Territories shut out of Scotties curling tournament for 2nd year

For the second year in a row,there will be no northern teams competing in the Scotties Tournament of Hearts, which started Saturdayin Grande Prairie, Alta.

Under a format introduced last year, the bottom four teams must compete in a pre-qualifying round for one final spot in the main draw.

This year the four teams, based on their performance at last year's championship, were Northwest Territories, Yukon and British Columbia, along with Nunavut, which made its first appearance at the event.

During the pre-qualifying round, Yukon and Nunavut finished with 1-2 records while B.C. and N.W.T. both ended with two wins andone loss.

That set the stage for Saturday afternoon's showdown between Karla Thompson's rink from B.C. and the foursome from Yellowknife, skipped by Kerry Galusha. It was Galusha's 13th appearance in the competition.

After trying to play catch-up to team Thompson all game,Galushafell to Team B.C. with a final score of8-5. That means B.C. advancesto the Scotties' round robin.

There wasat least onepositive note for the territories in the pre-qualifying round. Team Nunavutpicked up its first ever win inthe opening gameagainst B.C.

Curling Canadasays it will change the rules for the Scotties Tournament of Hearts and the TimHortonsBrier in 2018.Under the new format,all the territories and provinces will have a direct entry into the competition.