Val Sweeting

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Val Sweeting
Curler
Born
Valerie Sweeting

(1987-07-09) July 9, 1987 (age 34)
Redvers, Saskatchewan
Team
Curling club,
Gimli, MB
Saville Community SC[1]
Edmonton, AB
SkipKerri Einarson
ThirdVal Sweeting
SecondShannon Birchard
LeadBriane Meilleur
AlternateKrysten Karwacki
Mixed doubles
partner		Marc Kennedy
Career
Member Association Saskatchewan (2007–2009)
 Alberta (2009–2018)
 Manitoba (2018–present)
Hearts appearances6 (2010, 2014, 2015, 2020, 2021, 2022)
World Championship
appearances		2 (2021, 2022)
Top CTRS ranking1st (2019–20)
Grand Slam victories5 (2014 Masters, 2016 Tour Challenge, 2017 Tour Challenge, 2019 Players', 2021 Players')
Medal record
Women's Curling
Representing  Canada
Scotties Tournament of Hearts
Gold medal – first place 2021 Calgary
Gold medal – first place 2022 Thunder Bay
Representing  Alberta
Canadian Mixed Doubles Olympic Curling Trials
Silver medal – second place 2018 Portage la Prairie
Scotties Tournament of Hearts
Silver medal – second place 2014 Montreal
Silver medal – second place 2015 Moose Jaw
Representing  Manitoba
Scotties Tournament of Hearts
Gold medal – first place 2020 Moose Jaw

Valerie Sweeting (born July 9, 1987 in Redvers, Saskatchewan) is a Canadian curler from Lottie Lake, Alberta[2] She currently plays third for Team Kerri Einarson. Sweeting skipped Alberta to a silver medal at the 2014 and 2015 Scotties Tournament of Hearts and won the tournament in 2020, 2021, and 2022 with Team Kerri Einarson.

Career[]

Sweeting grew up in Maryfield, Saskatchewan. In 2007, Sweeting played third for Hailey Surik's junior rink out of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.[3] The team represented Saskatchewan at the 2007 Canadian Junior Curling Championships. After posting an 8–4 record, they lost to Manitoba in a tiebreaker match.[4]

After juniors, Sweeting moved to Alberta where she formed her own team with at third, at second and at lead.[5] In 2010, in her very first provincial championship, Sweeting surprised many by defeating former World championship bronze medalist Cathy King and Olympic bronze medalist Shannon Kleibrink to capture the provincial crown. She would be the youngest skip ever to represent Alberta at the national Scotties Tournament of Hearts. At the 2010 Scotties Tournament of Hearts, she skipped her province to a 4–7 record.[6]

Sweeting played in her first Grand Slam event later in the season. Ranked 44th going into the 2010 Players' Championship, she won three straight games after losing to Kleibrink, qualifying her for the playoffs. She then lost in the quarterfinal to Stefanie Lawton.[7]

After the 2009–10 season, Sweeting re-jigged her team's lineup, adding at third, replacing Quigley.[5] The team had a less eventful season in 2010–11, including winning just one game at the 2011 Alberta Scotties Tournament of Hearts.[8] After the season, Sweeting brought in a new front-end of Joanne Courtney and Rachelle Pidherny.[5] The team improved on the year before, and finished in fourth place at the 2012 Alberta Scotties Tournament of Hearts.[9] Following the season, Sweeting added Dana Ferguson at third position, replacing Rogers.[5]

In the 2012–13 season, Sweeting's rink narrowly missed the playoffs at the 2013 Alberta Scotties Tournament of Hearts,[10] but the team was able to gain enough CTRS points to qualify for the 2013 Canadian Olympic Pre-Trials. The team was one of the qualifiers in the event, giving them the right to play in the 2013 Canadian Olympic Curling Trials.[11] At the trials, Sweeting led her rink to a 3–4 record, failing to qualify for the playoffs.[12] Also in the 2013–14 season, the rink had two quarterfinal appearances at Grand Slams, at the 2013 Curlers Corner Autumn Gold Curling Classic and the 2013 Colonial Square Ladies Classic.[13] Sweeting continued her success that season by going undefeated at the 2014 Alberta Scotties Tournament of Hearts, where her team beat Cheryl Bernard in the final.[14] Sweeting then represented Alberta once again at the national championships, the 2014 Scotties Tournament of Hearts. At the Hearts, Sweeting led Alberta to an 8–3 finish following the round robin. This put her into the playoffs, where she beat Saskatchewan's Stefanie Lawton and Manitoba's Chelsea Carey to advance to the final. There, she lost to Ontario's Rachel Homan 8–6 to win the silver medal.[15]

