EINARSON SAVOURING SWEET SCOTTIES WIN
Previous adversity makes national title more satisfying
A couple of hours after she made the draw of her life to make up for an earlier miss and won her first Canadian women’s curling championship, Manitoba’s Kerri Einarson walked into a local Boston Pizza and set off an uproar.
A couple dozen people in the lounge stood and cheered and welcomed the woman who had just fulfilled a lifelong dream by winning her first Scotties Tournament of Hearts in heart-stopping fashion.
A few moments later, the 32-year-old skip from Gimli — or more precisely, Camp Morton — looked up at the TV screen and watched herself experiencing agony and ecstasy on the TSN highlights.
She watched her own anguish as her shot for the win in the 10th end came up heavy, resulting in a steal of two for Ontario’s Rachel Homan, and sent the game to an extra end, tied 7-7.
Then came the moment of glory. Einarson, surrounded by family, friends and teammates watched in delight as her last rock of the extra end was shown on the highlights. It was a perfect throw, the line called correctly by third Val Sweeting, the rock swept beautifully by frontenders Shannon Birchard and Briane Meilleur.
Sitting in the bar, grinning from ear to ear, Einarson raised her arms in triumph again, as the crowd around her stood and cheered one more time.
Who wouldn’t want to relive a moment like that over and over?
It was the moment when Einarson earned the right to wear the Maple Leaf at the world championship next month in Prince George, B.C. She also earned a spot in the 2021 Olympic trials and the right to be Team Canada next year at the Scotties in Thunder Bay, Ont.
That the win also came with $105,000 in prize money and $170,000 in Sport Canada funding was a bonus.
For Einarson, the moment itself was what she always dreamt of.
“This is so amazing,” she said shortly after receiving her trophy and her tournament most valuable player award. “I’m so incredibly proud of my teammates. They played so well all week and if it wasn’t for them I don’t know where I’d be today. They’re great teammates and such great supporters and all those shots made out there were because of them, with their sweeping, the line calling. I just absolutely love my teammates.”
A couple years ago, Einarson made a difficult decision that was considered harsh by some.
She dumped the teammates that helped her win the 2016 Manitoba championship and reach the final of the 2018 Scotties as Team Wild Card and formed a new squad with tremendous potential.
She brought in Sweeting, an Alberta skip who had made it to the 2014 and 2015 Scotties finals before suffering heartbreak. She brought in Birchard and Meilleur, both fine skips in their own right. They all had to adapt to new roles, new positions, create new strengths.
And it paid off, first with a Manitoba championship and then a Canadian title in a field that featured some of the top teams in the world.
Imagine how it felt for Sweeting to savour the moment after suffering so much curling heartbreak in the past.
“There were some dark days for sure, and you wonder how you keep going,” Sweeting said. “You just keep pushing and you work really hard and you just tell yourself, ‘One day it will pay off,’ just like the clichés.
“It feels so good. Those two, back-to-back, Canadian final losses were tough and you have the mixed doubles trials in there too and a couple provincial final losses. So, yeah, it was heartbreaking for sure and I didn’t know how many times I could get back up.
“But you just have to and I’m just so honoured to get that Maple Leaf.”