#BetweenTheSheets: Heart's Aflutter With Scotties Fever
Special Guest Michelle Englot talks her career and breaks down the field
Valentine's Day may have just come and gone but your little curling hearts should be beating faster than normal for the next week rock heads. You all know what February means right? It is time for the Scotties Tournament of Hearts!!
Time for the best Canadian female curlers to hit the ice and put the entire season of hard work, dedication, practice and training to the test in an attempt to become the next #TeamCanada and book their spot at the upcoming 2019 World Women's Curling Championship in Denmark.
But you know an event of this magnitude with a field full of experience could not be tackled by one lone curling fan and blogger? Oh no, we had to call in the big guns to help us navigate the field and preview the entire event.
We are set to welcome out newest member of the #TwineTimeFam: Michelle Englot!
If you want to discuss an experienced field, you need to bring in an experienced player. Englot is just that, experienced and successful! How about this curling resume rock heads:
- 9-time Scotties participant
- 8-time provincial champion
- 7-time Saskatchewan champion
- 1-time Manitoba champion
- Scotties silver medal winner (2017 - Team Manitoba)
- 2-time Scotties bronze medal winner (1988, 1989 - Team Saskatchewan)
- Overall Scotties RR record: 60-39
- Overall Scotties record: 61-42
- Total Scotties games played: 103!!
- 2-time Canadian Olympic Curling trials participant (2001, 2017)
- 2-time #GSOC runner-up (2016 Tour Challenge, 2018 Canadian Open)
- Saskatchewan mixed curling champion (2004)
- Canada Winter Games participant (1983 - Team Saskatchewan)
Quite remarkable, yes? One could almost say, Hall of Fame worthy? A competitive women's curling career spanning over 30 years, Englot has a curling resume many athletes would dream of having. Heck many athletes would dream of having a curling career resume half of what Englot has accomplished.
And, through all this, Englot was also part of a trailblazing era for a new generation of curlers, especially female curlers, in Saskatchewan and Canada. Competing alongside fellow successful Saskatchewan skips Sandra Schmirler and Sherry Anderson (among others) helped set the ice for future generations of female champions in the sport.
Being originally from Saskatchewan myself, this truly was an honour to talk curling with someone I grew up watching with my grandparents. We were fully invested in the Englot vs. Schmirler rivalry and loved watching those provincial final battles. The heart beats strong for curling as a sport but the heart beats a bit extra for #TeamGreen!
The field is set. The ice is pebbled. The crowds are salivating. Time to settle in the hack for a week of great curling, drama, excitement, heartbreak and emotion. Welcome to Sydney, Nova Scotia.
The pools for #STOH2019 will be as follows:
POOL A
POOL B
Remember teams were seeded into their pools based on the qualifying teams CTRS ranking. Ontario (Homan) is the #1 seed with Canada (Jones) the #2 seed. The wildcard team automatically is seeded at #3 regardless of who wins the play-in game Friday night. Interesting to note Newfoundland, Nunavut, Quebec and Yukon accumulated no CTRS points this season and thus were placed in a four-way tie for the final four seeds.
Is Pool A the #PoolOfDeath as many are predicting? Perhaps Pool B is more the #PoolOfOpportunity for a few experienced and popular skips looking to have a break-through Scotties moment. Regardless of how you want to look at it, this is a very experienced field overall with many athletes having been to the big ice before. We have former champions. Current champions. Multi-provincial/territorial champions. And a few rookie teams along the way. This is going to be fun!
But don't take my word on the field alone folks. Time to welcome our newest member to the #TwineTimeFam Michelle Englot and get her take on the field and hear her thought on this whole #PoolOfDeath idea. Who are the favs? Who are the dark horse teams? We also talk about her experience playing in the new format last year as Team Canada. What does she think of the wildcard spot? And who is the Englot pick to hoist the title at the end of the grueling week?
Before we dove into the 2019 field, Englot and I talked about her career in the sport. We discussed "retirement" vs. "leave of absence". A little DYK moment on how Englot got into the sport at a young age. Can you guess which sport she played first? As well as a discussion on the #growthesport era of women's curling in Saskatchewan led by herself, the great Sandra Schmirler and Sherry Anderson. We also have an open and emotional conversation around the 1998 Scotties.
