England comfortable at the helm
REGINA The pressure of executing a big shot isn’t new to Sara England.
The oldest daughter of the late Sandra Schmirler drew the button with the first stone during the opening ceremony for the 2018 Tim Hortons Brier Canadian men’s curling championship at the Brandt Centre.
“I’ll never forget it,” England said. “I remember sitting in the hack and I made eye contact with Brad Gushue. I thought I was going to pass out because I didn’t know what I was going to do. I could never have asked for an honour like that.”
The rest of the squad for the ceremonial throw included third Jan Betker, second Joan Mccusker and lead Marcia Gudereit. They combined with Schmirler to win three world women’s championships and a gold medal at the 1998 Winter Olympics.
“After I did it, (four-time former men’s world champion) Ernie Richardson told me it was the best opening rock shot that he had ever seen,” England said. “I thought I was going to die. It was just the coolest thing.”
There may be other big shots in England’s immediate future because she’s in Prince Albert, Sask., skipping the Saskatchewan team at the Canadian junior women’s and men’s curling championships.
It’s a relatively new role for England, who was the third on Rachel Erickson’s team prior to the 2019 provincial women’s championship in Saskatoon.
That’s when the team and coach Jamie Schneider moved Erickson to third and promoted England to skip, where she throws fourth stone and calls the game. Sarah Hoag (second) and Jade Goebel (lead) remained in their regular positions.
“The dynamic wasn’t what we expected it to be on the team,” Erickson said. “We tried to make small adjustments throughout the season and we weren’t getting to where we wanted to be in getting to that provincial final spot. We knew the mindset that we needed to have out there and I thought that would be a good change.”
The Callie Curling Club squad struggled in its first game at the provincial championship, losing 6-4 to Moosomin’s Elliott Martens. England’s foursome then won six consecutive games, including a 5-3 win over Moose Jaw’s Skylar Ackerman in the provincial final.
England is already familiar with throwing fourth at the junior level. She skipped her own squad to the 2018 provincial title and a berth in the national championships in Shawinigan, Que.
In 2017, England was the third on Kaitlyn Jones’ team that won the provincial championship and curled at the Canadian championships in Victoria, B.C.
“Going year after year, it’s becoming more comfortable instead of high anxiety,” England said. “I’m going to be nervous, because you’re not just playing for you, your team or your family, you’re playing for Saskatchewan.
“You’re not supposed to think of it that way, but you will always feel that because you’re playing for your home province.”