End of a — golden? — era

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This article was published 16/03/2018 (2994 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

In the weeks after winning the Maple Leaf, again, there was time for Jennifer Jones to rest, to reflect, to look ahead. 

That time makes this year a little different, in ways beyond what it already was. Usually, there are just a few weeks between a Scotties and a world championship tournament; but it’s been nearly six since that tense final in Penticton. 

In the time Jones, 43, got away from the ice. After a rapid-fire curling winter — Olympic trials, mixed doubles trials, provincials, nationals all stacked on top of each other — now there was time to rest, and live. 

She went to the Olympics, just as a fan this time, to cheer her husband, Team Canada second Brent Laing. She snapped photos of her eldest daughter, five-year-old Isabella, beaming at Olympic events, or next to Scott Moir. 

Then she came back to Canada, and shortly thereafter learned she and second Jill Officer would be inducted into Manitoba’s curling hall of fame. It’s a “huge honour,” she says, and a little surreal too, but also a bit of a surprise. 

“I kind of always thought they would wait until we retired,” she says, and laughs. 

Because Jones, and most of her iconic foursome, are still going. And when she leads them into North Bay, Ont. for the world championships — which kick off Saturday — it will be an ending of sorts, but only to pave way for a beginning.  

The Olympic quadrennial is over. The curling field is changing. Jones will forge ahead, but this is likely the last time that she, third Kaitlyn Lawes, second Officer and lead Dawn McEwen will wear the Maple Leaf in the same formation.  

Shannon Birchard, who filled in for Olympic-bound Lawes at the Scotties, is with the team as an alternate. 

Earlier this month Officer, Jones’ longest-serving teammate, announced she will step back after the season. She plans to be an alternate next year in key competitions. But it won’t be quite like this, the two of them together.

So what an ending this could be, for a curling partnership that has endured over two decades together. Jones, Officer and McEwen have won one world championship already; but that was back in 2008, before Lawes joined the team. 

Last chance then, in North Bay, to sit atop the world with the same group that conquered the 2014 Olympics. 

“It’s pretty exciting to have one major event left together,” Jones says. “But I don’t feel like there’s any more pressure. I feel like we’ve talked about this is likely our last year together for a little bit. We’ve all wrapped our heads around it.” 

It’s good that the team isn’t feeling extra pressure, because the competitive field at the worlds looks daunting. 

One of the most dangerous opponents among the 13 teams contending is Sweden’s Anna Hasselborg, the newly-crowned Olympic champion. She sits just a sliver behind Jones for top spot on the World Curling Tour rankings. 

And there is also EunJung Kim and the so-called Garlic Girls, the determined Korean team that charmed the world with a laser-focused run to Olympic silver. Korean curling has grown by leaps and bounds, and they are its leaders. 

Both teams ride into the tournament on a wave of momentum. Jones has been around long enough; she knows to be wary. 

“I think they get to play with a lot of confidence,” she says. “They had great Olympics, and played really well… I expect that they’ll be tough, and be right there.”

In a way, the story at this world championships spans out beyond Jones and what her team could accomplish. The tournament lands at a time when Canadian curling fans are hungry for redemption after a difficult Olympic Games.  

The story that coalesced around the Olympics, the explanation provided to a disappointed nation, was that Canada was not the star anymore. The rest of the world, that story goes, has now caught up to the Maple Leaf’s bearers. 

But at the world championships, that has long been clear. When Rachel Homan won in Beijing last year, it was the first time Canada had taken world gold since Jones captured it in 2008; Canada took silver in three of those years. 

“It’s been like that for over 10 years,” Jones says of the tight field. “Especially in women’s, but’s definitely happened on the men’s side, as well. I think it’s great for curling. It’s harder for Canadian curling, and it also pushes us.” 

Most recently, it’s been the Swiss dominating, winning four times since 2012. Binia Feltscher won in 2014 and 2016 and is back this year, on the hunt for her third world title; Alina Paetz beat Jones in the 2015 final. 

Yet Canadian teams still dominate the World Curling Tour rankings (on which, amusingly, Canadian curlers are described by province, the rest of the world’s teams simply by nation). Ten of the women’s top 20 are Canadian. 

So yes, Jones will come into worlds as a favourite. Most Canadians do. But as “the” favourite? Too close to call. 

Because the Olympics held another lesson. It came through how Homan, always cold fire, looked more brittle than steely; her team has been one of the deadliest on the curling circuit for years, but in PyeongChang, they melted. 

A reminder that even great curlers can fall apart when they lose their trust in the ice, in themselves, in each other. 

Yet this worlds is not just another chance at a gold medal for Team Jones. It is something bigger: an end to one chapter, the page-flip to another. And after Officer announced her intentions, Lawes left no doubt what it means. 

“We’re going to be leaving it all on the ice,” Lawes said. “I really want to win that worlds with Jill.” 

The women’s world championships begin Saturday, with the first draws of a 13-team round robin. Playoffs are set for next Saturday, with the championship match the following day. 

melissa.martin@freepress.mb.ca