Crystal Webster Explained

Crystal Webster
Birth Name:Crystal Rumberg
Birth Date:26 February 1975
Birth Place:Medicine Hat, Alberta
Curling Club: The Glencoe Club, Calgary, Alberta[1]
Skip:Kayla Skrlik
Third:Brittany Tran
Second:Geri-Lynn Ramsay
Lead:Ashton Skrlik
Alternate:Crystal Webster
Member Association: (1994–2015; 2018–present)
(2015–2018)
Hearts Appearances:3
Top Cca Ranking:7th (2011–12, 2015–16, 2016–17)

Crystal Webster (born as Crystal Rumberg on February 26, 1975, in Medicine Hat, Alberta) is a Canadian curler from Calgary, Alberta.

Career

Juniors

Webster made her national curling debut at the 1994 Canadian Junior Curling Championships. This would be her first and only appearance at the junior championships. She was skipping her own team, representing Alberta at the championship. They would miss the playoffs, finishing round robin with a 6–5 record.[2]

1998–2001

In 1998 Webster joined up with and played lead for Calgary skip Cheryl Bernard. The team would have a successful year, finishing third in the Husky Autumn Gold Classic, second in the Saskatoon Classic, winning the Skyreach Curling Classic and finished second place on the curling tour money list. The following year the team would win the JVC curling classic, and were finalists in the TSN Women's Skins game.[3]

In 2000 the team would have their first successful run at the Alberta Scott Tournament of Hearts, where they would make it all the way to the final before losing to Heather Godberson. The team would participate in the Player's Championship, would give an Olympic Trials Berth. The team would end up losing the final. After the 2000/01 season she left the team.[3]

2009–2015

In 2009, her team was the first qualifier at the Canadian Olympic Pre-Trials. She surprised many, winning the A final over former World Champion Kelly Scott. At the 2009 Canadian Olympic Curling Trials, the rink finished with a 2–5 record.

In her career, she only won two Women's World Curling Tour events, the DEKALB Superspiel in 2009 and the Colonial Square Ladies Classic in 2011. She has made it to two Grand Slam finals. She lost the 2006 Autumn Gold Slam to Kelly Scott and the 2010 Players' Championships to Cheryl Bernard.

She made her first Scotties appearance as the alternate for Shannon Kleibrink, for the 2011 Scotties Tournament of Hearts. The team finished outside of the playoffs with a 6–5 record.[4]

It was at the 2011 Scotties Tournament of Hearts where she approached Geri-Lynn Ramsay and Erin Carmody, who had played with Kathy O'Rourke from 2009 to 2011 in Prince Edward Island, having great success at the 2010 Scotties Tournament of Hearts finishing first in round robin play, and losing the final, asking them to join her team for the 2011-12 curling season.[5] Ramsay was planning to relocate to Calgary with her boyfriend, while Carmody was planning to attend school. The team finished within the top five in five of the world curling tour events they participated in.

At the 2012 Alberta Scotties Tournament of Hearts the team qualified out of the fourth qualified for the playoffs. To do so, they successfully eliminated the defending Alberta champions Shannon Kleibrink. The team would defeat Valerie Sweeting 5–4 in the C1 vs C2 game, and faced Heather Nedohin in the semi-final. They were ahead 5–4 in the tenth end, with hammer and would end up giving up a steal of one to be tied 5-5. In the eleventh end, again with the hammer, they would give up another steal, allowing Nedohin to win the semi-final and eventually the Alberta championship.

At the end of the 2011-12 curling season, the team would finish in seventh place on the Canadian Team Ranking System (CTRS) which was enough to earn the final place in the 2012 Canada Cup of Curling, with the winning team to get a direct entry into the 2013 Canadian Olympic Curling Trials. The team finished the event with a 3–3 record.

At the 2013 Alberta Scotties Tournament of Hearts, her team won just one game. Following the season, she added Cathy Overton-Clapham to the lineup for the 2013–14 curling season, replacing Erin Carmody who moved to Laura Crocker's Edmonton rink. The team played in the Canadian Olympic Curling Trials Qualifying tournament where they just won one game. The team made the playoffs at the 2014 Alberta Scotties Tournament of Hearts, but lost to Cheryl Bernard in the 3 vs. 4 game.

Webster would once again have a lineup change for the 2014–15 curling season. Her new lineup consisted of Jessie Kaufman playing fourth stones, Geri-Lynn Ramsay still at second and Rebecca Konschuh at lead. At the 2015 Alberta Scotties Tournament of Hearts, the team had a pretty good week but lost the "C Qualifier" to Chelsea Carey.

