Everyone chasing Team Homan as Scotties set to kick off in Thunder Bay
Published
For the second time in four years, the 2025 Scotties Tournament of Hearts is set to take place in Thunder Bay.
The Northern Ontario city – an 11-hour drive from Sudbury – was scheduled to host the 2021 Scotties, but it was shifted to Calgary due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
They were able to host the Scotties the following year, however with the pandemic still apparent, fans were not allowed in the stands until the playoffs when Curling Canada permitted a small collection of volunteers and junior curler from the area to attend.
Fort Williams Gardens won’t have any restrictions this time around as 18 teams from across the country will contend for the Canadian women’s curling championship from Feb. 14-23.
You can watch every draw throughout the week on TSN, TSN.ca and the TSN App.
Similar to the previous few years, the field will be split into two pools of nine where an eight-game round-robin will take place.
The top three teams from each pool will advance to a six-team playoff as the first-place team from Pool A will take on the second-place team from Pool B, and vice versa. The winners will advance to the 1 vs. 2-page playoff while the losers meet the third-place finishers in the pools. Those games will serve as a qualifier for the 3 vs. 4-page playoff game.
From there a regular page playoff will take place with the winner crowned on Feb. 23.
The winning rink will represent Canada at the 2025 World Women's Curling Championship in in Uijeongbu, South Korea from March 15-23. Additionally, the winning team will also book a spot in the 2025 Canadian Curling Trials in November. If already qualified, the next highest unqualified finisher will get the spot.
Let’s take a closer look at the teams set to compete in Thunder Bay.
POOL A
1 - Canada (Team Rachel Homan)
Ottawa Curling Club
Rachel Homan Tracy Fleury Emma Miskew Sarah Wilkes
Skip: Rachel Homan
Vice-Skip: Tracy Fleury
Second: Emma Miskew
Lead: Sarah Wilkes
Alternate: Rachel Brown
Coach: Jennifer Jones
Season Record: 46-4
Events Wins: Shorty Jenkins Classic, PointsBet Invitational, Pan-Continental Curling Championships, Canadian Open (GS), National (GS)
CTRS Rank: 1
Team Story
In the long 65-year history of the Canadian women’s curling championship, there’s a good chance no rink has been more heavily favoured to win the national title than this year’s version of Team Rachel Homan.
The annual tournament has seen its fair share of dominating teams. Vera Pezer won three straight championships in the 1970s, while the great Sandra Schmirler won three over five years in the 1990s. That was followed with historical runs by Colleen Jones, Jennifer Jones and Kerri Einarson in the new millennium.
Still, none of these teams were as dominating – almost unbeatable – as Team Homan has been over the past two seasons.
The defending Scotties champs own a 113-11 record since the start of the 2023-24 campaign, a winning percentage of .911. They are 57-2 against Canadian teams.
After putting together arguably the greatest curling season ever last year – highlighted by a perfect run at the Tournament of Hearts and winning the World Women’s Curling Championship – Team Homan hasn’t slowed down in 2024-25, making the final in all seven of their events, winning five of them.
Team Homan added some fire power earlier this week when they announced six-time Scotties champion Jennifer Jones would be joining the rink in Thunder Bay to serve as their coach.
They’re coming off a loss however, dropping the Masters final to Sweden’s Team Anna Hasselborg in January.
Team Kerri Einarson are the only Canadian rink to have beaten Team Homan this season. The Ottawa foursome own a 13-1 record this season against teams that are set to compete at the 2025 Scotties.
Team Homan are the undisputed favourites to win this year’s championship as the 35-year-old skip will be seeking her fifth Scotties title in Thunder Bay.
4 – Alberta (Team Selena Sturmay)
Saville Community Sports Centre in Edmonton
Team Selena Sturmay - Alberta
Skip: Selena Sturmay
Vice-Skip: Danielle Schmiemann
Second: Dezaray Hawes
Lead: Paige Papley
Coach: Ted Appelman
Season Record: 25-29
Events Wins: Crestwood Platinum Anniversary Showdown
CTRS Rank: 12
Team Story
Selena Sturmay and her Edmonton foursome got their spot at this year’s Scotties after Team Chelsea Carey lost their pre-qualified spot when Karlee Burgess left the squad to join Team Kerri Einarson in January.
