Carey replaces Jones as skip for the 2024 Scotties finalists
Published
Chelsea Carey is making a return to competitive four-person curling.
The two-time Scotties Tournament of Hearts champion will take over skip duties for the rink that was previously captained by curling great Jennifer Jones for the past two seasons.
“I’m absolutely thrilled for this opportunity to play alongside Lauren, Emily and Karlee – three of the great young stars of our game,” said the 39-year-old Carey, who spared for Jones in a handful of events this past season. “They are so fun to play with and I was so impressed with their approach to each and every game when I played with them. I think we will a very strong team and continue what they built with Jennifer the last couple of years.”
The 49-year-old Jones, who won six Scotties, two world championships and an Olympic gold medal during her legendary career, announced her retirement from four-person curling ahead of this year's Canadian women's curling championship in February.
At the Calgary Scotties, Team Jones lost in the final for a second straight year, this time falling to Ontario's Team Rachel Homan.
The new-look Team Carey is rounded out by third Karlee Burgess, 25, second Emily Zacharias, 23, and lead Lauren Lenentine, 23.
“We are thrilled to welcome Chelsea Carey as the new skip of our team and are so excited for the next couple of years to continue the momentum we had with Jennifer Jones,” said Lenentine. “We learned so much from Jennifer these last two years and feel that Chelsea will give us that similar edge with her experiencing and shot-making that the transition will be seamless – especially after the success we had with Chelsea at different times throughout the season.”
Carey, who won Scotties titles in 2016 and 2019, hasn't competed at nationals since 2022. The Winnipeg native didn't reach the podium in her two appearances at the World Women's Curling Championship, but was a win away from representing Canada at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Beijing after losing to Team Homan in the Trials final.
The foursome is ranked second in Canada and fourth in the world after a strong 2023-24 season and are pre-qualified for the 2025 Tournament of Hearts in Thunder Bay.