Saskatchewan’s Campbell earns first win as a skip at the Scotties in a decade

MISSISSAUGA – Jolene Campbell has experienced the joy of winning the Scotties Tournament of Hearts as an alternate.

Now she wants to do it again as a skip. 

Wearing Saskatchewan colours at the national women’s curling championship for the first time in a decade, Campbell guided her rink to an 8-5 victory over B.C.’s Taylor Reese-Hansen on Sunday to even her round-robin record at 1-1. 

“We just wanted to come out and throw the rock like we’re real curlers again,” Campbell said. 

Campbell, 44, has longtime skip Robyn Silvernagle at vice with Rachel Big Eagle and Dayna Demmans playing on the front end for the first time at the Scotties. 

After opening with an 11-3 loss to Nova Scotia’s Taylour Stevens, the Saskatchewan rink appeared more settled in the afternoon draw at Paramount Fine Foods Centre.

Campbell threw 81 per cent and Silvernagle led all back-end players at 89 per cent. 

“I think if we just keep building off of this game, keep reading the ice better, throwing better, getting more comfortable out there, it’s a curling game and you never know who could win,” Silvernagle said. 

Campbell was a fifth on Amber Holland’s team that won the Scotties crown in 2011. She was 6-5 as skip at the 2016 national playdowns and returned to the Scotties in 2022 at third on a wild-card entry skipped by Chelsea Carey. 

“I was fortunate to be a wild-card team and it’s different to wear the green jacket when you’re from Saskatchewan,” Campbell said. “There’s so much pride in it. There is so much support and love from back home.”

Silvernagle, who’s making her fourth career appearance at the event, won Scotties bronze in her debut in 2019. She played third for one season over a decade ago and also played the position at times as a junior.

“Overall it has been really good,” Silvernagle said of the transition. “I have full trust in Jo to make everything after me. So that has also been really nice and just taken a little bit of the pressure off. 

“As a skip, it’s do or die. As a third, maybe not quite as much.”

Campbell threw third rocks ahead of Silvernagle for one season in 2017-18 but they didn’t make it past provincials. This time around, they edged Jana Tisdale 4-3 to book their ticket for Mississauga. 

“We’re very like-minded, just about giving (and) receiving feedback,” Campbell said. “We’re both very competitive, we’re both pretty thick-skinned, so that works really well when you can just kind of dump something on the other person and they can take it and carry on.

“So that part of it is almost like a sisterhood between the two of us. It was really easy and automatic.”

Campbell made a triple-takeout in the ninth end that helped limit B.C. to a single. Saskatchewan had hammer coming home and made a hit for the win. 

“She’s a very confident skipper, I love it,” Silvernagle said. “When she has a game plan, she sticks to it and she knows what she likes to play.

“She’s a great hitter, but can also make a lot of draws when she needs to. She’s a clutch player.”

In other games, Manitoba’s Kaitlyn Lawes made a draw for five in the ninth end of an 11-6 win over Ontario’s Hailey Armstrong. Canada’s Kerri Einarson defeated Stevens 9-6 and Quebec’s Jolianne Fortin beat Yukon’s Bayly Scoffin 10-5.

Another session was scheduled for Sunday night. 

In morning play, Nova Scotia’s Christina Black defeated Alberta’s Selena Sturmay 9-6 and Manitoba’s Beth Peterson rolled to a 13-3 victory over New Brunswick’s Melodie Forsythe.

Nunavut’s Julia Weagle topped Prince Edward Island’s Amanda Power 8-5 and Northern Ontario’s Krista Scharf posted a 12-5 win over Mackenzie Mitchell of Newfoundland and Labrador.

Competition continues through Feb. 1. The winning team will represent Canada at the world women’s curling championship in March at Calgary. 

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 25, 2026.