The combination of Rachel Homan and Tracy Fleury starts successfully for Ontario at Hearts

curling

Canadian press

Donna Spencer

Posted February 19, 2023 • 3 minute read

Join the conversation. Ontario fourth-placed Rachel Homan delivers a skirt while playing against Newfoundland at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts in Kamloops, BC on Saturday February 18, 2023. Photo by DARRYL DYCK / THE CANADIAN PRESS

KAMLOOPS, BC – Rachel Homan’s experiment got off to a successful start at the Canadian Women’s Curling Championship on Saturday.

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Eyebrows raised when one of Canada’s most decorated skips presented the broom to another woman ahead of this season.

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With Tracy Fleury providing the shots and Homan throwing fourth stones, Ontario’s first game of the Scotties Tournament of Hearts was a 12–3 win over Stacie Curtis of Newfoundland and Labrador.

“It’s just amazing to bring another phenomenal, experienced skip to the team and a lot of great curling IQ out there,” Homan said after the win.

“It helps get more shots, get more opinions, and get the right shot every time.”

The Wildcard 1 team of defending champion Kerri Einarson and Kaitlyn Lawes – both from Manitoba – were 2-0 after wins on Saturday night.

Einarson defeated BC’s Clancy Grandy 9-4 while Lawes edged Nova Scotiaist Christina Black 6-5.

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BC and Nova Scotia fell to 1-1 alongside Prince Edward Island’s Suzanne Birt and Saskatchewan’s Robyn Silvernagle.

PEI won 10-2 against Nunavut’s Brigitte MacPhail.

Silvernagle won 11-9 in an extra end against Alberta’s Kayla Skrlik.

Northern Ontario’s Krista McCarville, Northwest Territories’ Kerry Galusha and Casey Scheidegger’s wild card 2 team drew Ontario 1-0 with afternoon wins.

Six-time champion Jennifer Jones of Manitoba, who lost 11-8 to McCarville in a seesaw match, Meghan Hunter’s Wildcard 3 team, Andrea Kelly of New Brunswick, Laurie St-Georges of Quebec and Curtis of Newfoundland all went 0-1 in the lead on Sunday.

Nunavut and Alberta fell back to 0-2.

While a team’s name is generally the curler who jumps, Ontario’s foursome has chosen to remain Team Homan, which is a name with considerable curling influence.

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Homan skipped teams to three Canadian championships – reaching the finals in three others – a world championship and an Olympic Trials victory to wear the Maple Leaf at the 2018 Winter Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea.

She and John Morris represented Canada in the Olympic mixed doubles in Beijing last year.

Fleury, from Sudbury, Ontario, came within a hair’s breadth of representing Canada at women’s curling in Beijing.

Jones stole a point in an extra end to beat Fleury in the Trials finals in Saskatoon.

Fleury, Liz Fyfe, Selena Njegovan and Kristin MacCuish made the playoffs of last year’s Hearts before the world No. 2 team disbanded.

While front-end player Joanne Courtney was taking a breather from curling, Homan recruited Fleury to take shots and throw third stones, shifting longtime runner-up Emma Miskew to second.

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Homan placed second in both Canada and the world behind Einarson on the way to Hearts.

“We knew Tracy was the whole package,” Homan said. “Amazing attitude, amazing shooter, she has great accuracy. She can do softweight shots.

“She is an all-round player who can be used anywhere. We found a great spot for them to lead the crew and keep us in check and it was great.”

The move meant a reallocation of Homan’s one-game curling energies.

“It just changes your roles and responsibilities on the ice. I don’t think it released anything,” said the 33-year-old from Ottawa.

“In a way, I let her take the reins of strategy. It doesn’t use all my energy. I use a bit more with sweeping and judging and help the other girls get their shots in the hack.

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“It was really fun to focus on different areas and challenge yourself in different ways.”

Homan and Fleury was key in getting to this year’s Hearts to establish effective on-ice communications.

“Just being open and honest with each other, learning from each other, learning each other’s strengths, we feel like we’re going to get stronger as the season goes on,” Fleury said.

And then there’s the sweeping, which Homan does often for the first time in her career.

“We train every year, but just a little bit more focused to make sure different muscles are strengthened a little bit more than others and try to avoid injury, right?” Homann said.

“I haven’t done a long 10-end event before. The provincials were quite long but I know this is a bit longer and I know it’s going to be a tough week.”

Curtis, shaking hands after eight laps at the Sandman Center, saved Homans fuel and gave pregnant leading lady Sarah Wilkes a breather.

Wilkes sat out the sixth and seventh ends, giving alternative Kira Brunton some replays.

“We were happy with the game we put together today,” Fleury said. “My teammates played very well. We feel like we have a good handle on the ice.

“The ice is really good out there. We found what it does, which builds trust.”

This report from The Canadian Press was first published on February 18, 2023.

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