If not for that decision, Sturmay’s crew may not be going to the Scotties at all.
After a strong 2023-24 season, capped by a page playoff appearance at the Calgary Scotties, Team Sturmay placed fifth on the Canadian Team Ranking System.
They’ve fallen to No. 12 in Canada after a difficult 2024-25 campaign.
Sturmay and company are four games under .500 entering the Scotties and have advanced to the playoffs in just two of their 10 events.
They are coming in on a bit of a hot streak, winning an Edmonton bonspiel in mid-January by defeating Team Corryn Brown in the final.
Team Sturmay will need much more of that type of performance in Thunder Bay if they want to be contenders for the playoffs.
5 – Alberta (Team Kayla Skrlik)
Garrison Curling Club in Calgary
Team Kayla Skrlik
Skip: Kayla Skrlik
Third: Margot Flemming
Second: Ashton Skrlik
Lead/Vice-Skip: Geri-Lynn Ramsay
Alternate: Crystal Rumberg
Coach: Shannon Kleibrink
Season Record: 51-20
Events Wins: Curling Stadium Martensville International, Ladies Alberta Open, Alberta Women’s Championship
CTRS Rank: 3
Team Story
Calgary’s Team Kayla Skrlik have been plenty busy this curling season, playing a total of 71 games, the most in this year’s Scotties field.
And they’ve had some good results as well, winning half of their six final appearances. Team Skrlik also qualified for the playoffs in 10 of 12 events, missing out at the Tour Challenge Tier 2 and Masters, both on the Grand Slam circuit against stronger fields.
The full schedule has Skrlik ranked third in the nation, the highest spot the 27-year-old skip has reached as she prepares for her second showing at the Tournament of Hearts.
Skrlik went 4-4 at her first Scotties in 2023, missing out on a tiebreaker for the playoffs.
Third Margot Flemming, who has represented Northwest Territories at four previous Scotties, joined Team Skrlik this season as a replacement for Brittany Tran.
Team Homan is the only lock to make the playoffs out of Pool A, meaning Team Skrlik, alongside the likes of Team Sturmay, Team Corryn Brown, Team Krista McCarville and Team Nancy Martin will all likely battle it out for the remaining two spots.
Skrlik’s rink may have the leg up here with so much time on the ice together this season.
8 – British Columbia (Team Corryn Brown)
Kamloops Curling Club
Team Corryn Brown
Skip: Corryn Brown
Vice-Skip: Erin Pincott
Second: Sarah Koltun
Lead: Samantha Fisher
Coach: Jim Cotter
Season Record: 36-25
Events Wins: BC Women’s Championship
CTRS Rank: 9
Team Story
Like Team Skrlik, Kamloops’ Team Corryn Brown have been very busy in 2024-25, playing 11 events and 61 total games.
They haven’t found the same success however, failing to make a final until their 10th event in January when they dropped the Crestwood Platinum Anniversary Showdown to Team Sturmay.
A few weeks later they took out Team Kayla MacMillan to capture the provincial title and a second straight trip to the Tournament of Hearts.
Last year in Calgary, they went 4-4 in the round robin and missed the playoffs.
Following the departure of Jennifer Armstrong, Team Brown added 31-year-old Sarah Koltun as their new second. Koltun has plenty of Scotties experience making nine previous appearances at the event split between Yukon and Northwest Territories.
Brown has always been around the .500 mark at the Scotties – a career record of 14-14 - and will probably need an additional win or two in order to secure a playoff berth and avoid any tiebreakers.
