One of Alberta’s most prolific curlers is hoping to rekindle some magic in the Stampede City.
Okotoks skip Shannon Kleibrink makes her bid for a fifth Alberta Scotties Tournament of Hearts Championship at the North Hill Curling Club next week with all four of her previous titles won on Calgary and area sheets.
“There is an experience factor,” she said. “However, the young teams are putting in so much time now and so much practice that they have the upper-hand right now because they’ve been playing in all of the big events.
“We just have to go in and hope that experience counts for something.”
The 2006 Olympic bronze medallist, Kleibrink has qualified for all but three provincial championships since first appearing at the Scotties in 1986.
She last won the Scotties patch in 2011 at the Calgary Winter Club.
The veteran skip along with Lisa Eyamie at third have been joined by a new front-end this year in second Sarah Wilkes and lead Alison Kotylak.
“We have two new young players from Edmonton that are really top calibre players which has been part of our success,” the skip said. “They’re in their early 20s and have added some new life to the team and a little bit of excitement.
“We haven’t played a lot this year. We haven’t put much time on the ice, but we’ve landed in provincials so we’re doing our best to get ready in the next couple weeks.”
Despite limited playing time, the new foursome has made the most of its time on the ice.
Team Kleibrink polished off four top-five finishes on the World Curling Tour, highlighted by a third-place showing at the Boundary Ford Curling Classic in Lloydminster, prior to its breakthrough performance at the southern playdowns.
Team Kleibrink swept the field en route to the A-title in a dominant showing at southerns in Olds last month to earn the first of three qualifications from the event.
The team dispatched Calgary’s Rebecca Stretch along with Lethbridge’s Kalynn Park and Jodi Marthaller on a perfect weekend in central Alberta.
“We clicked. We really like the ice in Olds and happened to get three straight wins,” Kleibrink said.
“There are four big teams that have automatic berths to provincials that weren’t there.
“Those will be the teams that are tough to beat.”
Chief among the top contenders at provincials is two-time defending champion Vegreville Val Sweeting along with former world junior champ Kelsey Rocque out of Edmonton, the prolific Chelsea Carey rink out of Calgary and Alberta Scotties veteran Casey Scheidegger out of Lethbridge.
Kleibrink, the fifth-ranked team at the Alberta Scotties, has her opening draw on Jan. 20 at 9:30 a.m. versus the 12th ranked Trisha James rink out of Fairview. The winner faces Scheidegger at 6:30 p.m.
For more information on the event go to northhillcurlingclub.ca
