Curling Canada says pregnancy exemption to be expanded in 2024
Curling Canada says it is opening up its pregnancy exemption eligibility to all teams competing at next year's Canadian women's and men's championships, with the announcement coming a day after the organization came under fire for limiting the exemption to just the top five teams in the rankings.
In a release issued Thursday evening, Curling Canada said the expanded rule will take effect for the 2024 Scotties Tournament of Hearts in Calgary and will also be applied for the 2024 Brier in Regina.
The exemption allows a team to use a replacement player even if the athlete didn't play in the provincial/territorial championship or meet residency requirements.
Curling Canada's existing policy, which will remain in force for the 2023 women's and men's championships, allows the top five teams to add an out-of-province free agent at the national playdowns.
The wild-card team for the upcoming women's championship skipped by fourth-ranked Kaitlyn Lawes of Manitoba was allowed to use Edmonton-based Laura Walker as a replacement for vice Selena Njegovan, who was granted a pregnancy leave.
However, 13 of the 18 teams that qualified for the Feb. 17-26 event in Kamloops, B.C., could not apply to make similar lineup changes if needed. Several prominent curlers — including Olympian Dawn McEwen, Mike McEwen, Felix Asselin and Beth Peterson — criticized the eligibility rule Wednesday on social media.
All teams are allowed to use replacements that meet Curling Canada's residency requirements.
Under residency rules, at least three of four players must live or have birthright status in their respective province or territory. Only one free agent is allowed unless an exemption is granted.
Curling Canada had said in a release Wednesday that the exemption only applied to the top five teams "because their ability to replace a player with someone with an equal level of ability and commitment is limited."
"I'm confused to what position/standing in CTRS (rankings) has to do with this," Jessie Haughian, second on a team skipped by sixth-ranked Casey Scheidegger, said on Twitter. "Pregnancy is pregnancy."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
OPP responds to apparent video of officer supporting anti-Trudeau government protestors
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) says it's investigating an interaction between a uniformed officer and anti-Trudeau government protestors after a video circulated on social media.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Loud boom in Hamilton caused by propane tank, police say
A loud explosion was heard across Hamilton on Friday after a propane tank was accidentally destroyed and detonated at a local scrap metal yard, police say.