Dawn McEwen to fill in on Kerri Einarson’s team at HearingLife Tour Challenge
Dawn McEwen will join Kerri Einarson’s team this week for the HearingLife Tour Challenge as second Shannon Birchard recovers from a knee injury.
McEwen was the longtime lead for skip Jennifer Jones and captured Olympic gold, two world titles, five Canadian championships plus eight titles in the Grand Slam of Curling series during her career.
She represented Canada for a second time at the Olympics in 2022 with Team Jones and stepped back from competitive curling after the season.
McEwen subbed on Team Einarson during the 2023 Champions Cup as lead Briane Harris was on maternity leave. Team Einarson finished runner-up at that event.
Einarson said she’s excited McEwen has come out of retirement again to play with them.
“We know how she is,” Einarson said after Monday’s practice. “She’s super easy-going and very chill on the ice, very supportive. She’ll be a great addition to our team.”
Alternate Krysten Karwacki is in at lead for Harris, who is appealing her provisional suspension for testing positive for a banned substance with a decision expected to be announced soon.
Birchard has yet to play this season. Einarson, Karwacki and third Val Sweeting competed as a trio during the Saville Shootout three weeks ago in Edmonton. Laura Walker filled in this past weekend at the PointsBet Invitational in Calgary.
The HearingLife Tour Challenge begins Tuesday at Charlottetown’s Bell Aliant Centre. Einarson’s first game is during Draw 3 against Italy’s Team Stefania Constantini.