2015–2018

After the conclusion of the 2014–15 season, Webster announced she woi;d be joining the Tracy Fleury rink from Sudbury, Ontario. The team would have a five-player rotation due to work commitments. The team found success early, advancing all the way to the semifinal of the 2015 Tour Challenge Grand Slam.[6] They finished the round robin with a 2–2 record with wins over Eve Muirhead and Kim Eun-jung, qualifying for a tiebreaker.[7] The team stole the 8th end of the tiebreaker against Chelsea Carey and went on to defeat Sherry Middaugh in the quarterfinal.[8] They were defeated by Switzerland's Silvana Tirinzoni 9–7 in the semifinal to end their run in the slam.[9] It marked the first time Fleury advanced to the semifinal of a Slam. Although the team struggled at the next Slam, The Masters, finishing with a 1–3 record, they quickly rebounded and made it all the way to the final of The National.[10] [11] Up 4–3 without hammer in the eighth and final end, the team forced Rachel Homan to execute a difficult draw to the four-foot through a port to win, which was made.[12] A month later, they played in the 2015 Canada Cup of Curling, where they went 1–5.[13] [14] In their next slam, the team lost in the quarterfinals of the 2015 Meridian Canadian Open.[15] In playdowns, the team failed in their attempt to repeat as Northern Ontario champions, losing to Krista McCarville in the final.[16] They wrapped up their season at the 2016 Players' Championship, where they finished with a 1–4 record.[17] The team's success from the season left them in seventh spot on the Canadian Team Ranking System.[18]

Team Fleury began the 2016–17 Grand Slam season at the 2016 WFG Masters, going 1–3 at the event.[19] A month later, the team lost in the quarterfinals of the 2016 Tour Challenge.[20] Later that month, they picked up a win at The Sunova Spiel at East St. Paul World Curling Tour event.[21] A week later, they played in the 2016 Canada Cup of Curling, which they finished with a 2–4 record.[22] At their next slam, the 2016 National, they missed the playoffs again with a 1–3 record.[23] They were more successful at the 2017 Meridian Canadian Open, where they lost in the quarterfinal.[24] At the 2017 Northern Ontario Scotties Tournament of Hearts, they again lost in the final to the Krista McCarville rink.[25] [26] The team finished their season with another quarterfinal finish at the 2017 Players' Championship.[27]

The team began the 2017–18 season at the 2017 Tour Challenge, where they finished with a winless 0–4 record.[28] The next month, they picked up a tour event win at the Gord Carroll Curling Classic.[29] After three seasons as one of the top teams in Canada, Team Fleury qualified for the 2017 Canadian Olympic Curling Pre-Trials as the number one seed.[30] At the Pre-trials, they finished with a disappointing 2–4 record, missing the playoffs.[31] A week later, the team rebounded by making it all the way to the semifinal of the 2017 National Grand Slam event.[32] The team regrouped at the 2018 Northern Ontario Scotties Tournament of Hearts, defeating Krista McCarville in the final to qualify for the 2018 Scotties Tournament of Hearts.[33] The team would finish round-robin and championship pool play with an 8–3 record, in fourth place and a spot in the playoffs.[34] [35] They would lose the 3 vs. 4 page playoff game to Mary-Anne Arsenault of Nova Scotia, eliminating them from the tournament.[36] A few weeks later, the team announced they would disband at the end of the 2017–18 season, citing work and family commitments.[37] [38]

Personal life

She is employed as a mortgage specialist with RBC. She has two children.[39]

Grand Slam record

Event2006–072007–082008–092009–102010–112011–122012–132013–142014–152015–162016–172017–18
MastersN/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/AQDNPDNPQQDNP
Tour ChallengeN/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/ASFQFQ
The NationalN/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/AFQSF
Canadian OpenN/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/ADNPQFQFDNP
Players'QDNPQFQDNPDNPQDNPQQFDNP

Former events

Event2006–072007–082008–092009–102010–112011–122012–132013–142014–15
Autumn GoldFQQQQQFQQQ
Colonial SquareN/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/AR16QQ
Manitoba Liquor & LotteriesDNPQQQDNPDNPQQFN/A
Wayden TransportationQQQFN/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/A
Sobeys SlamN/AQQFN/ADNPN/AN/AN/AN/A

