Team Galusha to represent N.W.T. at Tournament of Hearts curling championships

Julia Peterson · CBC News

· Posted: Jan 10, 2022 3:07 PM EST | Last Updated: January 10, 2022

It's authoritative — Team Galusha volition beryllium representing the N.W.T. astatine the 2022 Scotties Tournament of Hearts. 

Kerry Galusha, on with teammates Jo-Ann Rizzo, Margot Flemming and Sarah Koltun, and manager Shona Barbour, are heading to Thunder Bay aboriginal this period to vie for the accidental to correspond Canada astatine the women's satellite curling championship. 

As her squad prepared for the N.W.T. women's curling championship, scheduled to beryllium held connected Jan. 5 successful Inuvik, Galusha was disquieted astir much than conscionable earning a spot successful the Scotties.

Some squad members had precocious traveled, and did not privation to hazard spreading COVID-19 by going into a tiny community. And if anybody got sick, would they adjacent beryllium capable to tract a afloat team?

"It was beauteous stressful, trying to marque definite nary 1 was exposed," said Galusha.

However, the time earlier the title was scheduled to begin, the territorial authorities announced a slate of caller nationalist wellness orders. The restrictions connected indoor sports and gatherings forced NWT Curling to cancel the tournament.

"Of people we did not privation for that to happen, but we besides recognize that with the accelerated dispersed of the Omicron [variant], this was thing the [government of the Northwest Territories] had to enact to guarantee that radical are kept safe," said Janie Hobart, contention manager for NWT Curling. 

She added that arsenic past year's territorial champions, Team Galusha earned the accidental to correspond the N.W.T astatine the Scotties erstwhile again. 

"As soon arsenic the lawsuit was cancelled, we knew we were going — and it was a relief," said Galusha. "Of course, our squad was truly happy. We're ever excited to correspond the North."

Galusha archetypal represented the N.W.T. arsenic a skip astatine the 2001 Tournament of Hearts, and has led her squad to the nationalist signifier dozens of times since.

'Hefty goals'

This year, Galusha said the squad has immoderate "hefty goals" for the competition; close now, they person their eyes connected the title round. 

"We're excited," she said. "We're competitors, and we person a mates of weeks to prepare."

But successful 2022, that mentation looks rather antithetic than normal. The aforesaid nationalist wellness orders that scuttled the tourney successful Inuvik person besides closed the Yellowknife Curling Centre, wherever Team Galusha trains. 

And though Galusha said this "affects our grooming a lot," she added galore different teams crossed the state are successful the aforesaid boat, and is assured that her squad volition beryllium acceptable to deed the crystal successful Thunder Bay astatine the extremity of the month. 

"There are a batch of things you tin bash to prepare," she said. "It's not like, if you don't signifier for a week, you suffer each your curling ability. So we person to retrieve that and effort not to panic astir 'oh my gosh, we don't person ice, this is going to beryllium a disaster.' 

"There's a batch of different things we tin do."

For now, Team Galusha is focused connected staying healthy, getting tons of sleep, moving connected intelligence mentation and studying videos from erstwhile competitions. 

And adjacent though this was not the way she and her teammates had expected to instrumentality to the Scotties this year, Galusha said they are delighted to beryllium going.

"It's ever an honour to correspond the N.W.T., and it's truly peculiar to us," she said. "We ne'er instrumentality it for granted."