‘Dream come true,’ Lawes says of big time
Team Canada’s third knows success
GRANDE PRAIRIE, ALTA. • Kaitlyn Lawes is modest, unlike the achievements of the team on which she curls.
Lawes, who is playing third on the Jennifer Jones-skipped Team Canada at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts, reached the podium in 2014 after the Winnipeg- based foursome won a gold medal in women’s curling at the Winter Olympics in Russia.
The f ollowing year in Moose Jaw, Lawes helped Jones win her fifth Scotties championship — a victory that preceded a silver-medal showing at the worlds and guaranteed the squad a berth in this year’s nationals as Team Canada.
But when asked to describe what it is like to carry Canada’s colours at the Scotties, Lawes does not put her team on another tier.
“I feel like we’re just like anyone else out here,” Lawes said. “I feel like we’re representing Team Jones. We play a lot of these teams on tour.
“I think it’s a different feeling when you’re Team Canada at a world championship versus at a national championship. We don’t really focus on what colour our jerseys are. We’re just so happy to be here.”
The elation one experiences when reaching the next level is indescribable.
“It’s incredible. It’s a dream come true,” said Lawes, who joined up with Jones, second Jill Officer and lead Dawn McEwen for the 2010-11 season. “You never know how many opportunities you’re going to get to represent your country.
“Canada is such a strong curling powerhouse and we’re so honoured to have that opportunity, and we’re lucky that we’ve had a few chances over the years to wear the maple leaf.”
But they have never done so as conspicuously, or as joyously, as they did at the Sochi Olympics — where they ascended to the top of the podium.
“Oh my gosh,” Lawes said when asked to recount the experience. “It’s incredible to see the Canadian flag raised up. You get to sing the national anthem at the top of your lungs. There’s no better feeling as an athlete. That’s the pinnacle. I’m getting goose bumps thinking about it. It’s amazing. It really is.”
At the time, there is a torrent of emotions — excitement, and even some reflections.
“You see the Canadian flag raising up, and you know that’s going up for you and something you and your t eammates have accomplished,” Lawes recalled. “It makes you think of all the hard work and all the choices you have made that have put you in that position. It’s just a huge sense of pride.”
It seems like yesterday but, as Lawes noted on her Twitter account (@LKLawes), the opening day of the 2016 Scotties was the second anniversary of Team Jones’ Olympic gold-medal triumph.
“This is our sixth season together and it has been amazing,’’ Lawes said. “Every year, we have had so much fun together. We’ve been getting better each year and we just continue to have so much fun.”