Rachel "Rachelle" Brown (born July 9, 1986 as Rachel Pidherny) is a
Canadian
Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...
curler from
Edmonton
Edmonton is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Central Alberta ...
,
Alberta
Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...
.
She is currently the alternate on Team
Rachel Homan
Rachel Catherine Homan (born April 5, 1989) is a Canadian international curling, curler and the reigning women's world champion. Homan is a former 2010 Canadian Junior Curling Championships, Canadian junior champion, a five-time Scotties Tourna ...
.
Career
Born in
Smithers, British Columbia
Smithers is a town in northwestern British Columbia, approximately halfway between Prince George, British Columbia, Prince George and Prince Rupert, British Columbia, Prince Rupert. With a population of 5,378 in 2021, Smithers provides service cove ...
, Brown moved to Edmonton c. 2006. As a university curler, she represented the
University of Alberta
The University of Alberta (also known as U of A or UAlberta, ) is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford, the first premier of Alberta, and Henry Marshall Tory, t ...
at four
CIS/CCA Curling Championships. Brown first represented her new province at the
2009 Canadian Mixed Curling Championship, playing lead for Team Alberta, skipped by
Tom Appelman. The team had a less than successful tournament, going 3–8, but Brown had the best percentage among leads in the tournament, and was named to the First All-Star team.
Brown played for a number of skips before joining the
Sweeting rink in 2011. She played with
Joanne Delanoy from 2008 to 2009,
Diane Foster and
Casey Scheidegger from 2009 to 2010 and for
Bobbie Sauder and
Dana Ferguson from 2010 to 2011. Brown played in her first
provincial championships in 2011 with Ferguson, finishing fourth. With Team Sweeting, they had a 3–4 record, failing to qualify for the playoffs at the
2013 Canadian Olympic Curling Pre-Trials. Also in the
2013–14 season, the rink had two quarterfinal appearances at Grand Slams, at the
2013 Curlers Corner Autumn Gold Curling Classic and the
2013 Colonial Square Ladies Classic. They continued their success that season by going undefeated at the
2014 Alberta Scotties Tournament of Hearts, where her team beat
Cheryl Bernard in the final. Team Sweeting then represented Alberta at the national championships, the
2014 Scotties Tournament of Hearts. At the Hearts, Ferguson and her Alberta team had a 8–3 record following the round robin. This put them into the playoffs where she had to beat Saskatchewan's
Stefanie Lawton
Stefanie Lawton ( Miller; born June 20, 1980) is a Canadian curler from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.
Career
After an appearance at the 1997 Canadian Junior Curling Championships, she would go on to win the 2000 Canadian Junior Curling Championsh ...
and Manitoba's
Chelsea Carey to get to the final. They did this successfully, but lost to Ontario's
Rachel Homan
Rachel Catherine Homan (born April 5, 1989) is a Canadian international curling, curler and the reigning women's world champion. Homan is a former 2010 Canadian Junior Curling Championships, Canadian junior champion, a five-time Scotties Tourna ...
8–6 to win the silver medal.
After the 2013–14 season, third
Joanne Courtney left the team to play for the Homan rink, the same team they had lost to in the 2014 Scotties final. She would be replaced by
Andrea Crawford, who left the team early in the season when things weren't working out. With
Cathy Overton-Clapham playing third as their spare, they won their first slam at the
2014 Masters of Curling. With
Lori Olson-Johns
Lori Olson (born on November 24, 1976), better known as Lori Olson-Johns is a Canadian curler from Edmonton, Alberta. From 2014–2018, she played third for Val Sweeting and with Sweeting, finished runner-up at the 2015 Scotties Tournament of ...
as their new full-time third, they also made it to the semifinals at two slams and the quarterfinals at one other. They also won the
2014 Canada Cup of Curling, seeking their revenge over Homan in the final. The team would win the
2015 Alberta Scotties Tournament of Hearts, earning the team a berth at the
2015 Scotties Tournament of Hearts
The 2015 Scotties Tournament of Hearts was held from February 14 to 22 at Mosaic Place in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan. The winners represented Canada at the 2015 World Women's Curling Championship held from March 14 to 22 at the Tsukisamu Gymnasium in ...
