led to Martin’s success. " } }, { "type": "paragraph", "data": { "text": "Third Chaelynn Stewart used to play mixed doubles with her partner, and second Kadriana Lott plays the discipline with her husband Colton Lott in Manitoba; they just missed out at the Trials playoffs." } }, { "type": "paragraph", "data": { "text": "Lead Deanna Doig completes the team." } }, { "type": "paragraph", "data": { "text": "“I tried to give the game away at least two times, but the girls stuck with me and made some unbelievable shots in that 10th end,” said Martin." } }, { "type": "paragraph", "data": { "text": "In men’s SaskTel Tankard play, Swift Current’s Sean Meachem—with Laycock throwing skip stones—won the round robin at 7-1, with Nutana’s Dustin Kalthoff at 6-2 and the Rylan Kleiter and Kelly Knapp foursomes both at 5-3." } }, { "type": "paragraph", "data": { "text": "Meachem/Laycock defeated Kalthoff 9-8 to win the Page 1 vs 2 game and advance directly to the championship final. " } }, { "type": "image", "data": { "file": { "url": "https://www.thecurlingnews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MjEyNDE1NTUzMDQ0NzUxODgx/25skm-kleiter-trophy_curlsask.jpg" }, "caption": "Team Kleiter • CurlSask" } }, { "type": "paragraph", "data": { "text": "In the 3 vs 4 match, Kleiter’s Nutana squad eliminated Knapp, the 2023 champion from Regina Highland, by an 8-6 count." } }, { "type": "paragraph", "data": { "text": "After Kleiter defeated Kalthoff 7-5 in the semifinal, the Saskatoon team steadily came back against Meachem/Laycock in the final. Kleiter trailed 2-0 and 3-1 but didn’t cave, scoring deuces in the fifth, seventh and ninth ends en route to a 7-5 win." } }, { "type": "paragraph", "data": { "text": "Kleiter, who lost last year’s Sasky championship to eventual Brier finalist Mike McEwen, will now wear the green in Kelowna, Feb. 28 to Mar. 9 in Kelowna." } }, { "type": "paragraph", "data": { "text": "Kleiter is backed by Josh Mattern, Matt Hall and Trevor Johnson." } }, { "type": "paragraph", "data": { "text": "Up north, Kerry Galusha claimed another STOH junket by winning a best-of-five series 3-1 over Betti Delorey at Yellowknife." } }, { "type": "paragraph", "data": { "text": "It’s a record 21st territorial championship for the veteran." } }, { "type": "paragraph", "data": { "text": "Meanwhile, Julia Weagle, the sister of three-time Scotties winner Lisa Weagle, will skip Team Nunavut at the STOH. " } }, { "type": "paragraph", "data": { "text": "Nunavut returns after missing last year’s tournament, mostly due to the closure of the only curling facility in Iqaluit due to filming of the CBC TV show North of North." } }, { "type": "paragraph", "data": { "text": "At the Nunavut men’s territorial playdown at Iqaluit CC, Shane Latimer beat Peter Mackey three times to sweep the best-of-five series 3-0 and repeat as Team NU at the Brier in Kelowna. " } }, { "type": "paragraph", "data": { "text": "At the Yukon women’s championship at Whitehorse, Bayly Scoffin won her challenge series over Patty Wallingham to qualify for Thunder Bay." } }, { "type": "paragraph", "data": { "text": "On the men’s side, it was no surprise as the Thomas Scoffin team—now bolstered by former Alberta champion second Kerr Drummond— won three straight over Dustin Mikkelsen to qualify for Kelowna. " } }, { "type": "paragraph", "data": { "text": "This marks the sixth Yukon title for Scoffin and fourth in a row. " } }, { "type": "paragraph", "data": { "text": " Part 2 of this series covers provincial women’s and men’s championships from Manitoba to Newfoundland and Labrador." } } ] }

Curling Legends: Don Finkbeiner

2025 M/W Provincial Curling Champions, Part 3

2025 M/W Provincial Curling Champions, Part 1