The first game will be a test of mettle. But, in Patti Knezevic's view, so will all the rest.
Knezevic and her team of Brenda Garvey, Chelan Cotter and Rhonda Camozzi start play at the B.C. Scotties Tournament of Hearts women's provincial curling championship today at the Cloverdale Curling Club. In Knezevic's opening game, she'll face defending champion Kelly Scott, holder of two national titles (2006 and 2007) and one world crown (2007).
"I think they'll all be tough ones," Knezevic said. "I think we'll have to be sharp for the entire week. We're definitely going to have to come out on top of our game right out of the gate. As far as the ice goes, I think it will be the same for all. It will be their first game and ours. We just have to go in and be sharp and throw smart."
Knezevic and Scott will take to the ice at noon. In today's second draw, at 7:30 p.m., Knezevic will face Nicole Backe. Scott is a Kelowna resident and Backe is from Nanaimo. In total, 10 rinks are competing for the championship, including Jennifer Fewster of Prince George (see other story).
Knezevic is a veteran of the provincial bonspiel. She advanced to the final in 2005 and 2007 but lost both times. In 2005, the setback came against Scott, 7-6 in an extra end. In 2007, Knezevic fell 10-4 to another former Canadian and world champion, Kelley Law.
Knezevic's present-day team is completely different than the 2005 and 2007 editions. Those years, she played alongside Tracey Jones, Kay-Lynn Thompson and Melinda Kotsch, all from Prince George. In Knezevic's current lineup, Garvey and Cotter are from Kamloops and Camozzi is a fellow P.G. product.
Knezevic landed in the Scotties by winning the B event in the second of two interior qualifiers. That victory was in Williams Lake in December, against Jones. Since then, Knezevic and company haven't had the chance to practice much so they arrived in the Lower Mainland early and threw stones Saturday in Richmond.
"They have beautiful ice in Richmond and we felt great," Knezevic said. "We've put in a lot of time leading up to this so I feel very pleased and content with that. I do feel that we are prepared. It will be an interesting journey because the playoff format changed. We'll see how it goes, but I think it will be a tighter field than ever before because of the format change."
This year, the B.C. Scotties is using a four-team Page playoff system. The first- and second-place teams from round robin will clash on Friday night, and the third- and fourth-place rinks will do battle on Saturday morning. The winner of the 1 vs. 2 game will advance directly to Sunday's final, while the loser of the 1 vs. 2 game will face the winner of the 3 vs. 4 game in a Saturday night semifinal.
The B.C. champion will represent the province at the national Scotties Tournament of Hearts, Feb. 19-27 in Charlottetown, P.E.I. Worlds are March 18-27 in Esbjerg, Denmark.
