| Chelsea Carey | |
|---|---|
 Carey in April 2019 | |
| Born | Chelsea Danielle Carey (1984-09-12)September 12, 1984 (age 40) |
| Team | |
| Curling club | The Glencoe Club, Calgary, AB[1] |
Curling career | |
| Member Association |  Manitoba (2000–2014; 2021; 2022–present) Alberta (2014–2020) Saskatchewan (2021–2022) |
| Hearts appearances | 7 (2014,2016,2017,2019,2020,2021,2022) |
| World Championship appearances | 2 (2016,2019) |
| TopCTRS ranking | 3rd (2017–18) |
| Grand Slam victories | 2 (2010 Manitoba Lotteries Women's Curling Classic,2018 Canadian Open) |
Medal record | |
Chelsea Danielle Carey[1] (born September 12, 1984 inWinnipeg,Manitoba) is aCanadiancurler fromCalgary,Alberta. She currentlyskips her own team out of Manitoba. She is the2016 and2019 Canadian and Alberta women's champion skip and 2014 Manitoba provincial women's champion skip.
Carey curled in six provincial junior championships, but did not win the event. She did win the 2000 Juvenile Provincial championship, which she followed up with a silver medal at the 2001 Canadian Juvenile championship. She was also the Manitoba high school provincial champion in 2002.
Carey has won a number ofWorld Curling Tour (WCT) events including the 2005Manitoba Lotteries Wheat City Curling Classic, the 2006Interlake Pharmacy Classic (playing third forBarb Spencer in both events), and the Interlake Pharmacy Classic again in 2009, culminating with winning the 2009 Manitoba Curling Tour Championship.
In October 2010 Carey skipped her team to their firstGrand Slam victory. Carey defeatedCathy Overton-Clapham 7–3 at the Fort Rouge Curling Club in Winnipeg, Manitoba to claim first place at the2010 Manitoba Lotteries Women's Curling Classic.[2] That season, she won one other WCT event, the2011 DEKALB Superspiel.
2011 saw the Carey rink emerge onto the national stage during the 2011-2012 curling season. In December 2011 Carey emerged victorious in the Manitoba Curling Tour (MCT) Championships inMorris, Manitoba. Her rink overcame an early round robin loss, winning five games in a row to reach the finals where they defeated Kim Link 6–4.[3] This came on the heels of a second-place finish in the2011 Canada Cup of Curling in Cranbrook, B.C., where Carey's rink lost the final 9–4 toJennifer Jones in what was the first national television appearance for Carey and her team. That season, Carey won one WCT event, the2012 Victoria Curling Classic Invitational. With 95.7 CTRS points, Carey and her team finished 6th in 2011-2012 CTRS points[4] In recognition of their strong season, Carey's rink was named the 2011 World Curling Tour Breakthrough Team of the Year.[5]
In 2012-2013 Carey and her team continued their strong play, placing second in the Colonial Square Ladies Classic[6] and continuing to play well through the early part of the season winning the2012 Red Deer Curling Classic by defeatingJennifer Jones 7–3 in the final.[7] They followed this with another finals appearance two weeks later in theROGERS Masters of Curling in Brantford, Ontario being defeated 8–3 in the final byRachel Homan[8] and also collected a 3rd-place finish in thePomeroy Inn & Suites Prairie Showdown en route to accumulating 136.0 CTRS points in the 2012-2013 curling season, good for a 5th-place finish in the standings.[9]
Carey has twice come extremely close to winning a Manitoba provincial women's championship. She lost the2011 Manitoba Scotties Tournament of Hearts final toCathy Overton-Clapham after going 7–0 in the round robin. She again made the finals of the2012 Manitoba Scotties Tournament of Hearts after going 5–2 in the round robin. This was the closest Carey had come to winning a provincial championship, losing the final 6–5 on a last rock thrown byJennifer Jones. At the2013 Manitoba Scotties Tournament of Hearts, her team placed fourth.