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Crystal Webster Profile. Curling Alberta. February 22, 2023.
  2. Web site: Archived copy . 2012-06-17 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120909085659/http://cdn.curling.ca/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/Juniors_Women_1994.pdf?e81271 . 2012-09-09 . dead .
  3. Web site: Team Bernard . www.teambernard.com . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110121150649/http://www.teambernard.com/accomplishments.htm . 2011-01-21.
  4. Web site: Archived copy . 2012-06-17 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120516151731/http://cdn.curling.ca/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/2011_Scotties_Tournament_of_Hearts.pdf?e81271 . 2012-05-16 . dead .
  5. Web site: Archived copy . 2011-03-12 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110706174655/http://cdn.curling.ca/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/TankardTimesMarch12.pdf . 2011-07-06 . dead .
  6. Web site: 2015 GSOC Tour Challenge. Grand Slam of Curling. August 29, 2020.
  7. Web site: Fleury edges Kim in extra end at Tour Challenge. Grand Slam of Curling. September 10, 2015. August 29, 2020.
  8. Web site: Muirhead, Fleury advance to Tour Challenge quarterfinals. Grand Slam of Curling. Jonathan Brazeau. September 12, 2015. August 29, 2020.
  9. Web site: Gushue to play for Tour Challenge title on home ice. Grand Slam of Curling. Jonathan Brazeau. September 13, 2015. August 29, 2020.
  10. Web site: 2015 Masters of Curling. CurlingZone. August 29, 2020.
  11. Web site: Fleury faces Homan for women's National title. Grand Slam of Curling. Jonathan Brazeau. November 15, 2015. August 29, 2020.
  12. News: WCT/CCT Recap: Gushue, Homan roll on with wins at the National. TSN. November 15, 2015. August 29, 2020.
  13. News: 2015 Canada Cup Standings. TSN. November 17, 2015. August 29, 2020.
  14. Web site: 2015 Canada Cup. Curling Canada. August 29, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20161004124012/http://www.curling.ca/2015canadacup/. October 4, 2016. dead.
  15. Web site: Muirhead edges Sweeting in Canadian Open quarters. Grand Slam of Curling. Jonathan Brazeau. December 12, 2015. August 29, 2020.
  16. News: Thunder Bay's Team McCarville wins Northern Ontario Scotties. Timmins Today. Frank Giorno. January 24, 2016. August 29, 2020.
  17. Web site: 2016 Players' Championship. CurlingZone. August 29, 2020.
  18. Web site: 2015-2016 CTRS Standings – Women. Curling Canada. August 29, 2020.
  19. Web site: 2016 WFG Masters. CurlingZone. August 29, 2020.
  20. Web site: Englot upsets Homan to reach Tour Challenge semis. Grand Slam of Curling. Jonathan Brazeau. November 12, 2016. August 29, 2020.
  21. Web site: 2016 The Sunova Spiel at East St. Paul. CurlingZone. August 29, 2020.
  22. Web site: 2016 Canada Cup Standings. TSN. 27 November 2016 . August 29, 2020.
  23. Web site: McCarville on a roll reaching Boost National quarterfinals. Grand Slam of Curling. Jonathan Brazeau. December 10, 2016. August 29, 2020.
  24. Web site: Scheidegger stuns Jones in Canadian Open quarterfinals. Grand Slam of Curling. Jonathan Brazeau. January 8, 2017. August 29, 2020.
  25. News: McCarville tops Fleury to defend Northern Ontario title. Sportsnet. Jonathan Brazeau. January 22, 2017. August 29, 2020.
  26. News: McCarville knocks off Fleury to earn Northern Ontario crown. Thunder Bay News Watch. Leith Dunick. January 22, 2017. August 29, 2020.
  27. Web site: Players' Championship Live:Fleury faces Hasselborg. Grand Slam of Curling. Jonathan Brazeau. April 15, 2017. August 29, 2020.
  28. Web site: 2017 GSOC Tour Challenge. CurlingZone. August 29, 2020.
  29. Web site: Tracy Fleury wins Gord Carroll Curling Classic. CurlingZone. August 28, 2020.
  30. News: 28-team field chosen for Canada's pre-Olympic curling trials. TSN. July 20, 2017. August 28, 2020.
  31. News: Tiebreaker logjam creates curling craziness at Olympic pre-trials. TSN. November 17, 2017. August 28, 2020.
  32. Web site: Jones, Scheidegger set for National women's final. Grand Slam of Curling. November 19, 2017. August 28, 2020.
  33. News: Fleury rink gearing for return trip to Scotties. Fort Frances Times. January 24, 2018. August 28, 2020.
  34. News: Northern Ontario continues building momentum at the Scotties. Curling Canada. John Korobanik. July 25, 2020.
  35. News: Fleury proud of Scotties effort. Keith Dempsey. February 11, 2018. July 25, 2020.
  36. News: Nova Scotia advances to Scotties semifinal. Curling Canada. August 28, 2020.
  37. Web site: Team Fleury going separate ways after season. Grand Slam of Curling. February 13, 2018. July 25, 2020.
  38. News: Team Fleury going separate ways. Twitter. Team Fleury. February 12, 2018. August 28, 2020.
  39. 2017 Home Hardware RTTR Media Guide