Brown, Skrlik, Martin, Homan win to start Scotties Tournament of Hearts

THUNDER BAY, Ont. - Two teams overcame travel hiccups and another the loss of a sick player to win on opening night of the Canadian women's curling championship Friday.

Corryn Brown's B.C. team that didn't land in Thunder Bay, Ont., until early morning defeated Alberta's Selena Sturmay 11-4. 

Saskatchewan's Nancy Martin, whose lead Deanna Doig was another late-morning arrival, beat Krista McCarville of Northern Ontario 10-6. 

Alberta's Kayla Skrlik iced a three-player rotation because lead Geri-Lynn Ramsay was ill, and doubled New Brunswick's Melissa Adams 8-4.

Defending champion Rachel Homan had the most stress-free opener with a 13-4 victory over Prince Edward Island's Jane DiCarlo.

Both Brown and Martin were scheduled to practice early Friday morning, but ended up throwing rocks mid-afternoon a few hours before their first games of the Scotties Tournament of Hearts. 

Snowstorms across southern Ontario delayed flights coming through Toronto.

"It was just kind of sleep quick, and we were just really focusing on one rock at a time, just really simplifying it today, just given the fact that we are pretty fatigued and had a long journey here," said Brown, who is almost six months pregnant.

Martin grabbed a 5-1 lead over McCarville after four ends and held off a hometown team supported by many of the 2,430 in the 3,700-seat Fort William Gardens. Martin scored three with her last throw of the 10th end.

"The girls just trust me and we just go for it," Martin said. "We got lucky breaks. You've got to get that to win a game, but we put some pressure on and put some rocks in play, which is what we love. Had a great time out there."

Martin is twice a runner-up in the national mixed doubles championship, second Kadriana Lott won the title in 2024 with husband Colton and third Chaelynn Stewart is also a mixed doubles veteran. So Martin's is a team that isn't afraid to face a lot of granite in the rings.

"We love rocks in play. When we step on the ice in a women's game and they want to blank three ends, I just want to leave and go play mixed doubles," Martin said.

Skrlik, Margot Flemming and sister Ashton played short-handed with Ramsay sidelined and alternate Crystal Rumberg not expected to arrive in Thunder Bay until Monday.

"Geri has the flu tonight," the skip said. "She got it just last night. She tried to throw in pre-event practice. She's resting today. We're keeping our fingers crossed."

Ramsay throws lead stones, but is Skrlik's vice, so Flemming was pressed into strategy duty.

"Margot and Ashton did a great job," the skip said. "Margo is calling line for the first time in a while, or ever, first time at the Scottie for sure. Ashton swept a ton of rocks and made a bunch of shots for us, so just the resilience of those two players was amazing. I had a rough start to the game as well and they really rallied."

The 18-team field was divided into two pools with the top three in each advancing. That half-dozen is reduced to the four Page playoff teams for the final weekend.

The winner Feb. 23 will represent Canada in the world championship March 15-23 in Uijeongbu, South Korea.

Brown, Skrlik, Martin and Homan got a head start atop Pool A on Friday. 

Pool B starts Saturday afternoon with Quebec's Laurie St-Georges taking on Manitoba's Kaitlyn Lawes, Kerry Galusha of Northwest Territories facing Manitoba's Kate Cameron, four-time champion Kerri Einarson of Manitoba square off with Newfoundland and Labrador's Brooke Godsland and Ontario's Danielle Inglis versus Nova Scotia's Christina Black.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 14, 2025.

Note to readers:This is a corrected version of an earlier story. It corrects the spelling of Corryn Brown's first name.