Kerry Galusha on the pre-qualifying: "kind of weird."

Kerry Galusha is one of the nicest people you'll meet on the curling ice. She's also an 11-time Scotties participant, representing the Territories. 

As Gregory Strong writes for Canadian Press, Thursday night she'll head into the first pre-qualifying for the Scotties, trying to earn her spot in the big field, which has created a weird feeling for her.

“It’s kind of weird because we’re going to the Scotties and everybody is congratulating us because we’re going to the Scotties,” Galusha said in a recent interview. “But we’re not really in the Scotties yet. So it’s a bit of a different mindset.”

While it might not be so unusual for rinks that have never played in the event before, for Galusha's foursome, it means a totally different situation than her past trips.

It’s quite a change for teams who are used to the traditional routine on the eve of the tournament. The Friday schedule usually includes some practice time, a skills competition and then an evening banquet. 

“We don’t get to experience that – none of it,” Galusha said. “We’ll be playing our pre-qualifying games while everyone else is doing all that stuff. So it’s different. Like I said, that’s why we’re just going in thinking this is just another playdown to get into the Scotties because we’re not in yet. 

“We’re there but we’re really not in yet. That’s our mindset.”