麻豆社区

Whitehorse curler Steve Fecteau faces a steep task this week, as he tries to return the Yukon to

respectability at the Canadian Mixed Curling Championship.

Fecteau is the skip for Yukon's entry in the tournament that begins today and runs

to Nov. 24 in Montreal.

Other members of the team include lead Patti Willingham, second Wade Scoffin and third Helen Strong.

The Yukon rink enters the 2013 championship ranked last after Scott Hamilton's rink finished 0-13 last year in Sudbury, Ont. Rink members included Darlene Hutton, Herb Balsam and Corinne Delaire.

And for the first time in the championship's 50-year history, the four bottom-place finishers from last year will square off in a pre-tournament qualifier, with only the top two teams moving on.

The Yukon faces Newfoundland and Labrador today in the first of two knockout games.

At press time, the Yukon was leading 8-4 after seven ends.

The winner will go on to face the winner of the Nova Scotia-Nunavut matchup at 7 p.m. ET to determine the first qualifier, while the two losers will meet at the same time to determine who will face the loser of the qualifier game tomorrow at 2 p.m. ET.

"It's a bit different this year than it was last time,鈥� Fecteau told the Star this week.

"That's definitely our hope, is to make it to the main draw.鈥�

Fecteau, Scoffin and Strong have competed in the mixed curling championship before, attending the 2010 tournament in Burlington, Ont.

Scoffin skipped that team, which then included lead Rhonda Horte, to a 1-10 record. The rink's only win came in a 7-2 defeat of Team Quebec.

"We're always going there to try and do our best,鈥� Fecteau said. "You kind of never know what results you're going to get, but we've been practising quite a bit in order to put our best effort out there. We hope to win a few games and get into the main draw. From there, who knows? Anything can happen.鈥�

The winning rink will earn two berths 鈥� two two-person teams 鈥� in the inaugural Canadian Mixed Doubles Trials March 14 to 17 in Leduc, Alta., where 32 teams are expected to battle.

The winner of that tournament will go on to represent Canada at the World Mixed Doubles Curling Championship in Fredericton, N.B., next April.

The foursome qualified for this championship last spring following a three-team playdown in Atlin, B.C.

"Mixed tends to be a put-together team,鈥� explained Strong, who is married to Scoffin. "We would like to practise throughout the year and be good by the time November rolls around, but we've been out on the ice a couple times together, and we've been out with our own teams individually.

"We are good friends, so we know that the chemistry will work on the team. So I think that's going to help us out. And if we do really well this year, then next year's team might not have to go through that pre-qualifier.鈥�

Fecteau said that while he understands the reasoning behind the qualification process for the four bottom teams, it also presents issues regarding travel itineraries and time away from work.

"To play potentially only two or three games and then coming back? It'd be nicer if once you're there, you know you have a full week to compete against each of the provinces.鈥�

Regardless, the Montreal-born skip said he is treating the trip as a mini-vacation.

"I've got family and friends that are nearby, so I see it as a bit of a vacation to Montreal with at least two games of curling, and hopefully more.鈥