Manitoba foursome recharged for Games run
Provincial loss gave team opportunity to recharge for 2018 Olympic run
Joan McCusker has a pointed message for any Canadian curling fan panicking over the glaring absence of Jennifer Jones at the 2017 Scotties Tournament of Hearts: chill out and cut the reigning Olympic champion some slack.
After all, Jones gave birth to her second daughter, Skyla, in August. In Canada, new mothers are eligible for 12 months of maternity leave to recover and tend to the infant. Jones, 42, is on leave from her job as a corporate lawyer as she juggles raising her young family with skipping one of the top women’s curling teams on the planet.
Baby Skyla is only eight months old.
“Yes, it was a shock that Jennifer didn’t come out of Manitoba,” McCusker said Friday before taking her spot in the broadcast booth at Calgary’s WinSport Arena where the Humpty’s Champions Cup runs through Sunday. “You’ve got to remember that Jennifer just had another baby. It’s easy to forget that. As moms, we try to manage it all. We’re moms, we’re managing the home, we’re managing this curling team, and we’re organizing all of it. And besides, even the best teams don’t win all the time.”
She’s right. Everybody — regard- less of their occupation or personal circumstance — experiences the odd rough day at the office where their performance just doesn’t measure up to usual standards.
Jones had plenty of company in that regard back in January’s 8-6 loss to Darcy Robertson. The shocking defeat in the provincial semifinal robbed Jones of her 13th appearance at the Canadian women’s curling championship.
But instead of sulking or obsessively watching every end on TV, Jones, lead Dawn McEwen, second Jill Officer and third Kaitlyn Lawes took advantage of the break and flew to St. Martin for a last-minute Caribbean vacation.
Pool side, the Manitoba foursome recharged and rebooted with an eye to representing Canada at the 2018 Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea.
“We had some fun in the winter — which we never really get to do — and we relaxed,” said Jones, who after falling 7-5 Friday morning to Switzerland’s Alina Paetz rebounded to edge Allison Flaxey 7-6 in the afternoon draw at the Champions Cup, improving their record to 3-1 in round-robin play. “We brought all the kids and it was lovely.”
In between wiping noses and changing diapers, Jones and her teammates devised a new game plan.
“We were disappointed, for sure, but we revamped our season,” she said. “We made the Players’ Championship our Canadian championship, and we came away with a win. So we’re really satisfied with our season. We won the two big events that we wanted to win this year, which were the Players’ Championship and the Canada Cup. So unfortunately we weren’t at the Scotties, but — other than that — we’re pretty happy.”
In many sports, consistency and calm come with age. So Jones is old enough to know bad games happen even to the best.
“This is a very, very experienced team,” said McCusker, who won Olympic gold with the late Sandra Schmirler at the 1998 Nagano Games. “They’ve already had major highs and lows. Nothing really rattles them to the core.”
Not even talk about Rachel Homan’s impressive rise through the ranks rattles Jones. At 28, Homan is a three-time Canadian champion and the first Canadian skip to bring home the women’s world title in nine years.
In many eyes, Homan — and not Jones — is the early favourite to claim an Olympic berth by winning the 2017 Roar of the Rings Dec. 2-10 in Ottawa.
“In my mind, Homan is the No. 1 going into the Olympic trials,” McCusker said. “They can play absolutely unbelievable, Homan’s team. But Jennifer Jones is a very close second.”
The teams have completely different styles. Think Wayne Gretzky’s freewheeling Edmonton Oilers in the 1980s compared with the 1995 New Jersey Devils, who pioneered the neutral zone trap.
Built on youth and athleticism, Homan’s team deploys heavyweight shots whenever possible. Jones is better known for her impeccable strategy and deft draws to the button.
“Jennifer plays the perfect soft touch,” McCusker said. “She can beat you with the perfect freeze.”
For curling fans, the best-case scenario might be a Homan-Jones final with the winner representing Canada in PyeongChang.
Just don’t expect Jones to cede her title without one heck of a fight.
“They’re a great team obviously and Rachel is a great player,” Jones said coolly. “We’ve got to know them quite well. It’s always fun to play against them.”
We had some fun in the winter — which we never really get to do — and we relaxed. We brought all the kids and it was lovely.