Lights, camera… Jones

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This article was published 14/02/2015 (4106 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

MOOSE JAW, Sask. — The television cameras sought out Jennifer Jones right away, even on a relaxed practice day at the 2015 Scotties Tournament of Hearts.

At this point in her storied curling career, Jones is a pro at that part. After four Canadian titles and a hefty Olympic gold, she knows what media wants.

So there she was early on Friday afternoon, gamely answering questions almost as soon as she stepped onto the floor at Moose Jaw’s sleek Mosaic Place. An hour later, there she was in front of the microphones again, just after leading Team Manitoba through their practice shots.

By now, fans can probably guess what media asked, and what the skip said in response. She wears the attention so comfortably.

“It honestly feels like the Olympics hasn’t ended,” Jones said brightly. “We’ve just been experiencing so many amazing things, sharing our Olympic story with so many people, and especially the kids. Honestly, it’s been the dream of a lifetime, over and over again.”

This is Jones’ 11th Scotties appearance, and it seems sort of routine. But at least one of her foursome enters this week with a little unfinished business.

Jones and second Jill Officer have won four nationals together, in 2005, ’08, ’09, and ’10. Lead Dawn McEwen was with them for the last three of those. But they haven’t won a Scotties since third Kaitlyn Lawes came on board five years ago, making it almost the only thing the 26-year-old phenom hasn’t won with this rink.

“It’s motivating,” Lawes said. “It’s something we want to achieve together with this lineup. So we’re excited to see where that takes us this week.”

On that note, can we be honest about something?

Such is the balance of curling in Canada, and the fact of the Scotties in general — several of the top teams in Canada didn’t make it out of their province — that as the round robin opens today, it all feels a little like a formality, a competitive preamble to a very possible Homan-Jones final.

If that happens, it would be a rematch of the 2013 championship game, which Homan won. In Montreal last year, with Jones bowing out of the provincial playdowns to compete in Sochi, Homan’s Ottawa rink curled ferociously in defence of their crown. They mowed down their opponents in 13 straight games, and in so doing became just the seventh team ever to finish a Tournament of Hearts undefeated, and first since 1985 — even Jones has never done it.

This week, fans will get a taste of that possible playoff matchup early, as the two powerhouses are set to meet on Monday evening. A rivalry, perhaps?

“I’m not sure, I know that we both have a ton of respect for each other,” Jones said. “They’re great people. We’ve been teammates at the Continental Cup, and we had a ton of fun with them. Sometimes the media makes rivalries, and that’s not a bad thing for sport.”

Of course, there are a couple of other teams in this field that could easily rewrite the dominant Homan-Jones script.

In 2014, Alberta’s Val Sweeting went to the final against Homan, and this time around she’s ranked second on the World Curling Tour cash winnings list — just over Homan, and underneath Jones. She’s also beaten Homan a couple of times this season, including in the semifinal of the Masters in Selkirk, which she went on to win.

Playing just a two-hour drive from her Saskatoon home, Saskatchewan’s Stefanie Lawton is also likely to make a playoff push. Her team will have to do it without a familiar face, after longtime second Sherri Singler had to pull out of the tournament with an ankle sprain. Fifth Stephanie Schmidt will take her place.

At least it’ll be a seamless transition. Schmidt curled at lead with the team for the first half of the season, as Lawton took time away from the ice to care for her infant son Eric, who was born on Oct. 10. Still, it’s never easy to step into a veteran friend’s place.

“It’s extremely unfortunate for Sherri, and for us,” Schmidt said, after practicing on Friday. “She’s a really huge part of this team, and she’s greatly missed right now. My job is just to play my best, so it’s like she’s here.”

— — —

One Scotties spot was still up in the air Friday night. With Northern Ontario competing at the tournament for the first time this year, organizers opted to pit teams from Yukon, Northwest Territories and Northern Ontario against each other in a three-way battle to make the main draw.

The winner will be decided in a pre-qualifying final game at 2 p.m. today, between N.W.T.’s Kerry Galusha and Northern Ontario’s Tracy Horgan.

Horgan, a 2012 Ontario champion, clinched her spot in that game by beating Galusha on Thursday, and Yukon’s Sarah Koltun — who was the darling of the Scotties in 2014 as Team Yukon — on Friday morning. Galusha then eked her way past Koltun on Friday afternoon to punch her ticket to the final, though the Yukon team kept it interesting, scoring four in the 10th end tie the game at 10 and force an extra. Galusha picked up a single then to win 11-10.

melissa.martin@freepress.mb.ca