Scotties Field Complete

The 14 teams that will compete for the Scotties Tournament of Hearts Canadian Women’s Curling Championship have now been determined.

Moncton’s Sylvie Robichaud claimed her second New Brunswick women’s championship on Sunday in Fredericton Junction, beating Fredericton’s Melissa Adams 7-6 in the final thanks to a 10th-end deuce

With the win, Robichaud will join third Rebecca Atkinson, second Marie Richard, lead Jane Boyle and coach Ellery Robichaud at Mosaic Place in Moose Jaw, Sask., when the Scotties round-robin draw gets underway on Feb. 14.

It will be Robichaud’s second crack at the Scotties; in 2008 at Regina, she skipped New Brunswick to a 1-10 record.

The New Brunswick team will join an immensely talented field in Moose Jaw, led by two-time defending champion Rachel Homan and her Team Canada foursome from Ottawa; reigning Olympic champion Jennifer Jones and her team from Manitoba; and 2014 Scotties runner-up and newly crowned Home Hardware Canada Cup champion Val Sweeting of Alberta.

The Scotties will be preceded for the first time by a a pre-qualifying round to determine the final entry into the 12-team main draw.

Team Canada is joined in the main draw by the 10 teams with the best combined records in the previous three Scotties, meaning first-time participant Northern Ontario, along with the Yukon and Northwest Territories will play off for the 12th and final berth. Nunavut declined an opportunity to participate.

Northern Ontario, the Yukon and the Northwest Territories will play a single round-robin at Mosaic Place, with the teams with the two best records advancing to the play-in game, which will be contested Saturday, Feb. 14, at 2 p.m. (all times Central), concurrent with the opening draw of the Scotties round-robin. Admission to the pre-qualifying rounds is free.

The schedule for the pre-qualifying round:

Thursday, Feb. 12
7 p.m. — Northwest Territories vs. Northern Ontario
Friday, Feb. 13
8 a.m. — Northern Ontario vs. Yukon
3:30 p.m. — Yukon vs. Northwest Territories
Saturday, Feb. 14
2 p.m. — Pre-qualifying final

(Canadian Curling Association)