With the 2025 Montana’s Canadian Curling Trials quickly approaching, TSN.ca will profile one men’s team and one women’s team each day before the first rocks fly on Nov. 22 at the Scotiabank Centre in Halifax.
Team Kate Cameron
Lineup
Skip: Kate Cameron (Age 34)
Third/Vice-Skip: Briane Harris (33)
Second: Taylor McDonald (32)
Lead: Mackenzie Elias (25)
Alternate: TBD
Coach: Derek Samagalski
Curling Club: St. Adolphe Curling Club
2025-26 Season
Events: 7 Record: 20-14 World Ranking: 21st
Highlights: Team Cameron qualified for the playoffs in five of their seven events this season, including a pair of finals. They fell to Team Kayla MacMillan in the Icebreaker Challenge final back in late August and Team Lisa McLeod in the final of the MCT Curling Club in mid-October.
How They Qualified
Qualified via their two-year total (2023-25) on the Canadian Team Ranking System (CTRS).
Trials Schedule
Nov. 22 – Rachel Homan
Nov. 23 – Kerri Einarson, Selena Sturmay
Nov. 24 – Kayla Skrlik
Nov. 25 – Kaitlyn Lawes, Corryn Brown
Nov. 26 – Christina Black
Expert Analysis from TSN’s Cathy Gauthier
Team Cameron will have a successful week at the Canadian Curling Trials if...
“Briane Harris slides into comfort in her new position at third. Kate dialing in draw weight is a key. The hitting is in her DNA.”
Team Story
Kate Cameron and her rink from small-town St. Adolphe, Man., were plenty busy during the fall bonspiel season in preparation for November’s Canadian Curling Trials.
The busy schedule, featuring seven events played in less than three months, could partly be attributed to finding chemistry with new teammate Briane Harris. Team Cameron added the former Team Kerri Einarson lead as their third for this season.
Harris missed the 2024-25 curling campaign after she was suspended on the opening day of the 2024 Scotties Tournament of Hearts for testing positive for a banned substance called Ligandrol. In January of 2025, the Court of Arbitration for Sport announced Harris “bears no fault or negligence for the violation” and was eligible to return to competition.
Despite her time on Team Einarson ending awkwardly, Harris says she became a better curler during those years, a run highlighted by four straight national titles.
“I grew as a player and I’m really grateful for all of that, the experience and everything that I got to take from it,” Harris told The Canadian Press regarding her time with Team Einarson. “And now I get to take all that and apply it to Team Cameron.
“Hopefully I can be a good addition to their team and take us to that next level.”
With the controversy now in the rear-view mirror, Harris and Team Cameron will look to make some noise at the Trials as the fifth highest-ranked team in the field.
Cameron and second Taylor McDonald played for Laura Walker at the 2021 Trials in Regina, missing the playoffs with a 3-5 record. Harris and Team Einarson also missed the playoffs after failing to beat Team Krista McCarville in a tiebreaker.
The 34-year-old Cameron finished third at the 2024 Scotties in Calgary before going 4-4 last year in Thunder Bay.
Team Cameron went 1-3 at the PointsBet Invitational in Calgary and own a 4-5 record total record against Trials teams this season.
In Halifax, Team Rachel Homan seems to be the only true playoff lock, giving Cameron and company a chance at the other two playoff spots. They’ll have to manage a difficult start as they take on Team Homan and Team Einarson to begin their week.
With just a seven-game round robin at this year’s Trials, an 0-2 start will leave not much (if any) room for error the rest of the way for Team Cameron.
