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Curling skip Jim Sias is trying not to get too excited just yet.

The 38-year-old led his team to victory at the local men鈥檚 Travelers Curling Club Championships last weekend, his fifth attempt at the title.

However, he and rinkmates Greg Thompson (third), Lee Malanchuk (second) and Brad Wilson (lead) may still need to square off with teams from the communities 鈥� including Atlin, B.C. 鈥� in order to represent the Yukon at the national event at the Ottawa Hunt and Golf Club in November.

While potential opposition rinks haven鈥檛 yet been announced, the Yukon Travelers Curling Club Championships is scheduled to occur March 5 to 8 in Whitehorse.

鈥淭hat鈥檚 the thing,鈥� Sias said. 鈥淎t this point, we鈥檙e not getting overly excited because there still is probably a territorial competition we have to win. But we鈥檙e feeling happy to win the club event, because it is hard.

鈥淚鈥檝e been interested in the Travelers for a while, because I think it鈥檚 more the level our team is at.鈥�

Sias鈥� rink went 4-0 in last weekend鈥檚 playdowns, beating rival teams led by Ray Mikkelsen, Matt Johnson, Walter Wallingham and Tyler Williams. Games were held on Saturday and Sunday.

鈥淚 wouldn鈥檛 say we were dominant, but we didn鈥檛 lose any games,鈥濃�圫ias said. 鈥淲e had three really close games that could have gone either way.鈥�

Sias outlasted Mikkelsen, Wallingham and Williams in tight contests, and had a bit of an easier go against Johnson, thanks to a rare six-ender to open that game.

On the other hand, the win over Williams took an extra end to decide.

鈥淭hat was our last game, so it could have forced a tiebreaker,鈥� Sias explained. 鈥淭yler was 2-1 going into that game and we were 3-0, so if he had won, it would have forced a tiebreaker game.鈥�

Facing two stones, Sias鈥� first shot drew to the four-foot 鈥� and stood up to be the winner, 7-6, as Williams came up light with his last attempt.

Sias and company curl together in the Tuesday Night Super League. None of the team members have ever attended a national competition.

On the women鈥檚 side, the Smallwood name was once again in the winner鈥檚 circle, this time courtesy of skip Jody Smallwood.

The 38-year-old topped the field of three rinks, edging out both Laura Eby and Leslie Grant for the honour.

Smallwood鈥檚 rink dropped their first game against Grant, but came back to beat them twice to win the double-knockout format event.

Joining Smallwood as champions are rinkmates April Williams (third), Joan Hyrve (second) and Laura Williamson (lead).

The team plays in the Thursday Night League at the Whitehorse club.

Smallwood鈥檚 husband, Bob Smallwood, will represent the Yukon at the Brier this year.

Jody Smallwood and Hyrve previously represented the Yukon at the Dominions in 2012.

鈥淚t鈥檚 an awesome tournament to go to,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hey treat you really well and it鈥檚 a great experience.鈥�

Her rink is also taking a run at the Pacific International Cup this season, battling Eby鈥檚 rink in a three-game series for a shot at the April tournament in Richmond, B.C.

Back to the men鈥檚 side, Pat Paslawski鈥檚 two-time defending champion rink did not participate in this year鈥檚 Whitehorse playdowns.

The 48-year-old鈥檚 team was not eligible, due to changes to the national tournament structure.

鈥淎fter having some teams repeatedly represent their provinces and territories, Travelers made a change to the rules,鈥濃�圥aslawski explained in an email to the Star.

鈥淭he new rule says that team can鈥檛 repeat as a territorial or provincial champion.鈥�

For his part, Paslawski says he supports the rule, which is meant to encourage the participation of more teams and raise numbers for curling clubs across Canada.

鈥淚 know how bad Jim Sias鈥� team wanted to go, so I鈥檓 happy for them,鈥� he added.

鈥淭hey鈥檒l be great representatives for the Yukon.鈥