Despite losing in the semifinals of the Manitoba Scotties, Winnipeg's Team Kaitlyn Lawes will be in Kamloops for February's Scotties Tournament of Hearts as Wild Card 1, Curling Canada has confirmed.
The team will also play with an adjusted lineup as Laura Walker will fill in for third Selena Njegovan, who is due to give birth to her first child in March.
In a release, Curling Canada said Njegovan was granted a pregnancy leave.
"Teams in the top five of the CTRS standings were eligible to apply for a pregnancy exemption that allowed them to add a free agent player for the national Scotties who didn’t participate in their provincial/territorial playdowns," Curling Canada said in a release. "The exemption applied only to top five teams because their ability to replace a player with someone with an equal level of ability and commitment is limited."
Lisa Weagle, who is focusing on mixed doubles this season, is coming on board as a coach.
With Selena nearing her due date, Laura Walker will be stepping into the hack as spare. The plan is to have Selena there supporting alongside our Coach Lisa Weagle. pic.twitter.com/Zq92LzELWN
— Team Lawes (@TeamKLawes) January 31, 2023
Ranked fourth in Canada, Team Lawes lost to Team Meghan Walter, 8-5, in the semis of the Manitoba Scotties this past weekend. Six-time Scotties champion Jill Officer filled in for Njegovan at that event.
Walker, who has made three Scotties appearances as a skip, took a step away from four-person curling this year, but spared for Lawes in a few events earlier this season when Lawes was nearing her due date.
Alberta's Team Casey Scheidegger will be Wild Card 2 while Team Walter will represent Wild Card 3.
Did somebody say WILDCARD? ♥️♣️♦️♠️
— SCHEIDEGGER CURLING (@teamscheidegger) January 30, 2023
What an emotional last week it’s been. We’re so excited to be heading to the Scotties Tournament of Hearts as TEAM WILDCARD 2! pic.twitter.com/mJETS0ghpS
Check out the full list of playdown winners, HERE.