After the 2013–14 season, Sweeting's third Joanne Courtney left the team to play for the Homan rink, whom they had lost to in the 2014 Scotties final.[16] She would be replaced by Andrea Crawford, who left the team early in the season when things weren't working out.[17] With Cathy Overton-Clapham playing third as their spare, they won their first slam at the 2014 Masters of Curling.[18] With Lori Olson-Johns as their new full-time third, they also made it to the semifinals at two slams and the quarterfinals at one other.[13] They also won the 2014 Canada Cup of Curling, defeating Homan in the final.[19] The team would win the 2015 Alberta Scotties Tournament of Hearts, earning the team a berth at the 2015 Scotties Tournament of Hearts. There, Sweeting led her rink to a 9–2 round robin record, good enough for second place, behind Team Manitoba, skipped by Jennifer Jones. They would go on to lose to Manitoba in the 1 vs. 2 game, but rebounded in the semifinal, beating Saskatchewan (skipped by Stefanie Lawton), before losing to Jones again in the final.[20]

The team found less success in their next season. They won just one tour event (the 2015 HDF Insurance Shoot-Out), though they still made the playoffs in five of the six slams of the season, including making it to the finals of the 2015 Masters, where they lost to Homan.[13][21] The team would not represent Alberta at the Scotties, as they lost in the finals of the 2016 Alberta Scotties Tournament of Hearts to the Chelsea Carey rink, who would end up winning the national title.[22][23]

In the 2016–17 season, the Sweeting rink made the playoffs in five of the six slams, including winning the 2016 GSOC Tour Challenge and losing in the final of the 2017 Players' Championship.[13] The team again lost in the finals of the 2017 Alberta Scotties Tournament of Hearts, this time losing to Shannon Kleibrink.[24] The next season, Sweeting defended her title by winning the 2017 GSOC Tour Challenge.[25] Sweeting played in the 2017 Canadian Olympic Curling Trials, going 4–4, just missing the playoffs.[26] Her dreams of making the Olympics would not be over though, as she teamed up with Brad Gushue to play in the 2018 Canadian Mixed Doubles Curling Olympic Trials. The pair went 5–3 in the round robin, but rallied off three straight victories in the playoffs to make it to the finals. There, they lost to John Morris and Kaitlyn Lawes.[27] Sweeting then turned her attention to the 2018 Alberta Scotties Tournament of Hearts, where she lost in the 3 vs. 4 game.[28] In addition to winning the Tour Challenge, the Sweeting team made the playoffs in one more slam that season, the 2017 Boost National.[13]

In February 2018, it was announced that the Sweeting team would be breaking up with Sweeting joining the all-skip squad of Kerri Einarson, Shannon Birchard and Briane Meilleur for the 2018–19 season. Sweeting would play third on the team.[29] They began the season by winning three straight World Curling Tour events in three weeks: the 2018 Stu Sells Oakville Tankard, the inaugural and then the Mother Club Fall Curling Classic[30] with a fourth win at the Curlers Corner Autumn Gold Classic in October.[31] In December, the team lost in the finals of the 2018 Canada Cup and 2018 National.[32][33] Their strong play during the early part of the season earned them enough points to put team Einarson in the Wild Card game at the 2019 Scotties Tournament of Hearts. However, the team lost to the lower-ranked Casey Scheidegger rink.[34] The team would rebound to have a strong finish at the end of the season, winning the 2019 Players' Championship and losing in the final of the 2019 Champions Cup.[13]