9 – Northern Ontario (Team Krista McCarville)
Fort William Curling Club in Thunder Bay
Team Krista McCarville
Skip: Krista McCarville
Vice-Skip: Andrea Kelly
Second: Kendra Lilly
Lead: Ashley Sippala
Alternate: Sarah Potts
Coach: Rick Lang
Season Record: 21-7
Events Wins: Stu Sells Living Waters Collingwood Classic, Northern Ontario Women’s Championship
CTRS Rank: 17
Team Story
Krista McCarville’s 12th Scotties Tournament of Hearts will be in front of her hometown fans for the first time in her career.
The 2022 Scotties was in Thunder Bay, but that had major restrictions due to COVID-19 as McCarville’s run to her second career Scotties final took place in an empty Fort William Gardens.
McCarville and company dropped that final to Team Kerri Einarson, settling for silver for a second time.
After a third-place finish in 2023, McCarville’s streak of seven straight Scotties playoff appearances was snapped at last year’s tournament in Calgary.
With veteran Andrea Crawford back for another year, Team McCarville punched their ticket to the Thunder Bay Scotties after a close 6-5 win over Team Emma Artichuk in the final of the Northern Ontario Women’s Championship.
Team McCarville trailed 4-2 at the fifth end break but picked up single steals in back-to-back ends in the second half to secure the one-point win.
A perennial contender, the 42-year-old McCarville may not have many more chances to win her first Canadian women’s curling championship after this season.
Time will tell if the hometown crowd propels this team of fan favourites to the final six, if not further, in Thunder Bay.
12 – Saskatchewan (Team Nancy Martin)
Nutana Curling Club in Saskatoon
Team Nancy Martin
Skip: Nancy Martin
Vice-Skip: Chaelynn Stewart
Second: Kadriana Lott
Lead: Deanna Doig
Alternate: Colleen Ackerman
Coach: Sherry Anderson
Season Record: 23-22
Events Wins: Saskatchewan Women’s Championship
CTRS Rank: 22
Team Story
For the first time in her career, Nancy Martin will skip at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts.
Martin played vice for Sherry Anderson inside the 2021 Calgary bubble in her first and only previous appearance.
The Saskatoon-based foursome, also featuring mixed-doubles specialist Kadriana Lott in her first Scotties appearance, defeated Team Jolene Campbell in the provincial final. The win was particularly sweet for Martin after dropping the Saskatchewan final in each of the previous two seasons.
For the season, Team Martin is one game over .500, playing only four games against teams ranked in the top-10 in Canada as they’ve stayed in Saskatchewan for the vast majority of their schedule.
At 51, the native of Rosetown, Sask., will be the oldest skip in Thunder Bay.
Playing in a stacked pool, Team Martin might be in tough to finish in the top three and will need to defeat some higher-ranked teams to stay in contention.
13 – New Brunswick (Team Melissa Adams)
Capital Winter Club in Fredericton
Team Melissa Adams
Skip: Melissa Adams
Vice-Skip: Jaclyn Crandall
Second: Kayla Russell
Lead: Kendra Lister
Alternate: Molli Ward
Coach: Alex Robichaud
Season Record: 20-5
Events Wins: New Brunswick Women’s Championship
CTRS Rank: 53
Team Story
Melissa Adams is returning to the Tournament of Hearts for the fourth time in her career.
The 47-year-old finished with a 2-6 record at last year’s event.
Team Adams posted a perfect 7-0 record at the New Brunswick playdowns in January.
They’ve won 20 of their 25 games this season, all played on the East coast.
16 – Prince Edward Island (Team Jane DiCarlo)
Crapaud Community Curling Club
Prince Edward Island – Jane DiCarlo
Skip/Third: Jane DiCarlo
Fourth: Veronica Mayne
Second: Sabrina Smith
Lead: Whitney Jenkins
Coach: Kathy O’Rourke
Season Record: 10-4
Events Wins: PEI Women’s Championship
CTRS Rank: 87
Team Story
Jane DiCarlo’s rink from Crapaud will wear PEI colours at the national championship for a second consecutive year.
DiCarlo calls the game while Veronica Mayne throws last rocks.
They went 0-8 last year in Calgary and will attempt to pick up their first career Scotties win in Thunder Bay.
