Curler Heather Strong to represent province at Scotties

Heather Strong will represent Newfoundland and Labrador at the Canadian Women's Curling Championship for the 12th time in her career.

Strong's team defeated Stephanie Guzwell 6-4 in the provincial women's curling championship Sunday.

Strong, third Stephanie Korab, second Jessica Cunningham and lead Kathryn Cooper qualified for the Scotties Tournament of Hearts in Moose Jaw, Sask., next month.

The teams representing Quebec and Northern Ontario at the national championship Feb. 14-22 were also determined Sunday.

Lauren Mann downed Roxanne Perron 10-6 in the Quebec women's final in Trois-Rivieres.

Tracy Horgan will skip the first Northern Ontario team to compete in the Scotties. The former Ontario women's champion edged Kendra Lilly 4-3 in Thunder Bay.

Kerry Galusha of the Northwest Territories, Yukon's Sarah Koltun and defending champion Rachel Homan from Ottawa have already qualified for the Scotties.

The rest of the field will be determined in upcoming provincial championships.

The Canadian Curling Association has altered the format for both the Scotties and the men's championship, the Tim Hortons Brier, to make it a true national championship with all provinces and territories represented.

The Brier will feature a defending champion Team Canada and the Scotties will have a Northern Ontario representative for the first time so that the men's and women's national championships mirror each other.

Galusha, Koltun, Horgan and a representative from Nunavut will square off in a pre-qualification tournament with the winner advancing to the main draw of the Scottties.