. There, Sweeting led the rink to a 9–2 round robin record, good enough for second place, behind Team Manitoba, skipped by
Jennifer Jones
Jennifer Jones (born Phylis Lee Isley; March 2, 1919 – December 17, 2009), also known as Jennifer Jones Simon, was an American actress and mental-health advocate. Over the course of her career that spanned more than five decades, she was nomin ...
. They would go on to lose to Manitoba in the 1 vs. 2 game, but rebounded in the semifinal, beating Saskatchewan (skipped by
Stefanie Lawton
Stefanie Lawton ( Miller; born June 20, 1980) is a Canadian curler from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.
Career
After an appearance at the 1997 Canadian Junior Curling Championships, she would go on to win the 2000 Canadian Junior Curling Championsh ...
), before losing to Jones again in the final.
The team found less success in their next season. They won just one tour event (the 2015
HDF Insurance Shoot-Out), though they still made the playoff in 5 of the 6 slams of the season, including making it to the finals of the
2015 Masters, where they lost to Homan. The team would not represent Alberta at the Scotties, as they would lose in the finals of the
2016 Alberta Scotties Tournament of Hearts to the
Chelsea Carey rink, who would end up winning the national title.
In the
2016–17 season, the Sweeting rink would again make the playoffs in five of the six slams, including winning the
2016 Tour Challenge and losing in the final of the
2017 Players' Championship. The team again lost in the finals of the
2017 Alberta Scotties Tournament of Hearts, this time losing to
Shannon Kleibrink. The next season, Team Sweeting defended their title by winning the
2017 Tour Challenge. Team Sweeting played in the
2017 Canadian Olympic Curling Trials, going 4–4, just missing the playoffs. The Sweeting team then turned their attention to the
2018 Alberta Scotties Tournament of Hearts, where she lost in the 3 vs. 4 game. In addition to winning the Tour Challenge, the Sweeting team would make the playoffs in one more slam that season, the
2017 Boost National. The team announced they would be splitting up after the season ended.
After the season, Brown stayed with
Dana Ferguson and the duo joined the Carey team at front end including
Chelsea Carey and
Sarah Wilkes, playing out of
The Glencoe Club in Calgary. Leading up to Alberta provincials, the team had two playoff appearances at
Grand Slam of Curling
The Grand Slam of Curling (formerly branded as the Pinty's Grand Slam of Curling for sponsorship reasons) is a series of curling bonspiels that were formerly part of the annual World Curling Tour. Grand Slam events offer a purse of at least Ca ...
events including a semifinal finish at the
Masters. Team Carey qualified for the
2019 Alberta Scotties Tournament of Hearts as the CTRS leaders from the tour season. They qualified for the playoffs as the "A Qualifier" after defeating
Casey Scheidegger's rink 7–2. They defeated the
Kelsey Rocque rink in the A vs. B playoff game 10–2 and would go on to beat them in the final 8–3 after Carey made a double for four in the ninth end. Representing Alberta at the
2019 Scotties Tournament of Hearts, they went 7–0 through the round robin and finished the championship pool with a 9–2 record which made them the number one seed going into the playoffs. Alberta defeated Saskatchewan's
Robyn Silvernagle rink in the 1 vs. 2 game 11–7 and would face Ontario's
Rachel Homan
Rachel Catherine Homan (born April 5, 1989) is a Canadian international curling, curler and the reigning women's world champion. Homan is a former 2010 Canadian Junior Curling Championships, Canadian junior champion, a five-time Scotties Tourna ...
rink in the final. Team Carey made history when they came back from a 1–5 deficit to win the championship 8–6 with a total of five stolen points and two missed draws by Homan in the 10th and 11th ends. At the
2019 World Women's Curling Championship
The 2019 World Women's Curling Championship (branded as the 2019 LGT World Women's Curling Championship for sponsorship reasons) was held from 16 to 24 March at the Silkeborg Sportscenter in Silkeborg, Denmark.
Qualification
The following nat ...
