Team Silvernagle will represent Saskatchewan at Scotties Tournament of Hearts

Team Robyn Silvernagle from North Battleford, Sask. will make their third appearance as Team Saskatchewan at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts next month.

Silvernagle defeated Team Nancy Martin 8-4 in Sunday’s provincial final at Affinity Place in Estevan, Sask.

“It’s special I mean, the first one is definitely special because you’re like, ‘I finally did it, I got to achieve that one goal,’ but this one is pretty special too,” Silvernagle said.

The skip and lead Kara Thevenot were part of Team Saskatchewan in 2019 and 2020 at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts, but it will be the first time playing for Saskatchewan on the national stage for second Sherry Just and third Kelly Schafer in 2023.

Schafer has now put her name in the record books as she becomes the first female curler to compete for a national title with two countries, Scotland and Canada.

“I feel pretty proud when I won my first provincial mixed [title] because it was the first time I was able to play anything here. I felt really privileged then to come to another country and win something else or represent a province. Now that it’s in the ladies I’m pretty proud,” Schafer said.

It was not an easy journey for Silvernagle to get to this point. Her 16-month-old child Kolt, has been going through health challenges the past year. Making Sunday’s victory more emotional.

“[We] spent almost an entire year in the hospital from when he was born. He had eight surgeries and he will need more,” Silvernagle said. “There were definitely moments where he shouldn’t have made it so we’re very happy he’s here with us. I was always jealous of all the curlers that can have their kids here so what happened [tonight] is pretty neat.”

Given her family circumstances, Silvernagle had taken a step back from curling but decided in November she wanted to make another run at the Provincial Championship and began fielding a team.

“Robyn called and said, ‘do you want to make a run for provincials?’ And I thought, ‘Why not? Let’s give it a bash!’” Schafer said.

“We’re all in it for the same reason. We weren’t putting too much pressure on ourselves. We just wanted to go out and play and make some shots and have some fun. We’re all experienced curlers so you can kind of just lump that all together,” Silvernagle said.

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Her team qualified for a spot in provincials at the Last Chance Tournament earlier this month.

The Top 12 teams from across the province have faced off since last Wednesday at the 2022-23 Viterra Scotties Provincial Championship.

Martin had booked a ticket to the Championship draw Saturday but had to wait to see if they would face Silvernagle or Sherry Anderson’s rink. Anderson conceded to Silvernagle (12-7) in the semi-final matchup Sunday Morning.

Silvernagle lost (9-8) and conceded (9-2) in her two previous draws against Martin heading into Sunday’s final.

“They definitely out-curled us yesterday and we got some breaks today. We played a lot better today. I would say that was the best game we’ve played together as a team so we picked the right time to do that,” Silvernagle said.

The Scotties Tournament of Hearts will take place from Feb. 17-26 in Kamloops, B.C.

The curling is not finished yet in Estevan, as the SaskTel Tankard will take over from Feb.1-5.