17 – Nunavut (Team Julia Weagle)
Iqaluit Curling Club
Team Julia Weagle
Skip: Julia Weagle
Vice-Skip: Sadie Pinksen
Second: Leigh Gustafson
Lead: Alison Taylor
Coach: Colin Hodgson
Season Record: 1-3
Events Wins: N/A
CTRS Rank: 136
Team Story
Nunavut will return to the Scotties this year after pulling out from last year’s competition.
The 2025 version of the team will be led by Julia Weagle in her first appearance at the Canadian women’s curling championship.
Julia’s sister, Scotties veteran Lisa Weagle, will also be in Thunder Bay as a member of Laurie St-Georges rink.
Nunavut also features Sadie Pinksen, who has played in seven previous Scotties for the territory, as well as coach Colin Hodgson, who stepped away from competitive curling following the 2023 Brier.
POOL B
2 – Manitoba (Team Kerri Einarson)
Gimli Curling Club
Team Kerri Einarson
Skip: Kerri Einarson
Vice-Skip: Val Sweeting
Second: Karlee Burgess
Lead: Krysten Karwacki
Alternate: Lauren Lenentine
Coach: Reid Carruthers
Season Record: 26-17
Events Wins: Tour Challenge (GS), Saville Grand Prix
CTRS Rank: 2
Team Story
What a season it’s been for Team Kerri Einarson.
The Gimli rink, who won four straight Scotties championships from 2020 to 2023, have dealt with numerous hurdles this season, including a season-long injury to second Shannon Birchard and the agonizing wait to see if Briane Harris’ appeal for last year’s doping violation would be successful.
As a result, Team Einarson used a handful of fill-in players, including Laura Walker, Dawn McEwen and Joanne Courtney.
Harris was finally cleared in January, but she won’t return for the Tournament of Hearts as Team Einarson’s lineup had already been determined. With Birchard also done for the year due her knee injury, Karlee Burgess was added from Team Chelsea Carey and will play second in Thunder Bay.
This lineup has played only one event as foursome, going 2-3 at the Masters in mid-January as they were eliminated in the quarter-final.
All things considered, the 2024-25 curling campaign has been impressive from a results perspective given the adversary Einarson and company have faced.
They’re the only team in the Scotties field to have beaten Team Homan this season, defeating the juggernaut rink, 5-4, in the final of the Tour Challenge back in October.
Team Einarson might have the best chance of dethroning the champs at this year’s Scotties.
3 – Manitoba (Team Kaitlyn Lawes)
Heather Curling Club in Winnipeg
Team Kaitlyn Lawes
Skip: Kaitlyn Lawes
Vice-Skip: Selena Njegovan
Second: Jocelyn Peterman
Lead: Kristin Gordon
Alternate: Becca Hebert
Coach: Connor Njegovan
Season Record: 24-23
Events Wins: N/A
CTRS Rank: 5
Team Story
Team Kaitlyn Lawes have yet to find their form this season.
The Winnipeg foursome, who earned a pre-qualified spot to the Scotties this year, started the season with four semifinal appearances in their first five events.
However, they failed to make the playoffs in each of their next four events leading up to the Scotties, sporting a 7-12 record over that stretch.
Team Lawes went a combined 1-6 record against Team Homan and Team Einarson this season.
At last year’s Scotties, Team Lawes made the playoffs with a 4-4 round robin record before falling to Team Sturmay in the 3 vs. 4-page qualifier.
Despite being one of the most notable rinks in the field, Team Lawes will need to ramp up their game if they want to finish in the top three of a tough Pool B in Thunder Bay.
6 – Nova Scotia (Team Christina Black)
Halifax Curling Club
Team Christina Black
Skip: Christina Black
Vice-Skip: Jill Brothers
Second: Jennifer Baxter
Lead: Karlee Everist
Alternate: Marlee Powers
Coach: Stuart MacLean
Season Record: 43-9
Events Wins: Tour Challenge Tier 2 (GS), Steele Cup Cash, Mayflower Cashspiel, Stu Sells Brantford NISSAN Classic, Nova Scotia Women’s Championship
CTRS Rank: 4
Team Story
Halifax’s Team Christina Black could be real contenders at this year’s Scotties Tournament of Hearts.
