Photo: Team Saskatchewan arrives at the Regina airport Wednesday.
By Ken Gousseau, CTV Regina.
Scores of supporters turned out on a frigid Wednesday evening to give curling champion Amber Holland and her teammates a warm welcome home.
The Kronau rink was greeted with resounding cheers and applause as they arrived at the Regina airport with hardware from the Scotties Tournament of Hearts in tow.
“I broke into tears right away,” said third Kim Schneider. “Seeing all the support is amazing. It’s so overwhelming.”
Holland is the first Saskatchewan team to win the tournament since Sandra Schmirler, Jan Betker, Joan McCusker and Marcia Gudereit did it in 1997. It’s an achievement that has yet to sink in, the Saskatchewan skip says.
“To say that we’re in the same company as Sandra and Jan and Marcia and Joan, that’s pretty special to us,” Holland said.
Saskatchewan second Tammy Schneider says she was in disbelief after the team stole the Scotties in Charlottetown on Sunday.
“Every curler dreams of making that walk down the ice as a champion,” she said.
“The entire arena was behind us. It was an unbelievable feeling and something that I’ll never forget.”
Team Saskatchewan will represent Canada at the World Women’s Curling Championship in Esbjerg, Denmark from March 18 to 27.