Breakthrough year helps Selena Sturmay slide into Scotties as sudden pre-qualifier

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Selena Sturmay needs no introduction in the curling world these days.

That came last year at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts, when the Edmonton skip and her teammates burst onto the bright stage to become a sudden big deal — and tournament darlings, really — as Team Alberta.

Now it’s about living in that spotlight and finding their way among the élite of the sport.

“We’ve had a lot of good games against Rachel Homan and Silvana Tirinzoni and all of those kind of teams, and we’ve stuck in it until the last rock,” said Sturmay, when reflecting on the first half of their first full season since their breakout moment last winter.

“But of course, sometimes those games don’t go your way and, on the scoreboard, it looks really, really hard,” continued the 26-year-old talent. “But reflecting back on the season so far, although it hasn’t been the season that we want necessarily, point-wise or scoreboard-wise, I think we still have a lot to take from it.

“We’re playing really well, and we’ve just got to keep plugging away at it, and eventually the results will show for themselves.”

She hopes that comes — again — for the team at this year’s Scotties, slated for Feb. 14-23 in Thunder Bay, Ont.

Sturmay, third Danielle Schmiemann, second Dezaray Hawes, lead Paige Papley and coach Ted Appelman are excited to prove their blossoming success of last February in Calgary was no fluke, having already secured their spot in the 2025 edition of the women’s national championship.

Their entry is fresh news, in fact, after learning last week they’d be replacing Team Chelsea Carey for the festivities in Thunder Bay.

“I did not expect it,” said Sturmay, when Curling Canada declared Team Carey — formerly Team Jennifer Jones — ineligible for the Scotties after third Karlee Burgess left the squad to join Team Kerri Einarson. “I know that there were some issues going on with a couple teams earlier on in the year, but I was not expecting any team shakeups this close to Scotties … that’s for sure.”

In particular, the Curling Canada rule in play states that at least three of a team’s original players need to be in place for it to keep its pre-qualifying spot for the national event.

With skip Jones having retired and Burgess departing, Team Carey — which had pre-qualified because of its 2023-24 success in the Canadian Team Ranking System — no longer qualifies.

So Sturmay’s Saville Community Sports Centre side now slides into that spot as the next highest-rated squad — fifth — on the CTRS.

And that bump-up has had a trickle-down effect into the Alberta Scotties, where reigning queens Sturmay & Co. are no longer participants.

Won’t play in provincials

Their appointment as a nationals’ pre-qualifier means they won’t play in those provincials — again, as per the rules — which is a bittersweet bit of news, given they won’t be defending their crown Jan. 22-26 in Rimbey, but does allow them more practice time to prepare for the nationals.

“Definitely it gives us the opportunity to practise a little bit more and bypass provincials,” Sturmay said. “But with that being said, it’s also kind of a catch-22, because we don’t necessarily get those meaningful games in at provincials and we only have one more event left until the Scotties.

“So as far as that goes, we’re definitely missing out on some meaningful games before the Scotties.”

But the loss for them turned out to be a boon to other fellow Albertans.

With Sturmay suddenly being raised into the Scotties, three Alberta teams instead of two were able to earn their way from last weekend’s last-chance qualifier into the provincial championship.

“I do understand from their point that by not letting us play provincials, it kind of gives one extra team that opportunity,” Sturmay said. “And I know that there’s a lot of younger teams that are there this year in the Alberta Scotties field.

“So it does give extra opportunities for those younger teams. At the grassroots level, it does kind of strengthen curling in Alberta that way.”

Of course, it wasn’t long ago Team Sturmay itself was looking to take advantage of any such opportunity …

And did.

“For sure, we’ve made a breakthrough in Canadian curling the last while,” Sturmay said. “Obviously, if you look at the (CTRS) rankings and the standings, we’re not quite as high as we were last year.

“But I do think that’s just the nature of the course of us playing in higher-strength-of-field events — being in those grand slams. All of a sudden you’re not a favourite to make playoffs or even win the event. Whereas you look at last year, we weren’t in the grand slams and we were playing in those smaller events.

“So I think it’s kind of a catch-22 on how you get your points. And sometimes points aren’t necessarily reflective of how well a team is doing.”

EXTRA ENDS

Team Canada’s Homan and the Einarson and Kaitlyn Lawes Manitoba rinks are the others which have pre-qualified for the Scotties … The three last-chance qualifiers for the Alberta Scotties were Edmonton’s Hannah Phillips (Crestwood Curling Club), Calgary’s Kayleigh Shannon (Calgary Curling Club) and Calgary’s Keelie Duncan (The Glencoe Club) … Julia Weagle and her Iqaluit Curling Club team of third Sadie Pinksen, second Leigh Gustafson and lead Alison Taylor have been named to represent Nunavut at the Scotties.

tsaelhof@postmedia.com

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