The consistent performance by Carey and her team from 2011 to 2013 allowed them to accumulate enough CTRS points to qualify as a direct entry to the2013 Tim Hortons Roar of the Rings, the Canadian Olympic Curling Trials held in Carey's home town of Winnipeg, Manitoba in December 2013.[10] The victorious team would represent Canada at the2014 Olympic Games inSochi,Russia. At the Olympic Trials the team competed to a 4–3 record, setting up a tie breaker game againstSherry Middaugh, but would lose resulting in a fourth-place finish.[11]
January 2014 brought yet another opportunity for Carey and her squad consisting of lead Lindsay Titheridge, second Kristen Foster, and third Kristy McDonald to chase a Manitoba provincial women's curling championship at the 2014 Scotties Tournament of Hearts in Virden, Manitoba. Carey and her rink came in as the first seed in the tournament, with team Jennifer Jones absent in preparation for their own play in the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympic Games. Carey and her team finished the round robin 5–2, an identical record to veteran skip Darcy Robertson, setting up a tie-breaker game with Robertson for the right to enter the playoffs.
Carey and her rink prevailed over Darcy Robertson 7–3 in the tie-breaker game, advancing to the 2 vs. 2 playoff game against another Manitoba Scotties veteran,Janet Harvey. The team won that game 8-2 advancing them to the semi-final where they again won to go on and play in the final. The semi-final brought Carey a small measure of revenge, as Barb Spencer had eliminated Carey from the Manitoba Scotties playoffs the previous year. This was the third Manitoba Provincial Scotties Final in the last four years for the Carey rink. In the final Carey and her team won 6–2 over Kerri Einarson, running her out of rocks in the 10th end. This clinched their first Manitoba Provincial Scotties Championship and the right to represent Manitoba at the2014 Scotties Tournament of Hearts inMontreal,Quebec.[12][13]
At the2014 Scotties Tournament of Hearts inMontreal Team Carey won the bronze after going 9-2 during round robin play. They lost the 1 vs. 2 Page playoff game against defending and eventual repeat championRachel Homan and then beat Saskatchewan'sStefanie Lawton in the bronze medal game. Following the event, the team decided to mutually part ways as some of her teammates were starting families. MacDonald formed a new team for the 2014–2015 season and Carey announced a move toEdmonton to skip a rink composed ofLaura Crocker at third,Taylor McDonald at second, andJen Gates at lead.[14][15][16]
Carey's first World Curling Tour event after forming her new team was the2014 HDF Insurance Shoot-Out, which they won.[17] However, the team struggled to gel during the season, alternating between flashes of promise (including winning the 2014Boundary Ford Curling Classic) and inconsistency. Despite some drama, they put together a strong run at the 2015 Alberta Scotties. Carey, known for her hitting and ability to throw big weight, had a unique metal slider that she had been wearing her entire curling career stolen from the dressing rooms in Lacombe, Alberta.[18][19] Despite this significant setback and change to her equipment in the middle of the provincial playdowns, Carey battled through to the final, but fell to eventual repeat championVal Sweeting.[20]
In the spring of 2015 Carey's team dumped her in favour ofKelsey Rocque who had played with Taylor McDonald in the junior and CIS ranks,[21][22][23] With Rocque graduating from junior curling and taking over the team, Carey was left in the lurch, seeking a new team.
Two-time Canadian Women's ChampionHeather Nedohin whom Carey had defeated in the 2015 Alberta Scotties semi-final had decided to take a step back from elite curling to focus more on her family. Nedohin's rink consisting of thirdAmy Nixon, secondJocelyn Peterman and leadLaine Peters decided as a group to bring Carey on as skip, hoping to continue their winning ways.[24] In their first season together, the team made the final of the Curler's Corner Autumn Gold Classic, beatingVal Sweeting in the semi-final, but eventually losing the final toRachel Homan.[25] After turning in a solid season on the world curling tour, Carey avenged her 2015 Alberta Scotties final loss by defeating Team Sweeting at the2016 Alberta Scotties Tournament of Hearts to earn the right to representAlberta in the2016 Scotties Tournament of Hearts inGrande Prairie, Alberta.[26]
Carey and her rink had a strong round robin, posting a 9–2 record to claim first place in the round robin, winning a tie-break because of their 12–5 win over Jennifer Jones and Team Canada on the opening day of tournament. Carey played Jones as Team Alberta and Team Canada squared off in the 1 vs 2 page playoff game. Carey and her team controlled the bulk of the game, emerging victorious with a 7–5 win, with Carey shooting 96% in the game. This vaulted Carey and Team Alberta into the final, where they faced Northern Ontario'sKrista McCarville. It was a tight, back and forth game tied 6–6 in the 10th end. Ultimately it came down to Carey's final stone, which she used to draw the back 4 foot for a single point sealing a 7–6 victory to claim the national title. Carey and her team represented Team Canada at the2016 Ford World Women's Curling Championship inSwift Current, Saskatchewan.[27] After finishing the round robin with an 8–3 record, the team lost both of their playoff matches, settling for 4th place.