Without further adieu, welcome Michelle Englot into the blog family:
What. An. Interview. What a preview! From personal stories to overcoming personal adversity to honest and candid thoughts on the new format, Englot brought it all to the ice in our conversation.
To summarize, here are the prediction comparisons between our newest #TwineTimeFam member and the blog itself:
Michelle Englot
Favourites: Ontario (Homan), Canada (Jones)
Dark Horse: Saskatchewan (Silvernagle), NWT (Galusha), Northern Ontario (McCarville), Nova Scotia (Brothers)
Bronze Medal: Wildcard (Team Einarson)
SCOTTIES WINNER: Ontario (Team Homan)
#TwineTime
Favourites: Ontario (Homan), Canada (Jones)
Watch Out For: Manitoba (Fleury), Wildcard (Einarson)
#TeamUpset: Nova Scotia (Brothers), NWT (Galusha), B.C. (Wark)
Projected Pool A Standings: 1. Ontario 2. Manitoba 3. Northern Ontario 4. Nova Scotia 5. Alberta 6. B.C. 7. Quebec 8. Nunavut
Projected Pool B Standings: 1. Canada 2. Wildcard 3. Saskatchewan 4. NWT 5. PEI 6. New Brunswick 7. Newfoundland 8. Yukon
Championship Pool Qualifiers: Ontario, Canada, Manitoba, Wildcard, Northern Ontario, Saskatchewan, Nova Scotia, NWT
Page Playoff Qualifiers: Ontario, Canada, Manitoba, Wildcard
Bronze Medal: Manitoba (Fleury)
SCOTTIES WINNER: Ontario (Homan) def. Canada (Jones) - The ultimate #DefendTheIce showdown for the title. The 2018 defending champion versus the 2017 defending champion. While I should point out I would not be surprised to see Manitoba, Wildcard, Northern Ontario or Saskatchewan actually in this final, my heart is aflutter with the story line here of seeing the past two champs battle it out in a one-game decider to see who really can #DefendTheIce!!
What say you rock heads? Agree with the predictions above? Do you think Michelle's experience as a player helped her handicap the field? We want to know who you think will win the coveted #TeamCanada jacket and take home the title in Sydney. Share your thoughts with Michelle and I via social media (P.S. you are already following Michelle Englot on twitter right folks?!?!).
Best of luck as well to Englot competing at the Sask mixed doubles event this weekend. Hopefully we see her qualify for the provincial final next weekend and chase down another #TeamGreen jacket. We never really did get a retirement confirmation at the beginning of that interview did we folks?! We just may be seeing her back on the ice sooner than we thought. Plus she already has a provincial mixed championship under her belt, why not add a provincial mixed doubles title as well to really round out that already impressive resume. Dare we say it...#StayTuned?!
Speaking of #StayTuned, also remember this Sunday (Feb. 17) is the annual Sandra Schmirler Day at the Scotties. We all know the tremendous legacy Schmirler left on the curling community and the sports world and she continues to do so today through the Sandra Schmirler Foundation. There are numerous ways to support this outstanding organization, through personal donations, employer gift matching, the club challenge and more. To find out more about the Sandra Schmirler Foundation and how to give, visit the website HERE. Remember, "Every baby has the chance to grow up and be a champion."
The #TwineTime blog has donated to this great cause every year and will continue to do so this year. Here is the challenge for you rock heads. This blog challenges every one of you to share the message of the Sandra Schmirler Foundation through your social media channels on Sunday. Spread the word of the outstanding work the foundation is doing. AND, the big part of the challenge folks, DONATE!!
I personally challenge YOU to make a donation on Sunday. Be it $5 or $20 or $50 or whatever monetary value you can give, go online or call the telethon number (1.866.210.6011) on Sunday and maybe speak to a competing athlete or legendary curler directly. And, should you take me up on my challenge, hit up social media and share with your followers your support. Challenge your club members, teammates and fellow curling fans to do the same. Let's break some records this year!
A final #StayTuned reminder, just a short drive away from Sydney is Liverpool, Nova Scotia, host of the 2019 World Junior Curling Championships. The #WJCC2019 hits the ice this weekend as well with Team Canada (Team Tardi, Team Sturmay) looking to #DefendTheIce on home...ice?! The #TwineTime blog will have your full preview of the field, along with some eye-opening predictions, sliding from my hack to your house SOON. We also have a #TwineTimeFam member competing!!
To all the athletes competing in Sydney, good luck and good curling!
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