It’s a gauntlet to get to the Alberta Scotties, one an Okotoks curler has completed.
Team Jodi Vaughan, featuring Okotoks lead Valerie Ekelund, weaved its way through two stacked qualifying events to earn a spot at the 2024 Alberta Scotties Tournament of Hearts which kicks off next week in St. Paul.
“Double-knockout is rough,” Ekelund said. “I understand why they have to run it that way because otherwise it would take forever, but you only get one chance to mess up and then that second one you’re going home.
“It’s nice to have that second chance, they used to have it where you pick one qualifier or the other and you had one shot, and you hope that it’s the easier of the two. It’s definitely better now, it’s just a lot of games to get there, but we needed those games to get in top shape.”
Team Vaughan saw its qualification bid at playdowns in Westlock in early December derailed despite a 4-2 record. Sherwood Park’s Team Hartwell and Edmonton’s Team Kaufman were the only two out of 14 squads at the event to earn direct entry to provincials.
The last chance qualifier in Airdrie gave 13 teams a chance at two berths to the Scotties.
“We knew we just had to take it one game at a time and that it was going to be a long weekend,” she said. “We just had to learn from every game and every victory. We had Susan O’Connor onboard as our fifth and coach and she was really helpful at getting us prepared.”
Team Vaughan won its first three matches and advanced to the A-final and was defeated 8-7 by Edmonton’s Gracelyn Richards. They then rallied with two straight victories, knocking off the Abby Marks rink 10-8 in the B-final with a four-ender in the seventh proving to be crucial.
Team Vaughan, featuring Ekelund, skip Vaughan out of Lethbridge along with third Marla Sherrer and second Chantele Broderson, both new to the team out of Lacombe, has been a fixture on the provincial stage for over a decade.
It will be their first entry at the Alberta Scotties since Ekelund competed at home at the 2020 event held at the Okotoks Recreation Centre. The team also made it to the semifinal round of the 2019 Scotties in Stettler.
“We’re pretty excited,” Ekelund said. “It’s the first year that I’ve played with my skip again, we played together in Okotoks and she took time off to have a child and has come back.
“We’re pretty excited to play together again and get back there in our first year back.”
The 2024 Sentinel Storage Alberta Scotties Tournament of Hearts runs Jan. 24-28 in St. Paul.
The Alberta representatives will then get the chance to win a national title at home with the Scotties Tournament of Hearts taking place Feb. 15-24 in Calgary.
The Alberta Scotties field includes the defending champion Team Skrlik along with Kaufman, Hartwell, Richards as well as the Selena Sturmay rink, Team Jessie Hunkin and Team Serena Gray-Withers.
“We’ve been making a lot of progress on how to work together, figuring out if something is going wrong how to fix it mid-game so you’re not sacrificing a game before you figure it out,” Ekelund said. “I think it’s just a lot of communication and making sure we keep together as a unit even though there’s going to be lots of distractions and a lot going on.”
For more information on the 2024 Alberta Scotties, visit abscotties.ca.
