
There was significant curling news on Friday. According to Devin Heroux of CBC Sports, Karlee Burgess of Truro, Nova Scotia is joining Team Einarson for the rest of the 2024-25 curling season. The addition was made because Einarson’s regular second, Shannon Birchard of Winnipeg, Manitoba, is out with a knee injury that is preventing her from competing at full health.
The fact that Burgess all of a sudden joined Einarson’s squad is significant news. That is because Burgess was the third for Chelsea Carey’s team based out of Winnipeg. Due to the fact that Burgess left Carey’s team, this means Carey will no longer get one of the three wildcard spots for the 2025 Scotties Tournament of Hearts in Thunder Bay, Ontario. Under Curling Canada rules, three of the four players needed to be retained from the previous year to be eligible for a wildcard team at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts. Carey was the new addition when Canadian Olympic gold medalist Jennifer Jones of Winnipeg, Manitoba retired.
The new wildcard team in Thunder Bay is skipped by Selena Sturmay of Edmonton, Alberta, as she was the next best team from the Canadian Team Ranking Standings. The other two wildcard teams are skipped by Einarson and Kaitlyn Lawes of Winnipeg, Manitoba.