Local rinks vying for spot at next month's Scotties

THUNDER BAY -- A year ago, Claire Dubinsky and her teammates were gearing up for the Ontario Winter Games and the Canadian junior curling championship. 

Fast forward 12 months, and the foursome is gearing up for a shot at a berth at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts. 

Dubinsky, lead Lilly Ariganello, second Bella McCarville and third Rylie Paul, are one of seven teams entered in next week’s Northern Ontario playdowns, scheduled to begin on Jan. 21 at the Port Arthur Curling Centre. 

It’s an exciting prospect, said Dubinsky, who this past weekend won the Northern Ontario U18 girls curling championship in Timmins. 

“Obviously we’re the underdogs going into it, but I think playing at that competition, playing at the highest level there is, it’ll be really good for our team,” she said. 

“We’re confident. We know there’s not going to be a walkover game. But we’ve played well all season, we’ve figured out our releases and our slides. Going in we should be confident as a team.”

A silver medallist at the Ontario Winter Games, held in Thunder Bay last February, the foursome finished 2-6 at the Canadian Juniors and are hoping to use that experience as they seek a spot at the women’s national curling championship, scheduled for their hometown starting on Feb. 14. 

At this stage of their curling careers, there’s not a lot of outside expectations for the team. That doesn’t mean they don’t want to feel the pressure of the moment, even if it only comes from within. 

“We want to put pressure on ourselves, almost,” Dubinsky said. “We have expectations for ourselves and we don’t want to get beaten in four, five, six ends. I think trying to hang in to the very end (is the goal) and I think we have a good chance of doing that.” 

Robyn Despins may be a little older than Dubinsky, but the excitement is just as palpable heading into provincials. 

The Fort William Curling Club skip, whose team narrowly missed a playoff spot in the Tbaytel Major League of Curling, is excited to be back competing at a provincial championship. 

The team, consisting of lead Rebecca Carr, second Samantha Morris and third Nicole Westlund-Stewart, continues to grow. 

“I feel like we’ve had a lot of pieces come together and we’re excited to bring our best to the provincials,” Despins said. “We’ve really just continued to come together and gel as a team. We’ve put a lot of time and practice in, so every little aspect – sweeping, our strategy, shot-making – we’ve kind of been working on is coming together.” 

For Oye-Sem Won, there’s a little uncertainty heading into provincials. Normally the third for Ashley Palmer, Sem-Won has been throwing skip stones this season while Palmer recovers from a foot injury. Palmer spent most of the season on the sidelines, though she did return to the ice in time for the round-robin finale in the Tbaytel Major League of Curling last Wednesday.

“Ashley’s trying to get back to the ice,” Sem-Won said. 

“It’s been a few years since I’ve been at a women’s provincials, so the whole team is excited to be back and to be competing. We’re trying to be on the ice as much as possible for practices, with life and work balances. Hopefully Ash can play a few.” 

Sem-Won said the team, which includes lead Jessica Langlais, second Corie Adamson and alternate Tirzah Baird, is moving in the right direction. 

“Coming back after a few years off the ice is always tricky, but I think the team is committed and we’ve been putting in the hours on the ice to perfect our skills.” 

Thunder Bay’s Krista McCarville the defending champions, Sudbury’s Emma Artichuk, McIntyre’s Lauren Mann and North Bay’s Laura Johnston round out the field.