Red Deer’s Jocelyn Peterman is starting the curling season on a new team.
In April, Peterman joined Team Kaitlyn Lawes out of Winnipeg and will play in the upcoming Pointsbet Canada Invitational in Fredericton next month. Also on the team are Selena Njegovan and Kristin MacCuish.
The 28-year-old said there were a lot of changes at the end of the Olympic cycle and many curlers form new teams that time of year.
“We have a goal of getting back to the Olympics in 2026 so we kind of work our curling schedule around the four-year cycle. We form the team now with the goal of hopefully peaking in 2026,” she said.
This weekend was the first event they’ve competed in as a team in Norway and will compete in one more event in Winnipeg before playing in the Pointsbet Canada Invitational on Sept. 21.
The Invitational is a newly created event by Curling Canada that will take place at Willie O’Ree Place in Fredericton with both men’s and women’s tournaments.
It’s unique because of its single-elimination knock-out format but is also enticing because of a potentially big payday. There will be 32 teams competing and each team will win money after every win in the tournament. After a win in the first round, the team will earn $3,000, $6,000 for the quarter-finals, $12,000 in the semi-finals, and $24,000 for the winning team.
Some of the top teams in the sport will be there and Peterman is hoping to make it to the finals.
“It’s a new event that Curling Canada created just to have a bit of a different format to bring some excitement to the game,” she said.
“We’re really excited you know we feel like we have a lot of potential but we also understand that it takes a bit of time to get in the groove and get to know each other but we have high expectations and we’re looking forward to getting started.”
Peterman grew up in Red Deer but moved to Calgary for university after graduating high school in 2011. She lived in Winnipeg for a while before she recently moved to Chestermere.
“I call Red Deer home and I’ve been very fortunate with all the support I’ve had from everyone back home. It’s a big reason why I wanted to move back to Alberta and be closer to my family and my support systems in Red Deer,” Peterman said.
Peterman first got interested in curling after spending so much time at the Red Deer Curling Club with her father who was the ice maker at the arena. She began curling at the age of five because she was with her dad every day after school at the Curling Club.
“It’s always been a family sport and I’ve always loved that aspect of it that anyone can play at any age. It’s a great sport that brings people of any age and ability together and it can be a lot of fun,” Peterman said.
“But then also at our elite level, it’s a great sport that has a lot of opportunities and a lot of opportunities for females. We get a lot of TV time and things like that so it’s been a great sport for me and I’ve been very grateful for all the opportunities I’ve had with it.”
Peterman has competed in some of curling’s highest competitions including her first Olympic Games earlier this year, the Scotties Tournament of Hearts, the World Women’s Curling Championship, the World Mixed Doubles Curling Championship, and many more. Her advice to those who want to compete in curling professionally and at the highest level is to don’t give up and stick with it.
“There are so many opportunities that I don’t think a lot of people know. If they can stick with the sport and find people they enjoy playing with that it’s a great way to be active and have fun but also achieve some pretty cool goals.”