Can you remember the last time a curling rink from the North had a shot at playing for a spot at the Winter Olympics?
Kerry Galusha can’t and she figures she, along with her rink of Sarah Koltun, Margot Flemming and Jo-Ann Rizzo will be the first to get that opportunity.
In order to do that, Galusha and company will have to work their way from the ground up. Literally.
The Yellowknife-based rink has been invited to play in what Galusha called a “pre-pre-trial” bonspiel next month in Ottawa. She’s one of eight skips that will do battle in the hopes of moving on to the second stage of qualification in Nova Scotia in October.
Galusha said the whole thing was a surprise when they received the letter in late July and not even on the team’s radar.
“I was actually talking with Darren Moulding (third for Brendan Bottcher) and he said ‘You’re pre-trial, aren’t you?’ and I told him I didn’t know,” he said. “We got a letter from Curling Canada just after that inviting us to play in Ottawa and we accepted it.”
In a normal year, there would be just one pre-trial qualifier for the top teams not already qualified. The winners of the Tim Hortons Brier and Scotties Tournament of Hearts in the three years leading up to the Olympic trials, along with the winners of the Canada Cup in that same time frame, are given automatic spots in the main event with teams from the pre-trial qualifier earning their way into the big show.
But the last 18 months haven’t been normal and Curling Canada decided to open things up in order to give as many teams as possible a chance to qualify.
“These are new events that fit our mandate of trying to be as inclusive as possible for as many teams as possible to be part of the Olympic qualifying process as we come out of the pandemic,” stated Katharine Henderson, Curling Canada’s chief executive officer, in a press release on Aug. 10.
The first rung on the ladder sees Galusha take on seven other rinks in the nation’s capital beginning on Sept. 22. If Galusha and company finish inside the top two, they will move on to the actual pre-trial event in Liverpool, N.S., in October. The top two from that will get the chance to compete for the plane ride to Beijing in 2022 at the Olympic trials in Saskatoon in November.
Kevin Koe, Galusha’s older brother, is already in the main event on the men’s side.
Galusha likes her rink’s chances of getting one of those two spots in Ottawa.
“I’ve played most of those other rinks but not all of them,” she said. “We’re all pretty even in the world rankings (Galusha sits 43rd) and anyone can be in the top two, especially because it’s early in the season and it’s going to be about who can be the most consistent.”
Practice time comes into play and with the Yellowknife Curling Centre not having its ice in until later in the fall, that means it’s all about finding places to play.
Galusha said the ladies will be hitting the road in the coming weeks in order to get in whatever action they can under their belts.
“We’re playing the StuSells (Oakville) Tankard (Ont., in early September) and we’ve registered for the KW Fall Classic women’s event,” she said. “Playing in an spiel without getting any ice can be dicey but even sliding and getting back that muscle memory can make a huge difference so spending three weeks in Ontario and playing will be good.”