As a Canadian women’s curling championship competitor in four different decades, Michelle Englot will feel right at home as part of the veteran-laden 2012 Scotties Tournament of Hearts field.
The 48-year-old Saskatchewan champion will make her eighth Scotties appearance and seventh as a an active player — she attended one event as a fifth — since 1987 and will be part of an impressive group in this year’s national championship Feb. 18-26 at the Centrium.
“There is definitely a strong group of curlers coming (to Red Deer),” said Englot, who skipped her Regina foursome to the Saskatchewan title Jan. 29 in Humboldt. “There’s a lot of returning players and returning champions, people who have tons of experience.
“There are not many rookies in the field.”
Indeed, the Centrium crowds will watch the likes of Kelowna’s Kelly Scott, who will make her seventh Scotties appearance — and fifth as a B.C. champion — and Jennifer Jones of Winnipeg, who recently captured her fifth Manitoba title. Both are former Canadian and world champions; Jones, in fact, is a four-time national champ.
Quebec will be represented by the foursome headed by Marie-France Larouche, who lost the 2004 final at the Centrium to Colleen Jones of Halifax. Larouche has played in five other Scotties events.
Meanwhile, Heather Strong of St. John’s will represent Newfoundland and Labrador for the 10th time and Yellowknife skip Kerry Galusha will make her 10th appearance in the annual affair.
The rest of the Maritimes field consists of four-time Nova Scotia champ Heather Smith-Dacey of Halifax, rookie New Brunswick skip Rebecca Atkinson of Oromocot, whose third, Andrea Kelly, has been on the national stage on four previous occasions, and Kim Dolan of Charlottetown. Dolan will make her 12th Scotties appearance in Red Deer, while third Rebecca-Jean MacDonald will play in the Scotties for a seventh time.
Heather Nedohin of Edmonton skipped her team to the Alberta crown at Leduc and will make her fifth Scotties appearance. She is also a former world junior champion.
Amber Holland of Kronau, Sask., won the national championship in her fourth appearance last year and her foursome returns as Team Canada, while Sudbury’s Tracy Horgan is the lone true rookie in this year’s Scotties as the skip of the youthful Ontario championship rink.
The 2012 Scotties Tournament of Hearts opens Feb. 18 with draws at 1 and 6 p.m. The Feb. 19 draws are set for 8:30 a.m., 1:30 and 6:30 p.m., with round-robin draws at 8:30 a.m., 1:30 and 7:30 p.m. scheduled for the next four days.
Tie-breakers, if necessary, and a Page playoff game will be played Feb. 24 and will be followed on the weekend by a second Page playoff game, a semifinal and the bronze-medal game and championship final.
gmeachem@www.reddeeradvocate.com