Carey and her rink began the 2016–17 season by winning the inauguralHokkaido Bank Curling Classic in August 2016, which would be her only tour victory of the season. As defending champions, they represented Team Canada at the2017 Scotties Tournament of Hearts. There, she led the team to a 9-2 round robin record, which got them third place. In the playoffs, they first played Northern Ontario'sKrista McCarville rink in the 3 vs. 4 game. They lost 8–1 to Northern Ontario, which put them in the bronze medal game. After Northern Ontario lost their semifinal game, the two teams would face each other in a rematch for the bronze medal. This time Carey would prevail, leading her team to a 7–4 win. Following the season, Amy Nixon left the team and was replaced with veteran thirdCathy Overton-Clapham.
Carey began the 2017-18 curling season with a mixed doubles tour win with partnerColin Hodgson at theCanad Inns Mixed Doubles Championship. Her four-player team played in the2017 Canadian Olympic Curling Trials inOttawa, and were undefeated in round robin play, which gave them a direct berth to the final. There, she faced off against the hometownRachel Homan rink, losing the game 6–5. The next month, the team lost in both of their playoff matches at the2018 Alberta Scotties Tournament of Hearts and were eliminated from winning a provincial title. However, they rebounded the next week by winning the2018 Meridian Canadian Open Grand Slam event.
Despite losing in the Alberta provincials, they earned enough CTRS points during the season to put them into the first Scotties Tournament of Hearts play-in game at the2018 Hearts. They lost the wild card game toKerri Einarson, failing to qualify for the Scotties. In mixed doubles play, Carey and Hogdson made it to the semifinal of the2018 Canadian Mixed Doubles Curling Championship.
At the end of the season, the Carey rink broke up, and Carey formed a new team withSarah Wilkes,Dana Ferguson andRachelle Brown, playing out ofThe Glencoe Club in Calgary. Leading up to Alberta provincials, the team had two playoff appearances atGrand Slam of Curling events including a semifinal finish at theMasters. Team Carey qualified for the2019 Alberta Scotties Tournament of Hearts as the CTRS leaders from the tour season. They qualified for the playoffs as the "A Qualifier" after defeatingCasey Scheidegger's rink 7–2. They defeated theKelsey Rocque rink in the A vs. B playoff game 10–2 and would go on to beat them in the final 8–3 after Carey made a double for four in the ninth end. Representing Alberta at the2019 Scotties Tournament of Hearts, they went 7–0 through the round robin and finished the championship pool with a 9–2 record which made them the number one seed going into the playoffs. Alberta defeated Saskatchewan'sRobyn Silvernagle rink in the 1 vs. 2 game 11–7 and would face Ontario'sRachel Homan rink in the final. Team Carey made history when they came back from a 1–5 deficit to win the championship 8–6 with a total of five stolen points and two missed draws by Homan in the 10th and 11th ends. At the2019 World Women's Curling Championship, the team struggled and were the first Canadian women's team not to make the playoffs at the championship in twenty years.[28] They finished the season with a quarterfinal finish at the2019 Players' Championship and by missing the playoffs at the2019 Champions Cup.
