Rachel Homan's curling team repeats as Canadian women's champions

Canada skip Rachel Homan directs her sweeps in the finals against Manitoba during the Scotties Tournament of Hearts in Thunder Bay, Ont., Sunday, Feb. 23, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/David Jackson

THUNDER BAY, Ont. — Rachel Homan’s dominance of women’s curling continued Sunday with a 6-1 win over Manitoba’s Kerri Einarson to win the Scotties Tournament of Hearts.

Homan skips a team ranked No. 1 in both Canada and the world.

Not only did her Ottawa Curling Club foursome claim back-to-back Canadian championships, but also went undefeated in the tournament a second straight year, which no other team has done.

Homan was also the first player with 100 per cent shooting accuracy in a Hearts final that was low-scoring, but entertaining until Einarson gave up four stolen points in ends seven through nine and shook hands.

“I’m just so proud of my team this week,” Homan said. “It was so tough. We battled through a lot of games. Einarson’s team just played phenomenal. We needed the 100 per cent to beat them.

“Numerous times, I was like ‘who’s gonna blink?’ Thankfully, you know, it wasn’t us.”

Homan, Tracy Fleury, second Emma Miskew and lead Sarah Wilkes will attempt to repeat as world champions March 15-23 in Uijeongbu, South Korea, after taking last year’s world title in Sydney, N.S.

They also earned a return trip to the 2026 Scotties Tournament of Hearts in Mississauga, Ont., and $100,000 in prize money.

Homan and Emma Miskew collected the fifth Canadian curling crowns of their careers behind Jennifer Jones, Jill Officer and Colleen Jones with six. It was the second for Fleury and Wilkes.

Homan, Einarson and Jennifer Jones have skipped the only teams to repeat in the last 15 years. Einarson took four in a row from 2020 to 2023, Jones three straight from 2008 to 2010, and Homan back-to-back in 2013 and 2014.

With Sunday’s victory, Homan also matched her own record of 22 straight wins at the Hearts, which her teams set from 2013 to 2015.

Homan’s team was the crowd favourite Sunday in Thunder Bay, Ont., where the Fort William Gardens was sold out at 3,442.

Homan is considered the best in women’s curling at throwing big-weight, accurate hits. There are few enemy stone configurations that are safe from her when she’s on her game.

The margin of error against a team that carried 88 per cent shooting accuracy through the playoffs was slim, and made generating a multi-point end against it an uphill battle.

The defending champions tightened their grip on a second straight title when Einarson was light on a draw against two Homan counters in the eighth end. That gave up a steal of two and a 5-1 lead to Homan.

Einarson needed a double takeout at the back of the rings to score two in the ninth and missed to give up one.

Homan’s hit and roll behind partial cover forced Einarson to draw the button in the seventh. Einarson’s attempted draw was heavy and gave a stolen point to Homan.

“I definitely want some shots back,” Einarson said. “I got caught in some paths where it just wasn’t up to speed. It got fudgy in the middle and we just didn’t pick up on it or believe it.

“Unfortunately, this game, we just struggled for the last half.”

Two mistakes by Homan’s vice Tracy Fleury had Einarson setting up a multi-point third end. A pair of double takeouts by Homan erased that chance and Einarson blanked the end.

“Those shots were huge. They were team shots. I didn’t make them on my own for sure,” Homan said.

Homan continued to clear the rings with a raise double hit in the fourth. Einarson was left with a hit against three counters to score a point, but Homan was also forced to hit for one in the fifth for a 2-1 lead.

Einarson skipped the only Canadian team to beat Homan this season back in October, but fell short of retaking the title after a 9-8 semifinal win over Nova Scotia’s Christina Black earlier Sunday.

Homan stated her frustration with Gardens ice conditions during the tournament. Her team’s experience, patience and relentlessness overcame that.

“We’re just having the best time together and it’s so fun with this team,” Homan said. “We want to win every game we’re in. Want to give ourselves a chance to win every game we’re in.”

The three teams ranked below Homan’s in the Canadian Team Ranking System (CTRS) at the end of the curling season in April gain express tickets to Mississauga’s Hearts under Curling Canada qualification rules introduced last year.

Einarson ranked second behind Homan, Alberta’s Kayla Skrlik third and Black fourth before their arrivals in Thunder Bay.

An Olympic trials berth was also the reward for the Hearts winner in Thunder Bay, but Homan already has one after her 2024 victory in Calgary. Einarson owns another as the top-ranked team behind Homan last season.

So a trials berth will fall to the highest team not already qualified in the CTRS after April’s AMJ Players' Championship in Toronto.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 23, 2025.

Donna Spencer, The Canadian Press