THE CANADIAN PRESS
Even with two straight Canadian championships and a world title to its credit, skip Kelly Scott says her curling team has miles to go in the sport.
The defending champions from Kelowna, B.C., are one of three favourites in the 12-team field of the 2008 Scotties Tournament of Hearts starting Saturday in Regina.
Manitoba’s Jennifer Jones and Alberta’s Shannon Kleibrink are the other pre-tournament picks, but also keep an eye on Ontario’s Sherry Middaugh and Nova Scotia’s Mary-Anne Arsenault.
Canada’s elite curlers are hearing the siren call of the 2010 Olympics now. The trials are 20 months away and that is in the back of Scott’s mind in every competition now.
"It’s big. You can’t deny it," Scott said. ‘"All the teams you see at the Scotties, you’re going to see it in their eyes that they’re working hard at the game and if you asked them all, they’d probably say the Olympics is the reason.
‘"Winning the worlds last years didn’t stop us from wanting to get better and the big picture is the Olympics in two years. We’re not willing to stop progressing at this point. There were lots of things left on our to-do list for this season."
At the top of that list is trying to win another Canadian championship. Prize money at the Scotties is $100,000 with $15,500 going to the finalists. The winners also play in the Continental Cup later this year and in the 2009 Canada Cup.
The world championship March 22-30 in Vernon, B.C., and next year’s Canadian championship in Victoria are in Scott’s provincial backyard.
Winning another title in Regina would propel Scott, third Jeanna Schraeder, second Sasha Carter and lead Renee Simons to both.
"’Looking ahead again, the Vancouver Olympics would be wild with media, family and friends," Scott explained. "With it being in B.C. and us being from B.C., it would be a huge opportunity to test that out in Vernon."
A victory would also give Scott a pass to a club with limited membership. Only Nova’s Scotia’s Colleen Jones and Saskatchewan’s Vera Pezer have won three consecutive titles in the 47-year history of the Canadian championship.
‘"We want to go prove to ourselves how hard we’re working. We’re doing it for a reason and we want to go put it to the test," Scott said. "I don’t know if the three-in-a-row is the big motivating factor, but after the fact, it would be pretty special to say we’re one of the few teams that did that."
Eight women’s teams will battle at the Olympic trials for the right to represent Canada at the 2010 Games.
Four will directly qualify for those trials and the other four will come out a 16-team pre-trials tournament.
While Scott has already won enough to get into the pre-trials tournament, she can secure a berth in the final four by winning either this Scotties, the Canada Cup later this month or the Players’ Championship in April.
One way to be one of those four trials teams is to win any three of 12 major events from 2007 to 2009. With Canadian and world titles won last year, Scott has two of the three she needs.
"Just winning the Scotties, you know you’re back next year and it’s just such a privilege, so certainly winning the Scotties over any of the other majors, that’s the one we’re eyeing," Scott said.
Manitoba’s Jones is also on the verge of securing one of those four trials berths. The 2005 national champion won both the Canada Cup and Players Championship last year and needs just one more major to punch her ticket to trials.
The top four teams at the conclusion of the round robin get into the playoffs and any ties for fourth will be solved by tiebreaker games.
Kleibrink won an Olympic bronze medal in 2006 after beating Scott in the trials final. Middaugh has made it as far as the semifinals each of the three times she’s skipped Ontario at the national championship.
Arsenault is skipping a team at the Scotties for the first time, but she, third Kim Kelly and lead Nancy Delahunt won five Canadians and two world championships in a six-year span under skip Colleen Jones.
Scott opens against Ontario’s Middaugh in the first draw Saturday.
The most anticipated games of the round robin will be Scott’s Team Canada versus Alberta’s Kleibrink on Monday, Kleibrink against Manitoba’s Jones on Tuesday, and Scott versus Jones on Thursday.