Team Einarson had two playoff finishes at the first two Slams of the 2019–20 season, losing to Anna Hasselborg in the quarterfinal of the Masters and once again to Hasselborg in the final of the Tour Challenge.[35][36] The team did not have the same success at the Canada Cup as they did in 2018, finishing with a 2–4 record.[37] However, at the 2020 Manitoba Scotties Tournament of Hearts, her team succeeded. They finished the round robin and championship round with a 7–1 record, which qualified them for the final. There, they defeated Jennifer Jones.[38] It was Sweeting's first Manitoba Scotties Tournament of Hearts provincial title. Team Einarson represented Manitoba at the 2020 Scotties Tournament of Hearts, where they continued their success. They finished first in the round robin with a 9–2 record and then won the 1 vs. 2 page playoff game, qualifying them for the final.[39][40] Sweeting won her first Canadian Championship when they defeated Rachel Homan 8–7 in and extra end.[41] Sweeting was named the All-Star Third for the tournament.[42] The team was set to represent Canada at the 2020 World Women's Curling Championship before the event was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[43][44] The Scotties would be their last event of the season as both the Players' Championship and the Champions Cup Grand Slam events were also cancelled due to the pandemic.[45]

Team Einarson returned to the Scotties Tournament of Hearts in 2021 as Team Canada. They went 7–1 in the round robin, with their only loss coming against Ontario's Rachel Homan. This qualified them for the championship round. There, they won three games and lost one to Manitoba's Jennifer Jones.[46] They advanced to the playoffs as the second seed, defeating Alberta's Laura Walker 9–3 in the semifinal. In the final, they defeated Homan to win their second consecutive Scotties gold.[47] Sweeting was named the First Team All-Star third for the second year in a row.[48] A month later, Sweeting was back in the Calgary bubble to compete with Marc Kennedy at the 2021 Canadian Mixed Doubles Curling Championship. The pair qualified for the playoffs with a 5–1 record before losing to Lisa Weagle and John Epping in the round of 12, eliminating them from contention.[49] Sweeting returned to the bubble for a third time in April 2021, along with her women's team to play in the two only Grand Slam events of the abbreviated season. The team made it to the semifinals of the 2021 Champions Cup where they lost to Team Homan, but got their revenge at the 2021 Players' Championship a week later, where they beat Homan in the final.[50] The following week, Team Einarson represented Canada at the 2021 World Women's Curling Championship. The team had a slow start to the event, falling to 1–5 after their first six games.[51] They turned things around, however, winning six of their seven remaining round robin games to qualifying for the playoffs.[52] They then faced Sweden's Anna Hasselborg in the qualification game, which they lost 8–3.[53]

Personal life[]

Sweeting is a graduate of the University of Saskatchewan. She is currently a case processing agent at Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada Case Processing Centre Edmonton.[54] She has one son.[55]

Grand Slam record[]

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 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
Masters N/A N/A N/A Q DNP C F Q Q Q QF N/A QF
Tour Challenge N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A Q C C SF F N/A N/A
National N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A SF QF QF F Q N/A
Canadian Open N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A SF QF SF Q Q QF N/A
Champions Cup N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A QF QF Q F N/A SF
Players' QF DNP DNP DNP Q SF QF F DNP C N/A C

Former events[]

Event 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15
Colonial Square N/A N/A N/A Q QF QF
Autumn Gold DNP Q Q Q QF Q
Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries DNP DNP Q Q Q N/A
Sobeys Slam N/A Q N/A N/A N/A N/A

Teams[]

Season Skip Third Second Lead
2009–10[56] Val Sweeting
2010–11 Val Sweeting Megan Anderson Whitney Eckstrand
2011–12 Val Sweeting Leslie Hammond Joanne Courtney Rachelle Brown
2012–13 Val Sweeting Dana Ferguson Joanne Courtney Rachelle Brown
2013–14 Val Sweeting Joanne Courtney Dana Ferguson Rachelle Brown
2014–15 Val Sweeting Lori Olson-Johns Dana Ferguson Rachelle Brown
2015–16 Val Sweeting Lori Olson-Johns Dana Ferguson Rachelle Brown
2016–17 Val Sweeting Lori Olson-Johns Dana Ferguson Rachelle Brown
2017–18 Val Sweeting Lori Olson-Johns Dana Ferguson Rachelle Brown
2018–19 Kerri Einarson Val Sweeting Shannon Birchard Briane Meilleur
2019–20 Kerri Einarson Val Sweeting Shannon Birchard Briane Meilleur
2020–21 Kerri Einarson Val Sweeting Shannon Birchard Briane Meilleur
2021–22 Kerri Einarson Val Sweeting Shannon Birchard Briane Meilleur

References[]

