The Thursday evening opening draw is complete at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts provincial women’s curling championship at the Silver Fox Curling and Yacht Club in Summerside. Five teams, three from Charlottetown and two from Cornwall, are taking part in the round robin competition with a Page playoff that wraps up Monday evening. Defending champion Suzanne Birt, returning to the club where she began her curling career, beat Cornwall’s Donna Butler by a 7- 4 score, aided by a seventh end triple, while Birt’s Charlottetown clubmate Kim Dolan stole five points in the first end, and another two in the second, on the way to a 12-3 win over Cornwall’s Karen Currie. The Robyn MacPhee rink had the night off.

Friday play is at 10 am, when Currie meets Cornwall clubmate Butler, and MacPhee takes on Dolan, with draw three at 3 pm, when Currie plays MacPhee, and Dolan battles Birt.

The PEI champion advances to the national Scotties, February 21 to March 1st in Victoria BC.