Black is having a career season with 43 wins in 52 games, highlighted by five bonspiel wins. The strong run has catapulted this East coast rink to No. 4 in the country.
Team Black competed in their first Grand Slam at the National in late November, reaching the playoffs after defeating high ranking international teams in Sweden’s Team Isabella Wrana, Italy’s Team Stefania Constantini and South Korea’s Team Eunji Gim. They would go on to lose to Sweden’s Team Anna Hasselborg in the quarterfinal, but proved they could compete with the best in the sport.
Already a strong group the last few seasons, Team Black appeared to have gotten an additional spark from new third Jill Brothers in 2024-25 as she is set to compete in her eighth Scotties in Thunder Bay.
In her last Scotties in 2023, the 37-year-old Black made the page playoffs after upsetting Team Homan in the championship round.
Team Black might be the Maritimes’ best chance of winning the Scotties since the Colleen Jones’ dynasty from 1999 to 2004.
7 – Manitoba (Team Kate Cameron)
Heather Curling Club in Winnipeg
Team Kate Cameron - Manitoba
Skip: Kate Cameron
Vice-Skip: Taylor McDonald
Second: Brianna Cullen
Lead: MacKenzie Elias
Alternate: TBD
Coach: Glenn Howard
Season Record: 36-21
Events Wins: Manitoba Women’s Championship
CTRS Rank: 6
Team Story
Kate Cameron will wear the Buffalo at this year’s Tournament of Hearts after winning her first provincial title as a skip.
Team Cameron defeated Team Beth Peterson in a close 7-6 Manitoba final and will return to the Scotties after an impressive semifinal run last year in Calgary.
With Kelsey Rocque and Meghan Walter part of the rink, Team Cameron sneaked into the playoffs with a 5-3 record before beating Team Kerri Einarson and Team Selena Sturmay to set up a date with the legendary Jennifer Jones in the semifinal. They would go onto lose after giving up a five-spot in the opening end.
Cameron and lead MacKenzie Elias are the only returnees from the 2024 Scotties lineup with third Taylor McDonald (she was an alternate last year) and second Brianna Cullen now in the fold.
Glenn Howard will serve as Team Cameron’s coach in Thunder Bay.
Aside from their provincial win, Team Cameron have not won any other bonspiels this season, dropping two finals and three semi-finals, including October’s PointsBet Invitational to Team Kayla Skrlik.
They’ve qualified for the playoffs in eight of their 11 events.
Despite a new lineup this season, Team Cameron are still one of the stronger teams in Canada and should be in the mix for a playoff spot in Pool B.
10 – Ontario (Team Danielle Inglis)
Ottawa Hunt and Golf Club
Team Danielle Inglis - Ontario
Skip: Danielle Inglis
Vice-Skip: Kira Brunton
Second: Calissa Daly
Lead: Cassandra de Groot
Alternate: Kimberly Tuck
Coach: Steve Acorn
Season Record: 24-23
Events Wins: Ontario Women’s Championship
CTRS Rank: 11
Team Story
After many years of just missing out, Danielle Inglis is returning to the Scotties Tournament of Hearts for the second straight year as skip of Team Ontario.
Despite a difficult 2024-25 campaign, the 36-year-old Inglis and her Ottawa foursome saved their best curling for provincial playdowns, defending their title with a 6-1 total record.
Team Inglis were under .500 on the season entering playdowns, only qualifying for the playoffs twice across 10 bonspiels.
Inglis and company would like to add a few more Ws to the win column in their second appearance at the Scotties after going 3-5 in Calgary last year.
