Sign up for the meadowlakeNOW newsletter

N.B. curler qualifies for provincials well ahead of schedule

Nov 30, 2016 | 1:00 PM

The team is made up of women from four different Saskatchewan cities, but their skip – Robyn Silvernagle – proudly calls North Battleford her home.

Team Silvernagle, which is made up of Robyn Silvernagle, Dayna Demers from Meadow Lake, Christina Goertzen from Saskatoon, and Kara Thevenot from Prince Albert, is one of four teams to official pre-qualify for the Viterra Scotties Women’s Provincials, to be held Jan. 24-29, 2017 in Melville, Sask.

They were able to do so based on their place in the Canadian Team Ranking System (CTRS), which, as of Nov. 28, was third.

“Knowing that we already have a spot is awesome,” Silvernagle said. “It’s something that we strive for – it’s kind of our focus the whole year and what we’re working up towards. We’re really excited to be playing in it.”

This year’s provincials will have a different format.

Instead of a 12-team round robin, it will only be a nine-team, where the top four will advance to compete in a page playoff system. The page system pits the top two teams from the round robin against each other and then gives the loser of that match a second chance, where they get to play in a semi-final match against the winner of the third and fourth ranked teams.

Ashley Howard, CurlSask’s executive director, explained the changes were made mostly because of player feedback.

“They were looking for a longer round robin type format that did mimic the Scotties,” she said, referring to the Canadian national championship tournament where the winner of the provincials moves on to compete in. “In the previous format we were running into trouble with no time for tiebreakers and long days at the end of championships, so this kind of avoids that.”

“We’re making sure those important games at the end of the week, you’re not exhausted, but also that you have to beat everyone in the province. There’s no way of skirting other good teams.”

Team Silvernagle has had a very strong season so far, qualifying in multiple tournaments, including ones in Minnesota, Red Deer, and Lloydminster.

Perhaps one reason is because the team is working with Amber Holland, who skipped Team Saskatchewan to a national championship at the Scotties in 2011 and also won a silver medal at the 2011 World Women’s Curling Championships.

“I would say we’re peaking, as you play more you obviously get better and you get more into your routines,” she said. “It’s a huge benefit to have the same team two years in a row.”

Earlier in the season, the issue was a lack of available practice ice in the area.

“North Battleford, Saskatoon, all of those rinks around us, don’t have ice at the beginning of September,” she explained. “North Battleford didn’t get ice until the middle of October so then we were already done four fields by the time they had ice and then we were able to practice after that.”

Practicing now is still a tad complicated because all four members of the team reside in different cities.

They practice individually during the week, Silvernagle estimates about four times a week, and when they make time on weekends to get together they will try an evening plus a morning practice to make it worthwhile.

“It definitely is a challenge not being close to each other,” she said.

As for the upcoming provincials in Melville, fans can expect a new addition, as organizers are hoping to introduce commentary on hand held radios.

Spectators will be able to purchase or rent them at the venue.

The initiative is aimed at those who may be newer to curling, according to Howard.

“They can listen to the commentary while they’re in the building or in the stands and I think that will really help because you get to listen to the players, you get to have experienced commentators talking and explaining things to you,” Howard said. “So someone who might not know a lot about curling would be able to follow along just like they would if they were watching curling on TV at home.”

 

Nathan Kanter is battlefordsNOW’s sports reporter and voice of the Battlefords North Stars. He can be reached at Nathan.Kanter@jpbg.ca or tweet him @NathanKanter11