Jason Kerr
Daily Herald
It wasn’t the win they hoped for, but skip Trish Bibby said she was happy with how her rink performed at the recent 2025 Canadian Women’s Club Curling Championships in Winnipeg.
Bibby along with third Jaime Smith-Windsor, second Melanie Heleta, lead Donna Campbell, and alternate Linda Bjork competed from Nov. 18-23 at the Granite Curling Club. The rink finished fifth out of 14 teams.
Bibby said they were honoured to represent Saskatchewan.
“I was extremely proud of our team,” Bibby said. “They rose to the occasion and shone on the national stage. It’s a little bit different when you’re trying to peak and perform so early in the season, but the girls did a great job of making sure that they were there and that they were present for the entire event.
“The goal was to win the event, but we went in cautiously optimistic. We weren’t sure what the level of competition would be from the other provinces and territories. It wasn’t until we got there and we got into our games that we realized we were where we were supposed to be.”
Bibby and her rink curl out of the Prince Albert Golf and Curling Club. They were one of seven teams placed into Pool B, and started the tournament 3-0 with wins over Nunavut (15-2), Northern Ontario (6-4), and Yukon (7-4).
They then lost a pair of close games, 6-5 to PEI, and 7-4 to B.C. before rebounding for a 7-0 win over Alberta.
Bibby said the rink was consistent throughout pool play.
“They made sure they took care of their bodies and they kept their heads in the game,” she said. “I was really proud of how … the girls persevered through each game.”
Bibby and her rink matched up Marcie Brown from Newfoundland and Labrador in the double elimination knock-out round.
Brown opened up an 8-3 lead through six ends, but Bibby scored three in the seventh to make things interesting. Down by two and without the hammer, Bibby could only steal one point in the eighth end, and lost 8-7.
Bibby then avenged a pool play loss to B.C. with a 10-8 win before losing 12-4 to eventual silver medalist Miriam Perron from Quebec.
“It’s really nice to know that if we get another opportunity to compete on a national stage that we can be competitive,” Bibby said. “We can rise to that level.”
Canadian Club Curling Championship rules forbid teams from playing in back-to-back years, so Bibby and her rink can’t quality for the 2026 tournament. However, she said they still have a busy schedule over the next few months, and aim to qualify again in 2027.
She said the curlers had lots of family support in Winnipeg, including Prince Albert Sports Hall of Famer Pat Bibby, Trish’s mother-in-law. Bibby also thanked the community sponsors who helped them get to the tournament.
News and Notes:
• Third Jaime Smith-Windsor received the Sportsman Ship Award at tournament. One award was handed out for each position.
• The Bibby rink were the second highest fundraisers for the Love of Curling Scholarship. The Saskatchewan Men were the highest.