Team Carey did not have a strong start to the Grand Slam season, only making the playoffs at one of the first four events,the National. They had a strong week at the2019 Canada Cup going 4–2 through the round robin, qualifying for the playoffs. In the semifinal, they lost to theTracy Fleury rink 9–4. Carey quoted it was a "tough last couple of events so it was definitely a positive week overall."[29] At the2020 Scotties Tournament of Hearts, Carey led Team Canada to a 5–6 record, missing the playoffs and settling for seventh place. It would be the team's last event of the season as both thePlayers' Championship and theChampions Cup Grand Slam events were cancelled due to theCOVID-19 pandemic.[30] On March 13, 2020, Wilkes announced she would be parting ways with the team. Three days later, both Ferguson and Brown announced they would be leaving and the team officially disbanded.[31]
Without a team for the2020–21 season, Carey decided to focus onmixed doubles curling with her partnerColin Hodgson.[32] She would, however, participate in the2021 Scotties Tournament of Hearts, skippingTracy Fleury's team out of theEast St. Paul Curling Club as Fleury wanted to stay home with her baby daughter, who was diagnosed withinfantile spasms, a rare form of epilepsy.[33] At the Hearts, Carey led the team to a 6–6 eighth-place finish.[34] Fleury returned to skip the team at the2021 Champions Cup, held in the same Calgary bubble in April 2021. There, Fleury led her team to the semifinals where they lost to Switzerland'sSilvana Tirinzoni. Fleury left the bubble after the event, and Carey stepped in once again to skip the team, this time for the2021 Players' Championship. There, Carey led the team to a 2–3 round robin record, missing the playoffs.[35]
On May 19, 2021, it was announced that Carey would move to Saskatchewan to skip the team ofJolene Campbell,Stephanie Schmidt,Jennifer Armstrong andRachel Erickson for the2021–22 season.[36] The new Team Carey found success in just their second event together, going undefeated to claim the Craven SPORTS Services Curling Classic tour event title. They then made the semifinals of the2021 Curlers Corner Autumn Gold Curling Classic where they were eliminated byTabitha Peterson.[37] At the event, however, they were able to defeat the likes ofRachel Homan,Jennifer Jones andJamie Sinclair en route to the semifinals. They earned two more playoff appearances at theBoundary Ford Curling Classic and the SaskTour Women's Moose Jaw where they reached the quarterfinals and semifinals respectively.
Carey herself had to miss out on competing in theRed Deer Curling Classic with her team as she slotted in as TeamTracy Fleury's alternate for the2021 Canadian Olympic Curling Trials, held November 20 to 28 inSaskatoon,Saskatchewan.[38] Carey hoped to compete in the Trials with her own team but was excluded from doing so after Curling Canada had to modify the qualification process due to the pandemic.[39] Through the round robin, the team went undefeated with a perfect 8–0 record, becoming only the second women's rink to do so following Carey's team in 2017.[40] This earned them a bye to the Olympic Trials final where they would face TeamJennifer Jones, who they previously defeated in their final round robin game. The team began the game with hammer, but immediately gave up a stolen point. They eventually tied the game after four ends, and later after seven ends 4–4. After a blank in the eighth, Team Fleury earned their first lead of the game with a steal of one in the ninth. In the tenth end, Jennifer Jones had an open hit-and-stick to win the game, however, her shooter rolled two far and she only got one. This sent the game to an extra end where Team Fleury would hold the hammer. On her final shot, Fleury attempted a soft-weight hit on a Jones stone partially buried behind a guard. Her rock, however, curled too much and hit the guard, giving up a steal of one and the game to Team Jones.[41] Team Fleury earned the silver medal from the event, making it Carey's second silver medal at the Canadian Olympic Trials.
Back together, Team Carey had a semifinal finish at theDeKalb Superspiel in December 2021. Their next event was the2022 Saskatchewan Scotties Tournament of Hearts, which they entered as the top ranked team.[42] Team Carey qualified through the A-side of the tournament with a perfect 3–0 record. This earned them a spot in the 1 vs. 2 page playoff game where they defeatedPenny Barker. In the final, they once again faced the Barker rink. This time, Team Barker would win the match 7–5, despite Team Carey beating them in both the A Final and 1 vs. 2 page playoff game.[43] Despite this, they still qualified for the2022 Scotties Tournament of Hearts as Wild Card #2 after Curling Canada used the same format from the 2021 event.[44] At the championship, the team finished with a 4–4 round robin record, not advancing to the playoff round.[45] Team Carey wrapped up their season at the2022 Players' Championship where they missed the playoffs.
