Lawes talks pause, and possible retirement, from curling

It was a decision Kaitlyn Lawes wrestled with all season.

Curling has been the only constant in the 37-year-old’s life, but with two daughters — Myla and Ella — under the age of three at home, the Winnipeg skip ultimately decided she needed to take a step back and focus on her young family.

“It just felt like the right time if I were to ever take a break,” Lawes told the Free Press on Monday. “I didn’t take maternity leave with either of my girls. It was just kind of feeling like I needed to be home and needed some time to rest and recover from these last four years.”

It was two weeks after this year’s Scotties — an event Lawes went undefeated at before dropping the final to Kerri Einarson on Feb. 1 — when she officially made up her mind. She had several curlers reach out before and after nationals about potential new teams for the upcoming quadrennial, and while there were some intriguing conversations, Lawes knew what she had to do.

Lawes, third Selena Njegovan, second Jocelyn Peterman and lead Kristin Gordon announced on March 26 that the team was calling it quits. Gordon is also taking a break, Peterman has joined Einarson’s rink and Njegovan is exploring her options.

Lawes expects she’ll compete again, but the two-time Olympic gold medallist isn’t ruling out retirement, either.

“I feel optimistic that I’d like to come back at some point, but if I really enjoy this year break, then maybe it will lead to retirement. But I’m not going to put any pressure on it. I don’t know where it’s going to take me,” said Lawes. “We saw some people the last Olympic cycle take a break and it turned out pretty good for them. Brad Jacobs, for example, took a year off and ended up being an Olympic gold medallist.

“So I don’t think it’s a bad thing. I think it will help give me perspective and it’ll either make me decide that this is what I want to do and fully retire, or it’ll kind of re-energize me and try to find my way back into a lineup somewhere.”

Lawes has been overwhelmed by the amount of support her decision has received.

“I wasn’t really sure what the response was going to be, but there were a lot of well wishes and people saying it was a great decision to take time with my family especially when they’re so young, and also saying that they really want to see me back on the ice,” she said.

“That meant a lot to me to know that I had that impact. That was really special and definitely got me a little emotional, but it made me really happy with my decision.”

Team Lawes didn’t win any grand slams during their time together and they dropped the 2026 Manitoba provincial final to Kelsey Calvert. Despite their lack of results in their four years, they almost found a way to end the quad on top of the Canadian curling mountain. They saved their best performance for the end of the cycle by going a perfect 10-0 at the Scotties heading into championship Sunday against their fellow Manitoban.

A happy ending was not be in the cards as Einarson outlasted Lawes 4-3 in an extra end. Lawes had the hammer in the 11th but missed on an incredibly challenging takeout on her last stone to give Einarson the game-winning steal.

“Results-wise, I would say we were definitely disappointed. We had really lofty goals and we accomplished some of them. We worked through a lot together to try and give us a chance at winning the Scotties and we had a chance so that’s something I’m really proud of,” said Lawes.

“I really felt my joy and love for the game that week… I know going undefeated through the round-robin all the way to the final was pretty much a dream scenario. And yeah, one shot away from going to a world championship, so it’s pretty crazy the way it ended.

“Obviously, there was definitely disappointment, but I have a lot of great perspective and appreciation for where I’m at in my career and that was a really special run and something that I’ll remember for a long time.”

Lawes isn’t entirely sure what kind of opportunity would need to present itself to get her back in action for 2027–28.

“I think it’ll just be a feeling,” she said. “Maybe I’ll get an opportunity to spare with some teams. I think I’d be open to that throughout the season and if that leads to something more, then we’ll see where it goes.”

In the meantime, Lawes plans to stay connected to the game while also embracing a well-earned pause.

“I still plan on being on the ice, working out and getting my physical strength back after having two kids to a level where I feel I can really contribute,” she said.

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