News Tour Challenge

OAKVILLE, Ont. — Calgary skip Kayla Skrlik says it’s well known on her team she really likes the triple knockout bracket format.

Under triple knockout, teams must win three games before they lose three to advance to the playoffs. Although teams don’t always know who or even when they’ll be playing due to the bracket nature, what they don’t have to worry about are draw-to-the-button shootout scores and tiebreakers affecting their chances of qualifying.

The HearingLife Tour Challenge kicks off the Grand Slam of Curling schedule Tuesday in Charlottetown and will feature triple knockout for the first time in the event’s history. 

Consider Skrlik a fan of the switch, especially since her team was eliminated on shootout scores and missed the playoffs in the Tier 2 division of last year’s event.

“It’s nice you get three chances,” Skrlik said following the Stu Sells Oakville Tankard final. “You know you don’t have to draw to the pin to fight with everyone else. Last year at the Slam we went 2-2 and missed on a couple inches the wrong on draw to pins, so it’ll be good to have the triple even though we don’t quite know when we play or who we play.” 

It’ll be Skrlik’s third time competing in the HearingLife Tour Challenge Tier 2, which features teams outside the top 16 on the World Curling Tour’s rankings. Winners of Tier 2 earn a promotion to the top flight as they receive invitations to the Grand Slam of Curling’s WFG Masters event in January plus $5,000 to cover the costs of travel and accommodation.

Making it extra special for Team Skrlik this year is having the event in the home province of lead Geri-Lynn Ramsay, who is originally from Summerside. 

“We always look forward to playing the Tier 2,” said Skrlik, who is currently ranked No. 22 in the world. “It’s in P.E.I., which is Geri’s home province, and hopefully we’re going to bring in a lot of fans with Geri’s family. We’re super excited.”

Skrlik’s lineup was overhauled this off-season following the departure of third Brittany Tran. Not only did they add Margot Flemming, formerly of Kerry Galusha’s Northwest Territories team, but Ramsay and Ashton Skrlik, Kayla’s sister, switched front-end roles.

With all the changes, Team Skrlik began training in late August and also started the season with a busy schedule.

“We were on the ice almost every day to try to get into new positions,” Skrlik said. “Ashton’s playing second for the first time, Geri’s playing lead for the first time and then Margot’s on our team for the first time.

“Geri’s still in the house (as vice skip), which is very nice, some comfort at least, but we needed to get some practice in, which is why we’re playing three bonspiels back-to-back before we take a week off and then another three bonspiels back-to-back. It’s been really nice, really comfortable.”

The team also includes coach Shannon Kleibrink, who skipped Canada to bronze at the 2006 Olympics, and alternate Crystal Webster.

“It’s good our practise is playing off,” Skrlik said. “Shannon and Crystal have been at almost all of our practices, so it’s been super helpful to get [everyone] throwing sort of the same.”

So far, so good as Skrlik opened the season with consecutive runner-up finishes at the Icebreaker Challenge in Morris, Man., and the Stu Sells Oakville Tankard.

The team reached the semifinals of the AMJ Campbell Shorty Jenkins Classic in Cornwall, Ont., and made it to another final at the PointsBet Invitational at home in Calgary. Both times Skrlik ran into Team Rachel Homan with the world No. 1 emerging victorious.

Skrlik is seeded eighth in the HearingLife Tour Challenge Tier 2 and will play No. 9 Team Madeleine Dupont of Denmark during opening-round action Tuesday. 

[Editor’s Note: This article was originally published Sept. 13 and has been updated with more results.]