Curler looking to win again

Curler looking to win again A former New Brunswick Jr. champ is taking another shot at the Saskatchewan women’s curling title.

Former New Brunswick Jr. curling champion, Ashley Howard, continues to enjoy a career in curling, and hopes to get back to the national stage.

Howard most recently was chasing a Saskatchewan women’s curling title at the Viterra Scotties Tournament of Hearts, January 2-7, 2018 in Melfort. Although she came up short, the skip continues to love the sport.

"Curling's been amazing, the people that you get to meet, different opportunities, places that you get to travel are amazing,” Ashley Howard said.

Howard has been able to make a career out of curling. The sport first took a hold of her when she was a skip at the 2009 Canadian Junior Championship, and a pair of provincial Scotties. She’s even travelled to Japan and Switzerland to compete.

“(I'm) very thankful to have curling in my life, and have it be such a big part of my life,” Ashley Howard said.

Howard grew up in rural Ontario. The first big move in her life came when her dad Russ, a Canadian curling icon himself, took a job in New Brunswick.

"They were a little shocked when they found out where New Brunswick was on the map, they had no idea. It was like, the comment from Ashely was ‘Do you know how far that is?’” Russ Howard said.

Following junior competition, in New Brunswick, Howard headed out west when she was presented with an opportunity to play with Cathy Overton-Clapham in Manitoba.

"It was an opportunity to challenge myself, and to play with players I really thought highly of. I really learned a lot and played front end, and got a great perspective of that,” Ashley Howard said.

After two years in Manitoba, Howard made the move to Saskatchewan, making it the fourth province she had lived in. The move proved to be a good decision for her curling career.

"There was a boy involved with that. We met at the Saskatoon Brier in 2012, and I kept coming West, and I've been in Regina for three years,” Ashley Howard said.

"She fell in love with Regina and the people, and the comradery out here. We came from a small town in Ontario, we went to the East which is noted for their hospitality, and she felt the same way in Regina and the rural areas,” Russ Howard said.

Ashley Howard is now the CurlSask executive director. She still manages to find time to play the game that she loves.

"It's been interesting to move, kind of the touch game in Ontario, the hack-weighters and things like that. A few more hits in the East coast, and Manitoba is kind of a combination of everything, and Saskatchewan. It's neat to get to a national championship, and have played in a few different provinces. Know those strategies and tendencies of a lot of players. I think it's a bit of an advantage, you just got to get to those events,” Ashley Howard said.

Ashley Howard is using all the knowledge of living in different provinces to help with her goal of getting back to the national stage.

With files from Pat McKay.