On April 3, 2022, the team announced that they would be disbanding at the end of the 2021–22 season.[46] Carey, Campbell and Erickson later announced that they would be staying together and addingLiz Fyfe, Team Fleury's former second, to the team for the2022–23 season.[47] The team also added U.S. curlerJamie Sinclair as their alternate with Sinclair's dual citizenship allowing her to play in Canada.[48]
Curling out of Manitoba, the new Carey rink had a strong start to the season, reaching the semifinals of the2022 Martensville International.[49] After qualifying as the fourth seeds for the2022 PointsBet Invitational, the team lost their opening game to thirteenth rankedSelena Sturmay and were eliminated.[50] In Grand Slam play, Team Carey played in three events, only qualifying at the2022 Masters where they lost in the quarterfinals to Kerri Einarson.[51] At the2023 Manitoba Scotties Tournament of Hearts, the team lost their first two games and never recovered, finishing 1–4 and failing to reach the championship round. Shortly following the provincial championship, the team announced they would be disbanding.[52] Carey herself still had one event to play as she spared forCasey Scheidegger at the2023 Players' Championship. There, she led the team to a 1–4 record, defeating Rachel Homan in their sole victory.[53]
Without a team for the2023–24 season, Carey took on the role of "super spare" for both the Jennifer Jones andMichèle Jäggi rinks. For Jones, she led the trio ofKarlee Burgess,Emily Zacharias andLauren Lenentine to two second place finishes at the2023 Saville Shootout and theStu Sells 1824 Halifax Classic, losing the finals toHeather Nedohin (skipping Team Homan) and Silvana Tirinzoni respectively.[54][55] With Team Jäggi, she played in four events. The team had two quarterfinal finishes at the2023 Oslo Cup and the2023 Curlers Corner Autumn Gold Curling Classic with Carey skipping the team at the latter.[56] She also spared forKate Cameron at the2024 Canadian Open Slam event, leading her team to an 0–4 record.[57]
Halfway through the2024-25 season,Karlee Burgess announced that she would be leaving the Carey team to pursue other opportunities, and soon after the team formally disbanded.[58]
Carey is the daughter of former Brier championDan Carey who won playing third for Vic Peters in 1992. She posed for both the 2011 and the 2017 "Women of Curling Calendar".[59] She has aBachelor of Commerce from theUniversity of Manitoba and previously worked as a marketing representative forSealy Canada. In 2014, Carey helped to raise awareness of the disease ALS by participating in theIce Bucket Challenge.[1] She currently works as a development and communications manager for KidSport Alberta.[60]
| Key | |
|---|---|
| C | Champion |
| F | Lost in Final |
| SF | Lost in Semifinal |
| QF | Lost in Quarterfinals |
| R16 | Lost in the round of 16 |
| Q | Did not advance to playoffs |
| T2 | Played in Tier 2 event |
| DNP | Did not participate in event |
| N/A | Not a Grand Slam event that season |
| Event | 2006–07 | 2007–08 | 2008–09 | 2009–10 | 2010–11 | 2011–12 | 2012–13 | 2013–14 | 2014–15 | 2015–16 | 2016–17 | 2017–18 | 2018–19 | 2019–20 | 2020–21 | 2021–22 | 2022–23 | 2023–24 | 2024–25 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tour Challenge | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | Q | Q | T2 | Q | Q | N/A | N/A | Q | T2[a] | Q |
