Kathleen Shirley Zinck ( Smith; July 14, 1961 – October 1, 2022) was a Canadian curler. She won the Tournament of Hearts national women's championship in 1982.

Early life

Zinck was born in

Truro, Nova Scotia Truro (Scottish Gaelic: ''Trùru'') is a town in central Nova Scotia, Canada. Truro is the shire town of Colchester County and is located on the south side of the Salmon River (Nova Scotia), Salmon River floodplain, close to the river's mouth ...

, the daughter of Russell Smith and Helen MacDonald. She grew up in Truro, where she graduated high school at the

Cobequid Education Centre Cobequid Educational Centre (CEC) is a high school located in Truro, Nova Scotia, Canada. CEC serves not only the town of Truro, but rural areas in Central and West Colchester County. The school is one of the largest high schools in the province o ...

Career

As a junior curler, Zinck won two provincial junior championships in 1978 and 1980. In 1978, she led her Nova Scotia rink of Krista Gatchell, Cathy Caudle and Peggy Wilson to a 6–4 record at the

Canadian Junior Curling Championships The Canadian Under-20 Curling Championships, more commonly known as the Canadian Junior Curling Championships, is an annual curling tournament held to determine the best youth curling team in Canada. Junior level curlers must be under the age of ...

, good enough for a tie for third place. In 1980, she led the same team to a national junior championship, defeating Manitoba in the final, and finished the event with a 9–2 record. Two years later, while attending at

Dalhousie University Dalhousie University (commonly known as Dal) is a large public research university in Nova Scotia, Canada, with three campuses in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Halifax, a fourth in Bible Hill, Nova Scotia, Bible Hill, and a second medical school campus ...

, Zinck joined the

Colleen Jones Colleen Patricia Jones (born December 16, 1959) is a Canadian curler and television personality. She is best known as the skip of two women's world championship teams and six Tournament of Hearts Canadian women's championships, including an un ...

rink as her

third Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * 1⁄60 of a ''second'', i.e., the third in a series of fractional parts in a sexagesimal number system Places * 3rd Street (di ...

. The team won the Nova Scotia provincial women's championship in 1982, and went on to represent the province at the national

Tournament of Hearts The Scotties Tournament of Hearts ('; commonly referred to as the Scotties) is the annual Canadian women's curling championship, sanctioned by Curling Canada, formerly called the Canadian Curling Association. The winner goes on to represent Can ...

. There, the team won the championship, and went on to represent Canada at the

1982 World Women's Curling Championship The 1982 World Women's Curling Championship, the women's world curling championship, was held from March 16–21 at the Patinoire des Vernets in Geneva, Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked countr ...

. At the Worlds, the team lost both of their tiebreaker matches, and missed the playoffs. Zinck would go on to graduate from Dalhousie with a degree in physiotherapy. As a member of the Jones rink, Zinck won three more provincial titles, in 1993, 1994 and 1996. Playing

second The second (symbol: s) is a unit of time derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes, and finally to 60 seconds each (24 × 60 × 60 = 86400). The current and formal definition in the International System of U ...

on the team, they finished with a 6–5 record at the

1993 Scott Tournament of Hearts The 1993 Scott Tournament of Hearts, the Canadian women's national curling championship, was held from February 27 to March 6, 1993 at the Keystone Centre in Brandon, Manitoba. The total attendance for the week was a then-record 88,022, which br ...

, tied for fourth. In 1994, Zinck was the third on the team again, and they finished with a 4–7 record at the

. At the

1996 Scott Tournament of Hearts The 1996 Scott Tournament of Hearts, the Canadian women's national curling championship, was held from February 17 to 25, 1996 at the Fort William Gardens in Thunder Bay, Ontario. The total attendance for the week was 51,029. Team Ontario, who ...

, the team made it to a tiebreaker match after finishing the round robin with a 6–5 record. After beating British Columbia in the first tiebreaker, they lost to Manitoba in the second. Zinck left the team the next season, but won provincial titles as a skip in 2000 and 2005. At the 2000 Scott Tournament of Hearts, she led her rink of

Heather Smith-Dacey Heather Smith (born September 21, 1972 in Sackville, New Brunswick) is a Canadian curler from Fall River, Nova Scotia. While married to Brier champion Mark Dacey, she was known as Heather Smith-Dacey. Career 1990–2000 Smith grew up in Sackvi ...

, Krista Bernard and

Laine Peters Laine Peters ronounced: LAY-nee(born March 24, 1970, in Arborfield, Saskatchewan) is a Canadian curler, from Calgary. Peters has played in 11 Tournament of Hearts and six World Championships. Peters grew up in Carrot River, Saskatchewan. Ca ...

to a 7–4 round robin record. This put them in a tiebreaker against BC's

Kelley Law Kelley Law (born January 11, 1966, in Burnaby, British Columbia), Atkins, formerly Owen, is a Canadian curler from Coquitlam, British Columbia. She grew up in Maple Ridge, British Columbia. Career Law is most notable for winning a bronze medal ...

rink, which they lost, settling for fifth place. At the

2005 Scott Tournament of Hearts The 2005 Scott Tournament of Hearts, the Canadian women's curling championship, was held at Mile One Stadium in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador from February 19 to 27, 2005. The tournament included 12 teams, one from each of Canada's provi ...

, she led her team of

Mary Mattatall Mary Mattatall (born April 22, 1960, in Halifax, Nova Scotia) is a Canadian curler and coach from Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. Career Juniors Mattatall won the 1979 Nova Scotia junior women's title with teammates Faith Tregunno, Susan McCurdy and Deb ...

, Candice Mittelstadt and

Monica Moriarty Monica Moriarty (née Jones; born c. 1961) is a Canadian curling, curler. She won the and the 1999 Canadian Mixed Curling Championship, 1999 Canadian Mixed Championship. Teams Women's Mixed Personal life Moriarty is a sister of former tea ...

to a 5–6 record, missing the playoffs. Zinck also won a provincial mixed title in 1991, playing third for Myers. The team represented Nova Scotia at that year's

Canadian Mixed Curling Championship The Canadian Mixed Curling Championship is the national curling championship for mixed curling in Canada. The winners of the tournament represent Canada at the World Mixed Curling Championship. In mixed curling, the positions on a team must alte ...

, where they finished with a 4–7 record.

Personal life

Zinck worked as a physiotherapist. Zinck was married and had three children. She died on October 1, 2022, at the

Queen Elizabeth II Health Sciences Centre Queen Elizabeth II Health Sciences Centre, in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, is a large teaching hospital and Level 1 Trauma Centre affiliated with Dalhousie University. The QEII cares for adult patients. Pediatric patients within the region are c ...

Halifax, Nova Scotia Halifax is the capital and most populous municipality of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the most populous municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of 2024, it is estimated that the population of the H ...

, at the age of 61.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Zinck, Kay 1961 births 2022 deaths Canadian women's curling champions Dalhousie University alumni Canadian physiotherapists People from Windsor, Nova Scotia Curlers from Halifax, Nova Scotia 20th-century Canadian sportswomen