11 – Quebec (Team Laurie St-Georges)
Glenmore Curling Club in Dollard-Des Ormeaux and Club de curling Laval-sur-le-Lac
Team Laurie St-Georges
Skip: Laurie St-Georges
Vice-Skip: Jamie Sinclair
Second: Emily Riley
Lead: Lisa Weagle
Coach: François Roberge
Season Record: 22-15
Events Wins: Swiss Chalet Women’s Curling Stadium Spiel, Quebec Women’s Championship
CTRS Rank: 19
Team Story
Laval’s Laurie St-Georges will make her fifth straight Scotties appearance in Thunder Bay and is bringing along a familiar face.
Lisa Weagle, who won two national championships in 2013 and 2014 as the long-time lead for Rachel Homan, will compete in her first Scotties since 2021 after joining St-Georges’ rink this season.
Team St-Georges having won back-to-back events – including a 6-0 run at the provincial championship – and are on a 11-game winning streak entering the Scotties.
St-Georges’ best performance at the Tournament of Hearts came during her first appearance inside the Calgary bubble in 2021 when she made the championship pool, but missed the page playoffs.
Team St-Georges went 4-4 a year ago in Calgary.
Now playing with a more experienced lineup, this might the 27-year-old’s best chance of getting Quebec into the Scotties playoffs for the first time since 2012, although it will still be an uphill battle.
14 – Northwest Territories (Team Kerry Galusha)
Yellowknife Curling Club
Team Kerry Galusha
Skip: Kerry Galusha
Vice-Skip: Megan Koehler
Second: Sydney Galusha
Lead: Shona Barbour
Alternate: Ella Skauge
Season Record: 6-3
Events Wins: Northwest Territories Women’s Championship
CTRS Rank: 72
Team Story
The 2025 Scotties Tournament of Hearts will be particularly special for Kerry Galusha.
Galusha, 47, will attend her 22nd – and possibly last - Scotties in Thunder Bay, but it will be her first with daughter Sydney, who will play second.
Galusha has been competitive at the past few Scotties playing with the lineup of Margot Flemming, Sarah Koltun and Jo-Ann Rizzo. They split up after a 3-5 showing last year in Calgary.
Now playing with her daughter and former teammates in Megan Koehler and Shona Barbour, the transition to a new era of women’s curling in Northwest Territories has begun.
Time will tell who takes the reigns of the territory in the future, but for now Galusha is going to take at least more kick at the can as skip of the North.
15 – Newfoundland and Labrador (Team Brooke Godsland)
RE/MAX Centre in St. John’s
Newfoundland and Labrador – Brooke Godsland
Skip: Brooke Godsland
Vice-Skip: Erin Porter
Second: Sarah McNeil Lamswood
Lead: Camille Burt
Alternate: Kate Paterson
Coach: Cory Schuh
Season Record: 10-7
Events Wins: Rick Rowsell Classic, Newfoundland and Labrador Women’s Championship
CTRS Rank: 85
Team Story
Team Brooke Godsland have won two bonspiels this season on The Rock, including the provincial women’s championship.
Godsland and second Sarah McNeil Lamswood are both Scotties rookies while third Erin Porter will mark her sixth appearance and first since 2020.
Lead Camille Burt will compete in her third straight Tournament of Hearts as she helped Team Stacie Curtis post a 2-6 record in Calgary last year.
18 – Yukon (Team Bayly Scoffin)
Whitehorse Curling Club
Yukon – Bayly Scoffin
Skip: Bayly Scoffin
Vice-Skip: Kerry Foster
Second: Raelyn Helston
Lead: Bailey Horte
Alternate: Kimberly Tuor
Coach: Kevin Patterson
Season Record: 3-4
Events Wins: Yukon Women’s Championship
CTRS Rank: 170
Team Story
After losing their first six games at last year’s Scotties, Yukon’s Team Bayly Scoffin left Calgary as winners after defeating New Brunswick’s Team Melissa Adams, 11-4, in their finale.
Team Scoffin defeated Team Patty Wallingham, 3-1, in a best-of-five series to defend their Yukon title in Whitehorse.
Scoffin is bringing a similar lineup to this year’s event - Bailey Horte will replace Kimberly Tuor at lead – in Thunder Bay.
Yukon has won one game at each of the last two Scotties and Team Scoffin will look to meet, if not improve, on that mark.