  1. ^ "2021 Home Hardware Canadian Mixed Doubles Curling Media Guide" (PDF). Curling Canada. Retrieved March 15, 2021.
  2. ^ "2022 Canadian Mixed Doubles Olympic Trials Media Guide" (PDF). Curling Canada. Retrieved January 25, 2022.
  3. ^ "2007 M&M Meat Shops Canadian Junior Curling Championship (W)" (PDF). Canadian Curling Association. May 3, 2010. p. 2. Retrieved May 12, 2020.
  4. ^ "Finals set at Canadian curling juniors". CBC Sports. February 9, 2007. Archived from the original on January 9, 2008. Retrieved May 12, 2020.
  5. ^ a b c d "Val Sweeting: Teams". CurlingZone. Retrieved May 12, 2020.
  6. ^ "Female Athlete of the Week: Val Sweeting". Curling Canada. September 14, 2010. Retrieved May 12, 2020.
  7. ^ "Sweeting Reaches 2010 Grey Power Players' Championship Quarters". CurlingZone. Retrieved May 12, 2020.
  8. ^ "Sweeting 1–3 at 2011 Alberta Scotties Tournament of Hearts". CurlingZone. Retrieved May 12, 2020.
  9. ^ "Alberta Scotties — Playoffs". CurlingZone. Retrieved May 12, 2020.
  10. ^ "Sweeting 4–3 at 2013 Alberta Scotties". CurlingZone. Retrieved May 12, 2020.
  11. ^ "Curling: Sweeting, Jacobs each win to advance to Roar of the Rings". The Hamilton Spectator. The Canadian Press. November 10, 2013. Retrieved May 12, 2020.
  12. ^ "2013 Tim Hortons Roar of the Rings — Women" (PDF). Canadian Curling Association. December 5, 2013. p. 29. Retrieved May 12, 2020.
  13. ^ a b c d e f "Val Sweeting: Events". CurlingZone. Retrieved May 12, 2020.
  14. ^ Dills, Steve (January 16, 2014). "Exciting curling action led to Sweeting sweeping Alberta Scotties". Sylvan Lake News. Retrieved May 12, 2020.
  15. ^ "2014 Scotties Tournament of Hearts" (PDF). Canadian Curling Association. February 7–9, 2014. pp. 95, 102–103, 105. Retrieved May 12, 2020.
  16. ^ Griwkowsky, Con (March 25, 2014). "Val Sweeting third Joanne Courtney joining Rachel Homan team lineup". Edmonton Sun. Retrieved May 12, 2020.
  17. ^ Brazeau, Jonathan. "Team Val Sweeting parting ways after season". Grand Slam of Curling. Retrieved 8 June 2019.
  18. ^ "Val Sweeting rink wins the Masters". CBC News. November 2, 2014. Retrieved May 12, 2020.
  19. ^ "Team Sweeting Wins Home Hardware Canada Cup". Curling Canada. December 7, 2014. Retrieved May 12, 2020.
  20. ^ "2015 Scotties Tournament of Hearts" (PDF). Canadian Curling Association. March 13, 2016. pp. 5, 38, 40, 42. Retrieved May 12, 2020.
  21. ^ Brazeau, Jonathan (November 1, 2015). "Masters Live Blog: Homan wins GSOC Masters". Sportsnet. Retrieved May 12, 2020.
  22. ^ MacKinnon, Jeff (January 25, 2016). "Carey gets redemption, beating Sweeting for Alberta Scotties title". Calgary Herald. Retrieved May 12, 2020.
  23. ^ "Alberta Wins 2016 Scotties Tournament of Hearts". Curling Canada. February 29, 2016. Retrieved May 12, 2020.
  24. ^ Brazeau, Jonathan (January 29, 2017). "Live: Kleibrink wins 5th career Alberta Scotties title". Sportsnet. Retrieved May 12, 2020.
  25. ^ Brazeau, Jonathan (September 11, 2017). "Sweeting steals to retain Tour Challenge title". Sportsnet. Retrieved May 12, 2020.
  26. ^ "2017 Tim Hortons Roar of the Rings — Women: Standings/Draw: Round Robin". Curling Canada. Retrieved May 12, 2020.
  27. ^ "2018 Canad Inns Mixed Doubles Trials: Teams: Sweeting/Gushue". Curling Canada. Retrieved May 12, 2020.
  28. ^ "2018 Jiffy Lube Alberta Scotties — Playoffs". CurlingZone. Retrieved May 12, 2020.
