News Tour Challenge

Get to know the teams set to compete in the Tour Challenge Tier 1 women’s division taking place Nov. 6-11 at Tournament Centre in Thunder Bay, Ont.

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Tier 1: Men’s Teams | Women’s Teams
Tier 2: Men’s Teams | Women’s Teams

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Team Carey

Edmonton, AB | Carey claimed her first title in the Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling at the Meridian Canadian Open last season. Wilkes is the 2017 Humpty’s Champions Cup winner as a super spare on Team Homan. Ferguson is a three-time GSOC title winner including the past two Tour Challenge Tier 1 championships when she played with Team Sweeting. Rogers is subbing for Rachel Brown.

Team Christensen

Chaska, USA | Christensen is a four-time U.S. junior champion and earned silver at the 2016 world juniors. She served as the alternate for Team Roth at the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics. Persinger captured the Players’ Championship with Team Sinclair last season.

Team Einarson

Gimli, MB | Team Einarson has been on fire to start the season. The all-new crew captured their first title together at the Stu Sells Oakville Tankard shutting out Team Tirinzoni in the final and beat Team Jones in the championship game of the Curlers Corner Autumn Gold Curling Classic. Einarson finished runner-up to Jones at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts last season.

Team Flaxey

Winnipeg, MB | Flaxey, who lives in Caledon East, Ont., now skips a team in her former province. Cameron and Westcott previously played with Team Englot and earned silver at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts for Manitoba in 2017. McDonald, winner of the 2014 world junior title, made the move from Edmonton’s Team Rocque.

Team Fleury

East St. Paul, MB | The Sudbury, Ont., native Fleury has linked up with Kerri Einarson’s former teammates. Njegovan, Fyfe and MacCuish captured a pair of Tour Challenge Tier 2 titles plus the Boost National with Team Einarson. They finished runner-up to Team Jones at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts last season.

Team Homan

Ottawa, ON | The 2018 Canadian Olympic Team finished last season winning its seventh title in the Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling at the Humpty’s Champions Cup. Homan is also a three-time Scotties Tournament of Hearts winner with a medal of every colour at the world championship including gold in 2017. They finished runner-up at the inaugural Tour Challenge Tier 1 in 2015.

Team Jones

Winnipeg, MB | Jones won two Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling events last season and earned the Pinty’s Cup. Peterman, who captured the 2018 Meridian Canadian Open with Team Carey, has taken over at second after Jill Officer decided to step back from competitive curling. Jones is the 2014 Olympic gold medallist and reigning world champion.

Team McCarville

Thunder Bay, ON | McCarville has represented Northern Ontario twice at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts finishing runner-up in 2016 and fourth in 2017. She also competed for Ontario four times earning bronze in 2010. Team McCarville opened the season winning the KW Fall Classic.

Team Robertson

Winnipeg, MB | Robertson is a three-time provincial champion. Her current squad has finished runner-up at the past two Manitoba Scotties tournaments. They won the Goldline Icebreaker at the Granite and Colonial Square Ladies Classic to start the season.

Team Roth

Chaska, USA | Team Roth beat out Team Sinclair to represent the U.S. at the 2018 Winter Olympics. It was double duty for Hamilton in Pyeongchang, South Korea, as she also played in the mixed doubles competition with her brother, Matt Hamilton. Roth is a two-time U.S. national champion.

Team Scheidegger

Lethbridge, AB | Scheidegger made her Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling top-tier debut at the 2017 Meridian Canadian Open and what a debut it was. After starting 1-2, Scheidegger didn’t lose another game, winning five straight to capture her first Grand Slam. The team finished runner-up to Team Jones at the Boost National last season.

Team Sinclair

Chaska, USA | Sinclair is the double defending U.S. national champion and finished fourth at the world championship last season. They became the first American-based squad to capture a Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling title at the 2018 Players’ Championship. Sinclair, who is a dual citizen from Manotick, Ont., won the 2007 Canada Winter Games gold medal and 2014 Canadian university championship.

Team Tirinzoni

Aarau, SUI | Tirinzoni, who skips while throwing third now, is the winner of the inaugural Tour Challenge Tier 1 (2015). The Swiss squad finished runner-up to Team Hasselborg to start the Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling season at the Princess Auto Elite 10. It was the first final in the series for Paetz and Barbezat, who both joined the team after previously skipping their own squads.

Team Walker

Edmonton, AB | Walker previously played third for Team Rocque and returned to her skip roots this season. Overton-Clapham and Peters won the Meridian Canadian Open last season with Team Carey, while Olson-Johns earned back-to-back Tour Challenge Tier 1 titles during her tenure with Team Sweeting.

Team Wrana

Stockholm, SWE | Wrana is the 2017 world junior champion and picked up her first World Curling Tour title in September at the Shorty Jenkins Classic. They earned silver at the world juniors last season. Wahlin has served as the alternate for Team Hasselborg capturing Olympic gold and world championship silver medals earlier this year.