Thompson teen earns lead role at Scotties

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This article was published 29/01/2020 (2433 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

RIVERS, Man. — At first, Brooke Graham was “super, super nervous” stepping out under the lights. It was her first taste of a provincial championship, and her first slide on arena ice. Above her, a few hundred fans sat watching the morning draw, a remarkable crowd for the first day of a Scotties.

Then she settled into the hack to throw her first rock as lead for Thompson’s Jennifer Briscoe. Then she threw her second. With those first two throws out of the way, she felt herself loosening up on the sheet; after that, she got to simply savour the moment of living out every young Manitoba curler’s dream.

“Then I just embraced the crowd, and it was amazing,” she said, moments after the match. “I love being here.”

This is the kind of energy that annually renews the Manitoba provincials. At 16 years old, Graham is the youngest curler out here in Rivers; what is more is that, hailing from northern Manitoba, she doesn’t have many chances to face high-level competition that tends to congregate in the south.

Not that she lacks experience. Graham comes from a curling family and grew up on the sheet. After stepping away from the sport, she came back to it in 2018 when the Manitoba Games went to Thompson; her mom suggested she sign up to skip a couple of teams. She did, and fell in love with curling all over again.

Only one problem: in Thompson, she couldn’t find a dedicated junior team. Instead, she approached Briscoe, who welcomed her aboard. The skip has been a regular Northern emissary to the Manitoba provincials, and as such a good guide for the young lead.

“She’s helped me out a lot,” Graham says. “She’s showed me different techniques and she showed me how to time. She’s really taken me under her wing, and I really appreciate all the work she’s put in… They treat me like I’ve been on the team the whole time.” 

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Now, Graham is getting to learn from, and against, some of Canada’s best. Their first Scotties match was against rising star Beth Peterson, who won 8-5; they were set to face Canada’s No. 1 curler, Tracy Fleury, at night.

There is a solid precedent for young curlers taking flight at Scotties. Four years ago, Altona’s Mackenzie Zacharias made her women’s provincial debut at the age of 16; last week, she stormed unbeaten to take the Canadian junior championship.

Graham hopes to follow a similar path. After high school, the Grade 11 student plans to move to southern Manitoba to continue her education, a move she hopes will also help her assemble a competitive junior team. For now, she’s just happy to be finding her way on this high-level ice. 

“I just want to play as best as I can, and hopefully win a game,” Graham said. “But most of all, I want to embrace being here and take it all in, because it’s an amazing event and I’m so lucky to be here.” 

melissa.martin@freepress.mb.ca 

Melissa Martin
Reporter-at-large

Melissa Martin reports and opines for the Winnipeg Free Press.

Every piece of reporting Melissa produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.