New team, new province, no problem

• Arsenault has decades of curling experience
• First victory with B.C.
• Secures 15th appearance at Scotties Tournament of Hearts

Winning provincial titles and competing in the Scotties Tournament of Hearts isn’t new for Mary-Anne Arsenault.

But what is new for the talented and much honored curler, is her home team.

Arsenault, now a resident of Lake Country, wrapped up the 2022 Scotties BC Women’s Curling Championship in Kamloops Sunday, with her three Kelowna-based teammates.

Arsenault has over two decades of curling experience under her belt including two world championships and five gold medals at the Scotties.

She moved to Lake Country with her husband in 2020 from Nova Scotia where she spent most of her curling career.

When word got out that she was looking for a new team here, she was in-demand among many local clubs but wanted to find the best chance to compete.

“I had a few teams reaching out looking for me to play with them, mostly younger teams,” Arsenault told Kelowna10. “I had been through the mentoring younger players phase back in Nova Scotia. I wasn’t sure I wanted to go that route.”

Ultimately, she settled on a group of players who have extensive and winning experience.

“When I reached out to Sasha (Carter), I asked if she was interested in playing, and she reached out to Jeanna (Schraeder), then we got Renee (Simons) and the rest is history. The experience alone was attractive to me,” she said.

Carter, Schraeder and Simons have collected plenty of silverware including the 2007 world and national championships.

Team Arsenault took to the ice in Sunday morning’s provincial final, against Kayla MacMillan and the Vancouver Curling Club.

Vancouver were 3-1 up after four ends. Arsenault hit back with a three-pointer in the fifth end, but her opponents again enjoyed a 6-4 lead after eight. But Team Arsenault scored four points in the final two ends. That gave them the 8-6 victory, finishing the tournament with a 5-2 record.

“We always had one shot that changed the end around that got us behind the eight ball and we had to dig out a few ends,” Arsenault said. “The two three-point enders in the fifth end and the ninth end were the deciding factors.”

Arsenault said the team will be practicing in Vernon before travelling to Thunder Bay for the Scotties. This year will mark her 15th appearance at the national event and doesn’t plan on stepping away anytime soon.

“I’ve contemplated retiring from curling for the last few years but I kind of come to the determination that if my body still works and I’m still making shots then I’m going to keep playing,” she said. “I’m not the kind of person who can just play for fun. If I’m playing, I want to play for real.”

The Scotties Tournament of Hearts takes place Jan.28 – Feb. 6 in Thunder Bay, Ont.