Cathy O gets called to Canada’s curling hall

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This article was published 23/11/2017 (3064 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Winnipeg’s Cathy Overton-Clapham is being inducted into the Canadian Curling Hall of Fame, Curling Canada announced Thursday.

Overton-Clapham is a former Manitoba, Canadian and world women’s curling champion and also has a Canadian junior title on a curling resume that dates back all the way to 1986 and her first Manitoba junior title.

With five Canadian women’s curling titles in 12 trips to the Scotties Tournament of Hearts, Overton-Clapham is second only to Nova Scotia’s Colleen Jones on the all-time list.

Four of those titles — in 2005, 2008, 2009 and 2010 — came when Overton-Clapham was playing third for Winnipeg’s Jennifer Jones.

“I’m super excited and really honoured to be in there with all those great players and builders,” Overton-Clapham said in an interview. “All the friendships I’ve made in curling, not just here in Canada but around the world.

“That’s what I will remember.”

And she’s still making memories.

Overton-Clapham, 48, remains an active curler. She is currently the third on Chelsea Carey’s Alberta-based team and will compete next month in Ottawa at the Canadian Curling Trials, where Canada’s men’s and women’s representatives for the 2018 Winter Olympics will be determined.

The Olympics are both the pinnacle of curling and the last achievement in the game that still eludes Overton-Clapham. And that would make it all the more special if she could finally get over the top this time, she said.

“It’d be obviously a thrill to cap off my curling career with the Olympics. It’d be a dream come true,” she said.

Overton won her lone world championship in 2008 with Jones, but also has both a silver at the worlds in 1995 with Connie Laliberte and a bronze from the 2010 worlds, also with Jones.

She also won a bronze medal at the world juniors in 1989.

Overton-Clapham said the world championship with Jones stands as her career highlight, but you have to go all the way back to the beginning for her fondest memories.

“Winning that first provincial title (in 1986) with my sister, Kim, and Janet Harvey is something I will never forget. And then winning the Canadian Juniors a couple years later (in 1989) at my own home club (Heather) was also obviously very special.”

Overton-Clapham will be formally inducted this winter at the Tim Hortons Brier, Mar. 3-11 in Regina.

paul.wiecek@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @PaulWiecek