Lucas Punkari
After falling one game short a year ago, Judy LaBelle is hoping to use a little home-ice advantage at this year’s senior provincial women’s playdowns, which get underway tomorrow at the Fort Frances Curling Club.
LaBelle’s rink made it to the final last year in Blind River, where they fell 9-2 to Sudbury’s Vicky Barrett in six ends, leaving them on the outside looking in for a berth to the national playdowns.
“I think last year’s event helped us out a lot,” LaBelle noted.
“It helped us realize what it takes to be involved in a competition like this, and it also showed us what we need in order to be successful at this level,” she added.
LaBelle, 57, is rejoined by her vice-skip from a year ago, Mary Beth Tkachuk, but has a new front end in Teresa McFayden at second and Kris Sinclair at lead.
“We’re a pretty well-versed team,” LaBelle remarked.
“We play well on both defence and offence, so I think that we have a pretty good team.”
Also representing Fort Frances this weekend will be the Roz Broman rink, who will battle it out against five other teams for the provincial crown.
“They’re a really good team, as well, so they should do really well this weekend,” LaBelle said of Broman’s crew.
“There’s sometimes a little bit more pressure when your competing at home, but I think having the home ice should give us a little bit of an advantage,” LaBelle added.
Meanwhile, six men’s rinks also will be vying for provincial supremacy here this weekend, looking to represent Northern Ontario at the Canadian senior playdowns March 19-26 in Digby, N.S.
No local rink qualified on the men’s side.
The provincials will run through Sunday, with both the men’s and women’s finals getting underway at 1 p.m. that day.