, the team struggled and were the first Canadian women's team not to make the playoffs at the championship in twenty years. They finished the season with a quarterfinal finish at the
2019 Players' Championship and by missing the playoffs at the
2019 Champions Cup.
Team Carey did not have a strong start to the Grand Slam season, only making the playoffs at one of the first four events,
the National. They had a strong week at the
2019 Canada Cup going 4–2 through the round robin, qualifying for the playoffs. In the semifinal, they lost to the
Tracy Fleury rink 9–4. At the
2020 Scotties Tournament of Hearts, Team Carey led Team Canada to a 5–6 record, missing the playoffs and settling for seventh place. It would be the team's last event of the season as both the
Players' Championship and the
Champions Cup Grand Slam events were cancelled due to the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
. On March 13, 2020, Wilkes announced she would be parting ways with the team. Three days later, both Ferguson and Brown announced they would be leaving and the team officially disbanded. On March 21,
Kelsey Rocque and
Danielle Schmiemann announced they would be adding Ferguson and Brown to their team for the
2020–21 season.
Due to the pandemic, most of the tour events during the 2020–21 season were cancelled. Team Rocque played only one competitive game together during the entire season at the Okotoks Ladies Classic in November. After the first draw, the event was cancelled due to a province-wide shutdown in Alberta. Due to the
COVID-19 pandemic in Alberta
The COVID-19 pandemic in Alberta is part of an COVID-19 pandemic, ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), an infectious disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The Provinces and te ...
, the 2021 provincial championship was also cancelled. As the reigning provincials champions, Team
Laura Walker were chosen to represent Alberta at the
2021 Scotties Tournament of Hearts
The 2021 Scotties Tournament of Hearts, Canada's national women's curling championship, was held from February 19 to 28 at the Markin MacPhail Centre at Canada Olympic Park in Calgary, Alberta. The winning Kerri Einarson team represented Canada ...
. However, due to many provinces cancelling their provincial championships as a result of the
COVID-19 pandemic in Canada
The COVID-19 pandemic in Canada is part of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (). It is caused by SARS-CoV-2, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Most cases over the course o ...
,
Curling Canada added three Wild Card teams to the national championship, which were based on the
CTRS standings
The Canadian Team Ranking System (CTRS) is a point system used by Curling Canada to rank men's and women's curling teams across Canada. They are determined through points earned in various curling bonspiels held worldwide throughout the season.
...
from the
2019–20 season. Team Rocque was one of the top three non-qualified teams, but they did not retain at least three of their four players from the previous season, meaning they could not qualify for the national championship. Walker's regular lead
Nadine Scotland, who was three-months pregnant, opted not to play in the tournament, which was being held in a "bubble" due to the pandemic, so Brown and teammate
Dana Ferguson were invited to join the Walker rink at lead and alternate respectively. At the Scotties, the team finished with a 9–3 round robin record, tied for third with Manitoba, skipped by
Jennifer Jones
Jennifer Jones (born Phylis Lee Isley; March 2, 1919 – December 17, 2009), also known as Jennifer Jones Simon, was an American actress and mental-health advocate. Over the course of her career that spanned more than five decades, she was nomin ...
. Alberta beat Manitoba in the tiebreaker, but lost in the semifinal against the defending champion Team Canada rink, skipped by
Kerri Einarson, settling for the bronze medal.
In their first event of the
2021–22 season, Team Rocque reached the quarterfinals of the
2021 Alberta Curling Series: Saville Shoot-Out. Due to the pandemic, the qualification process for the
2021 Canadian Olympic Curling Trials had to be modified to qualify enough teams for the championship. In these modifications,
Curling Canada created the
2021 Canadian Curling Trials Direct-Entry Event, an event where five teams would compete to try to earn one of three spots into the
2021 Canadian Olympic Curling Trials. Team Rocque qualified for the Trials Direct-Entry Event due to their
CTRS ranking from the 2019–20 season. At the event, the team went 3–1 through the round robin, enough to secure their spot at the Olympic Trials. Next, Team Rocque played in both the
2021 Masters and the
2021 National Grand Slam events. After failing to reach the playoffs at the Masters, the team made it all the way to the semifinals of the National where they were defeated by
Tracy Fleury. A few weeks later, they competed in the Olympic Trials, held November 20 to 28 in
Saskatoon
Saskatoon () is the largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It straddles a bend in the South Saskatchewan River in the central region of the province. It is located along the Trans-Canada Hig ...
,
Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada. It is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and to the south by the ...
