Cameron rink top seed in newly branded women’s provincial championship

Rocks are already flying in Pilot Mound, as the provincial curling schedule kicked off with Manitoba’s women’s championship Jan. 22.

New Bothwell’s Kate Cameron is the top seed, as both team Kaitlyn Lawes and Team Kerri Einarson have already locked up spots in the national Scotties Tournament of Hearts. Those two Manitoba-based teams earned spots at nationals thanks to their pre-season spots in the Canadian Team Ranking System (CRTS).

Team Chelsea Carey had also been granted a spot at nationals thanks to their strong results last year when the team was skipped by Jennifer Jones, but lost their automatic seeding when Karlee Burgess left the team to join the Einarson rink. At least three players need to return for a team to keep their qualifications.

Team Cameron will be bringing a newer look line-up to the provincial event, as usual second Brianna Cullen is representing Canada at the International University Sports Federation world games. The team is currently seventh in the CRTS, and the highest-seeded team at provincials.

Allison Flaxy, who skipped a team one game away from an Ontario championship in 2014, will be joining in Cullen’s absence.

They’ve played a busy schedule outside of the province this season, including a trip to play at an event in Japan at the turn of the new year.

“I think overall we have met what our priority was. And looking back, I think we’re pretty happy with our results,” Cameron said in a pre-tournament interview with the Winnipeg Free Press.

Cameron is coming off an outstanding finish to last year’s season, earning a bronze medal at the 2024 Scotties. She won a Manitoba provincial championship in 2017 as third for Michelle Englot and also lifted two Alberta championships as a third.

Last year she ended up falling in the provincial semi-finals, but a strong performance was enough to lock up a wildcard spot at nationals.

“I think ultimately it just comes down to who can play the best come the playoffs, and I’ve been fortunate enough to be on the winning side of that a few times,” Cameron said.

“It feels great. I think there’s nothing like it, winning your provincial to get to the Scotties, it’s just extra special.”

Beth Peterson is the other top seed at the tournament, ranked eighth in the CRTS. The 12-teams in the tournament are divided into two pools before playoffs begin.

Provincial women’s curling championships have re-branded this year, with only the national tournament retaining the Scotties branding. The tournament is now called the Women of the Rings, sponsored by Rocky Mountain Equipment and agricultural machinery company Case IH.

Select games from each draw of the championship will be broadcast on the CurlManitoba YouTube page.

In pool play, Cameron started out with a 9-5 victory in a game vs Team Ehnes on Jan. 22, with a game against Team Sass finishing after press time. The top three teams from each group will play against the top finisher from the other pool to determine the semi-finalists.

The St Adolphe-based team will play Team McLeod at 9 a.m. Jan. 24 to round out pool play.

With files from Joshua Frey-Sam