The fields for the Scotties Tournament of Hearts and Tim Hortons Brier are starting to take shape.
Some provinces and territories have been able to hold playdowns while other curling associations cancelled their events — out of caution due to the rise of COVID-19 cases across Canada — and opted to select their teams.
The Scotties Tournament of Hearts is set for Jan. 28-Feb. 6 in Thunder Bay, Ont., with the Tim Hortons Brier slated for March 4-13 in Lethbridge, Alta. Both events were held in a bubble concept in Calgary last year.
Canada's curling championships will feature 16 teams with all 14 provinces and territories represented plus one wild-card entry and the defending champions (Kerri Einarson and Brendan Bottcher) returning as Team Canada.
The top two on the Canadian Team Ranking System (CTRS) who have not already qualified will play off for the wild-card entry on the opening day of nationals.
Here's a coast-to-coast rundown for all the provinces and territories and where they currently stand.
Last updated: Jan. 9, 8:30 p.m. ET.
British Columbia
Mary-Anne Arsenault will represent B.C. for the first time after defeating Kayla MacMillan 8-6 in Sunday's final in Kamloops.
Arsenault won two world and five Canadian championships playing with Nova Scotia's Colleen Jones.
Meanwhile, Jeff Richard topped Paul Cseke 11-8 in an extra end to win the B.C. men's championship.
Cseke defeated Jeff Richard 7-6 in Saturday's Page 1-2 men's game. Richard then beat defending champion Jim Cotter 7-5 in Sunday's semifinal to set up the rematch.
Alberta
Calgary's Kevin Koe captured his seventh Alberta men's title defeating Ted Appelman 8-4 in the Boston Pizza Cup final.
Koe cruised into Sunday's final with a 10-3 win over Calgary's Jeremy Harty during Saturday's Page 1-2 game.
Appelman, who eliminated Edmonton's Karsten Sturmay 7-1 in the Page 3-4 matchup, advanced again with a 7-6 victory over Harty in the evening semifinal.
Meanwhile, Laura Walker is heading back to the Scotties Tournament of Hearts.
Walker and her Edmonton-based team successfully defended the Alberta women's provincial curling championship with a 6-5 victory over Casey Scheidegger's Lethbridge squad during Sunday's final in Grande Prairie.
All tied up in the final frame, Walker held the hammer and just had to draw into the eight-foot circle with the last rock of the game.
Saskatchewan
Penny Barker topped Chelsea Carey 7-5 to capture the Viterra Saskatchewan women's championship in Assiniboia.
The two-time Canadian champion Carey has won provincial titles in Manitoba and Alberta and looked to add one from Saskatchewan.
Carey fended off Penny Barker 10-9 in Saturday's Page A-B playoff game to book a spot in the final. Barker beat Amber Holland 4-3 in the semifinal to set up the rematch.
The men's SaskTel Tankard is scheduled for Feb. 9-13 in Regina.
Manitoba
Manitoba held its 2022 women's playdowns last month in Carberry with Mackenzie Zacharias capturing her first provincial title. Zacharias defeated Kristy Watling 7-5 in the final.
Tracy Fleury missed the playoffs however, her team is all but confirmed a spot in the wild-card play-in game as No. 1 on the CTRS.
The men's Viterra Championship is slated to run Jan. 25-30 in Selkirk.
Northern Ontario
The Northern Ontario women's provincial championship was cancelled while the men's competition was postponed (dates TBD). Both were originally scheduled to be held together Jan. 5-9 in Kenora.
Defending women's champion Krista McCarville, No. 10 on the CTRS, was selected Friday to represent the home side in Thunder Bay.
McCarville was also picked for last year's bubble, however, she declined due to work and family commitments. Krysta Burns, who finished runner-up to McCarville in 2020, went instead and posted a 2-6 record.
Ontario
Curl Ontario suspended its women's playdowns, which were slated for Jan. 5-9 in Thornhill.
Rachel Homan, who is the double-defending provincial champion and has captured silver at the past three national championships, was selected Friday as the top Ontario team at No. 5 on the CTRS.
However, Homan is also in the running to potentially represent Canada at the Beijing Winter Olympics in mixed doubles with John Morris. Should Homan be chosen for that, then Ontario will send Hollie Duncan's team (CTRS No. 6) to the Scotties Tournament of Hearts instead.
The men's Ontario Tankard is still on tap for Feb. 9-13 in Port Elgin.
Quebec
The women's provincial championship was cancelled while the men's competition was postponed (new dates TBD).
Laurie St-Georges was picked Friday to go to the Scotties Tournament of Hearts. St-Georges is the top-ranked Quebec women's team, No. 74 on the CTRS, and was also selected for last year's bubble where her team went 6-6 and finished in the championship pool.
New Brunswick
Curling NB cancelled its women's playdowns and will utilize CTRS points to determine its team. Andrea Crawford is the top-ranked New Brunswick skip, 18th overall on the CTRS, and has made nine appearances for the province at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts in the past.
The men's Tankard is set to run Feb. 9-13 in Miramichi.
Nova Scotia
Christina Black posted a perfect 7-0 record through the triple knockout women's playdowns last month in Berwick. Black previously played with Mary-Anne Arsenault, winning provincial titles in 2015, 2018 and 2020, and earned a bronze medal at the 2018 Scotties Tournament of Hearts.
The men's Nova Scotia Tankard is set for Jan. 25-30.
P.E.I.
P.E.I. cancelled its women's playdowns last month, which were scheduled to take place Jan. 5-9.
Curl PEI said it will invite the team leading on the CTRS as of Dec. 26, which was Suzanne Birt.
Birt has represented the province 12 times at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts including the past three. Her team posted a 4-4 round-robin record last year in the Calgary bubble and just missed the cut for the championship pool.
The men's P.E.I. Tankard is scheduled for Jan. 26-30.
Newfoundland and Labrador
The Newfoundland and Labrador Scotties Tournament of Hearts scheduled for this weekend was cancelled Tuesday. Playdowns may be held if nationals end up being postponed, however, if that's not the case and a team has to be selected from the CTRS, Sarah Hill is the highest-ranked from N.L. at No. 77.
Hill made her Scotties Tournament of Hearts debut last year in Calgary and posted a 2-6 round-robin record.
The men's Newfoundland and Labrador Tankard is scheduled for Jan. 24-30.
Other provinces that are in our situation has gone the route of CTRS points and we will do the same. The team with the most points currently is Team Hill.
— Curling NL (@CurlingNL) January 3, 2022
In the event that the national gets delayed and we find a way to be able to host a provincial, we will look at taking that route.
As you know, things change daily on the national front. We will update the curling community if anything changes.
Stay safe!— Curling NL (@CurlingNL) January 3, 2022
Yukon
Hailey Birnie captured the Yukon women's championship. It'll be Birnie's third trip to nationals in four years after winning Yukon in 2019 as third for Nicole Baldwin and skipping her own squad to the territorial title in 2020.
Northwest Territories
NWT cancelled its women's playdowns Thursday with defending champion Kerry Galusha, No. 12 on the CTRS, selected to return to nationals. Galusha, who has skipped in the main national tournament 14 times, went 4-4 through the Scotties Tournament of Hearts last year in Calgary.
The men's playdowns are scheduled for Feb. 9-14 in Fort Smith.
Nunavut
Brigette MacPhail captured the women's territorial title last month and the Nunavut Curling Association will host its men's championship Jan. 27-30 in Ottawa due to suspended usage of the Iqaluit Curling Club.
