Swift Current's Kelly Schafer is one of two new additions to Team Silvernagle. (Curling Canada)

By Nigel Maxwell

Ready to rock

New look Team Silvernagle unit focused on Scotties run

Dec 5, 2022 | 2:00 PM

The teams vying for a shot at next month’s Scotties event in Estevan have officially been put on notice.

Team Silvernagle, which curls out of North Battleford’s Twin Rivers Curling Club, has announced the four players they’ve assembled for playdowns.

Robyn Silvernagle (skip) re-joins Kara Thevenot (lead), and the team added added Sherry Just and Kelly Schafer. Silvernagle told paNOW team members, due to family commitments, may not have the time for a whole season, but still have the competitive spirit.

“I think we’ll go out there with a little less pressure. We’re just gonna have a lot of fun and just go play because we love the sport,” she said.

Kara Thevenot confirmed discussions between herself and Robyn started last summer, and were very careful about who they picked.

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“We picked people that we know have a lot of talent but who we also enjoyed, so we are just going in there with the mentality that we are gonna go have fun, we’re gonna try our best to make shots and we’ll let the rest just take care of itself,” she said.

Prior to going in different directions in 2020, Thevenot and Silvernagle played together for five seasons and were part of a team finished just outside of the top-four at Scotties in 2020. They also won a bronze medal at the 2019 Scotties in Sydney, Nova Scotia.

“Curling is one of those things where friendships last forever and that’s just part of life. Fortunately Robyn and I have been very close ever since and you neve know when you’ll join up with somebody who you might have played with before,” Thevenot said.

Robyn Silvernagle and Kara Thevenot. (submitted photo/Kara Thevenot)

Sherry Just. (Facebook/Sherry Just)

Prince Albert’s Sherry Just has seen plenty of success on her own and in mixed doubles. She said when she was approached by Kara and Robyn to join the team, it was an immediate yes.

“Robyn, Kelly, and Kara are wonderful people and all extremely talented players. It’s a team that has a lot of experience and we will have a lot of fun on and off the ice. There weren’t really any mixed doubles curling events in January and I was looking for a few events to fill my weekends during that time. So it aligned with what I was looking for,” she said.

This past summer, Just was also been training for Ironman but those plans were halted during a long recovery from COVID.

“I didn’t have enough energy to commit to curling both mixed doubles and women’s. I had to space out my competitions and practices earlier this season to give me lots of recovery time. I’m doing a lot better now and ready to get back to women’s competition,” Just said.

For Schafer, she too was unable to commit to a full season and so the timing of the invitation was also very good.

“Understanding that the other girls who have also had their own reasons for not playing in competitive ladies teams this year but all are talented, skilled, competitive players, it seemed feasible to try and pull this team together and do what we love and try and qualify for provincials,” she said.

The Viterra Scotties are scheduled to run from Jan. 25 to 29 in Estevan and last chance playdowns are in North Battleford from Jan. 5 to 8.

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nigel.maxwell@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @nigelmaxwell