Team Fleury going separate ways after season
Team Tracy Fleury’s time together has come to an end.
The Sudbury, Ont., squad announced Monday on social media they’re splitting up.
“Sustaining a highly competitive curling career and balancing life’s commitments over a long period of time is a challenge and although we love competing in this sport together, we will sadly be going our separate ways,” the team said in the post adding it may be the end of the road for some of the players or open the door for new opportunities.
— Team Fleury! (@Team_Fleury) February 12, 2018
Fleury and her sister, third Jennifer Wylie, have played with second Jenna Walsh and lead Amanda Gates on tour for eight seasons. Calgary’s Crystal Webster joined in 2015 with the club employing a five-player rotation. That allowed them to cycle through the lineup as needed and compete in more tournaments when one player couldn’t make it.
Their best result in the Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling was a runner-up finish at the 2015 National in Oshawa, Ont.
Team Fleury unleashed their arsenal during the 2016-17 season as the runaway winner of the Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling’s Sick Shot Challenge. Fleury scored top points for a double spin-a-rama, recreating the Hackner double, recreating Mike McEwen’s magic shot from the 2014 Masters, draw to the button from across the sheets and more.
The Fleury team made three appearances in the Scotties Tournament of Hearts. Their first trip came as Ontario in 2012 and they became the first to represent Northern Ontario when the region was granted its own berth in 2015.
After falling to Team Krista McCarville in the previous two Northern Ontario finals, Fleury was the victor this year to return to the Scotties Tournament of Hearts. It was Fleury’s best result at the Canadian women’s curling championship qualifying for the playoffs and finishing fourth.