. At the event, the team began by losing five of their first six games. They then won their final two games, which included a victory over
Kerri Einarson, to finish in seventh place with a 3–5 record. Team Rocque then competed in the
2022 Alberta Scotties Tournament of Hearts, where they posted a 6–1 record through the round robin. This created a three-way tie between Rocque,
Laura Walker and the
Casey Scheidegger rink, however, as Walker had to best draw shot challenge between the three rinks, they advanced directly to the final. In the semifinal, Team Rocque fell 10–7 to Team Scheidegger, eliminating them from contention. On March 21, 2022, the team announced that they would be staying together despite the Olympic quadrennial coming to an end.
Team Rocque began the
2022–23 season at the
2022 Saville Shoot-Out where they missed the playoffs with a 3–2 record. The team next played in the
2022 PointsBet Invitational. They defeated
Christina Black in the first round before losing to Kerri Einarson in the quarterfinals. Team Rocque were invited to compete in the
2022 Tour Challenge Tier 2 event where they qualified for the playoffs with a 3–1 record. They then lost to
Clancy Grandy 7–4 in the quarterfinals. After winning the last chance qualifier in Rimbey, the team qualified for the
2023 Alberta Scotties Tournament of Hearts. There, Team Rocque had mixed results, ultimately missing the playoffs with a 4–3 record. The team announced on February 6, 2023, that they would be parting ways. At the end of the season, Brown spared for
Sarah Wilkes on Team Homan who was on maternity leave. With the team, she played in two Grand Slams, the
2023 Players' Championship and the
2023 Champions Cup. After missing the playoffs, Team Homan won the Champions Cup, giving Brown her fourth Slam title.
At the start of the
2023–24 season, Brown spared as lead on Team Clancy Grandy for three events, replacing
Sarah Loken who was injured. They made it to the quarterfinals of the
2023 PointsBet Invitational before missing the playoffs at the
2023 Players Open and the
2023 Tour Challenge Slam event.
In January 2024, Team Homan named Brown as their alternate for the
2024 Scotties Tournament of Hearts
The 2024 Scotties Tournament of Hearts, Canada's national women's curling championship, was held from February 16 to 25 at the Markin MacPhail Centre at Canada Olympic Park in Calgary, Alberta. The winning Rachel Homan team represented Canada at ...
. At the Hearts, the team went undefeated, winning all eleven of their games, including the final, where they beat
Jennifer Jones
Jennifer Jones (born Phylis Lee Isley; March 2, 1919 – December 17, 2009), also known as Jennifer Jones Simon, was an American actress and mental-health advocate. Over the course of her career that spanned more than five decades, she was nomin ...
5–4. It was Jones' last Hearts, as she decided to retire prior to the event. With the Scotties win, the team went on to represent Canada at the
2024 World Women's Curling Championship. At the Worlds, the team had an unmatched 11–1 round robin record which included ending Switzerland and
Silvana Tirinzoni's 42 game winning streak at the Women's Worlds, which dated back to the
2021 Worlds. Their only defeat came against South Korea (skipped by
Gim Eun-ji) in the last draw, a meaningless game for the team, as they had clinched first place and a bye to the semifinals. Team Canada faced-off against the Koreans again in the semifinals, and this time beat them, 9–7. This put them into the final, where they faced off against the four-time defending World Champion Tirinzoni team. Heading into the ninth end of the game, the team was down 5–4 to the Swiss, but Homan made a split of a rock in the 12-foot on her last to score three, giving her team a 7–5 lead. Switzerland conceded the game in the 10th after deciding they didn't have a shot to tie the game.
Personal life
Brown works as a teacher with
Black Gold Regional Schools. She is married, and has one child.
[2018 Home Hardware Canada Cup Media Guide: Rachel Brown] Her name appears as "Rachel" on her birth certificate, but she grew up spelling (and pronouncing) her name as "Rachelle", as that is what her mother intended on naming her.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, Rachel
1986 births
Living people
Canadian women curlers
Curlers from British Columbia
Curlers from Edmonton
People from Smithers, British Columbia
University of Alberta alumni
Canadian women's curling champions
Continental Cup of Curling participants
Canada Cup (curling) participants
World curling champions
21st-century Canadian sportswomen