  29. ^ Brazeau, Jonathan (February 16, 2018). "Einarson forms new team with Sweeting, Birchard & Meilleur". Sportsnet. Retrieved May 12, 2020.
  30. ^ "WCT Recap: Team Einarson keeps rolling with third win of season - TSN.ca". TSN. 2018-09-24. Retrieved 2018-10-05.
  31. ^ Spencer, Donna (9 October 2018). "Canadian women's rink proving 4 skips as good — or better — than 1". CBC Sports. The Canadian Press. Retrieved 9 October 2018.
  32. ^ "Jones wins record fourth Home Hardware Canada Cup women's crown". Curling Canada. December 9, 2018. Retrieved May 12, 2020.
  33. ^ Brazeau, Jonathan (December 16, 2018). "GSOC Boost National Live Blog: Homan tops Einarson for title". Sportsnet. Retrieved May 12, 2020.
  34. ^ "Scheidegger Wins Wild Card Game, Earns Berth in 2019 Scotties". Curling Canada. February 15, 2019. Retrieved May 12, 2020.
  35. ^ "2019 Masters: Playoff brackets". Grand Slam of Curling. October 26, 2019. Retrieved May 12, 2020.
  36. ^ Brazeau, Jonathan (November 10, 2019). "Anna Hasselborg wins Tour Challenge to earn 3rd career GSOC title". Sportsnet. Retrieved May 12, 2020.
  37. ^ "2019 Home Hardware Canada Cup — Women: Standings/Draw: Round Robin". Curling Canada. Retrieved May 12, 2020.
  38. ^ "2020 Scotties Tournament of Hearts Presented By Bayer: Teams: Einarson". CurlManitoba. Retrieved May 12, 2020.
  39. ^ "2020 Scotties Tournament of Hearts: Standings/Draw: Championship Pool". Curling Canada. Retrieved May 12, 2020.
  40. ^ Spencer, Donna (February 22, 2020). "Einarson downs Jones in Battle of Manitoba to reach Scotties final". CBC Sports. The Canadian Press. Retrieved May 12, 2020.
  41. ^ Donna Spencer (February 23, 2020). "Kerri Einarson wins Canadian women's curling championship". CBC Sports. The Canadian Press.
  42. ^ "Scotties Award Winners Named!". Curling Canada. February 22, 2020. Retrieved May 12, 2020.
  43. ^ The Canadian Press (March 12, 2020). "World Women's Curling Championship Cancelled". The Sports Network. Retrieved March 20, 2020.
  44. ^ "World Women's Curling Championship 2020 cancelled in Prince George, Canada". World Curling Federation. March 12, 2020. Retrieved March 20, 2020.
  45. ^ "GSOC cancels remaining events of 2019–20 season". Grand Slam of Curling. Grand Slam of Curling. March 13, 2020. Retrieved March 20, 2020.
  46. ^ "2021 Scotties Tournament of Hearts: Teams: Canada (Einarson)". Curling Canada. Retrieved March 1, 2021.
  47. ^ Spencer, Donna (February 28, 2021). "Kerri Einarson wins back-to-back Scotties titles". CBC Sports. The Canadian Press. Retrieved March 1, 2021.
  48. ^ "All-Stars, Award-Winners Named!". Curling Canada. Retrieved March 1, 2021.
  49. ^ "We're down to eight!". Curling Canada. March 23, 2021. Retrieved June 6, 2021.
  50. ^ Jonathan Brazeau (April 25, 2021). "Einarson tops Homan to defend Players' Championship women's title". Grand Slam of Curling. Retrieved April 25, 2021.
  51. ^ "Canada falls to Germany". Curling Canada. May 3, 2021. Retrieved June 6, 2021.
  52. ^ "Onto the playoffs!". Curling Canada. May 7, 2021. Retrieved June 6, 2021.
  53. ^ Steve Seixeiro (May 8, 2021). "Sweden and United States progress to LGT World Women's semi-finals". World Curling Federation. Retrieved June 6, 2021.
  54. ^ "2021 Scotties Tournament of Hearts Media Guide" (PDF). Curling Canada. Retrieved February 16, 2021.
  55. ^ 2017 Canadian Olympic Curling Trials Media Guide
  56. ^ "Val Sweeting Past Teams". Curlingzone. Retrieved March 1, 2021.

External links[]

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