| Canadian Open | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | QF | SF | Q | C | QF | Q | N/A | N/A | DNP | Q[b] | QF |
| The National | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | Q | QF | SF | Q | QF | N/A | DNP | Q | DNP | Q |
| Masters | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | F | Q | Q | DNP | QF | DNP | SF | Q | N/A | DNP | QF | DNP | DNP |
| Players' | DNP | DNP | DNP | Q | QF | Q | Q | DNP | DNP | Q | DNP | Q | QF | N/A | Q[c] | Q | Q[d] | DNP | DNP |
| Champions Cup | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | Q | DNP | QF | Q | N/A | DNP | DNP | DNP | N/A | N/A |
| Event | 2006–07 | 2007–08 | 2008–09 | 2009–10 | 2010–11 | 2011–12 | 2012–13 | 2013–14 | 2014–15 | 2015–16 | 2016–17 | 2017–18 | 2018–19 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elite 10 | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | Q |
| Autumn Gold | Q | DNP | DNP | Q | Q | Q | Q | Q | Q | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries | Q | Q | Q | Q | C | Q | Q | Q | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Colonial Square | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | F | Q | DNP | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Sobeys Slam | N/A | DNP | DNP | N/A | F | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Season[61] | Skip | Third | Second | Lead | Events |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005–06 | Barb Spencer | Chelsea Carey | Kim Keizer | Barb Mehling | 2006 MBSTOH |
| 2006–07 | Barb Spencer | Chelsea Carey | Kristin Napier | Barb Mehling | 2007 MBSTOH |
| 2007–08[62] | Chelsea Carey | Lisa Fargey | Charmaine Froese | Jennifer Clark-Rouire | 2008 MBSTOH |
| 2008–09 | Chelsea Carey | Kari White | Kristen Foster | Lindsay Titheridge | 2009 MBSTOH |
| 2009–10 | Chelsea Carey | Kari White | Kristen Foster | Lindsay Titheridge | 2010 MBSTOH |
| 2010–11 | Chelsea Carey | Kristy Jenion | Kristen Foster | Lindsay Titheridge | 2010 CC,2011 MBSTOH |
| 2011–12 | Chelsea Carey | Kristy Jenion | Kristen Foster | Lindsay Titheridge | 2011 CC,2012 MBSTOH |
| 2012–13 | Chelsea Carey | Kristy Jenion | Kristen Foster | Lindsay Titheridge | 2012 CC,2013 MBSTOH |
| 2013–14 | Chelsea Carey | Kristy McDonald | Kristen Foster | Lindsay Titheridge | 2013 COCT,2014 MBSTOH |
| 2014–15 | Chelsea Carey | Laura Crocker | Taylor McDonald | Jen Gates | 2015 ABSTOH |
| 2015–16 | Chelsea Carey | Amy Nixon | Jocelyn Peterman | Laine Peters | 2016 ABSTOH,2016 STOH,2016 WWCC |
| 2016–17 | Chelsea Carey | Amy Nixon | Jocelyn Peterman | Laine Peters | 2016 CC,2017 STOH |
| 2017–18 | Chelsea Carey | Cathy Overton-Clapham | Jocelyn Peterman | Laine Peters | 2017 COCT,2018 ABSTOH |
| 2018–19 | Chelsea Carey | Sarah Wilkes | Dana Ferguson | Rachelle Brown | 2018 CC,2019 ABSTOH,2019 STOH,2019 WWCC |
| 2019–20 | Chelsea Carey | Sarah Wilkes | Dana Ferguson | Rachelle Brown | 2019 CC,2020 STOH |
| 2020–21[e] | Chelsea Carey | Selena Njegovan | Liz Fyfe | Kristin MacCuish | 2021 STOH |
| 2021–22 | Chelsea Carey | Jolene Campbell | Stephanie Schmidt | Jennifer Armstrong | 2022 SKSTOH,2022 STOH |
| 2022–23 | Chelsea Carey | Jolene Campbell | Liz Fyfe | Rachel Erickson | 2023 MBSTOH |
| 2023[f] | Chelsea Carey | Karlee Burgess | Emily Zacharias | Lauren Lenentine | |
| Michèle Jäggi | Stefanie Berset | Lisa Muhmenthaler | |||
| 2024 | Chelsea Carey | Karlee Burgess | Emily Zacharias | Lauren Lenentine |
