Hard-rocking Einarson squad arrives home as record-tying fourth-straight Canadian women’s curling champs

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This article was published 27/02/2023 (1302 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Unlike a lot of regular folks, the sound of bagpipes never gets old for the best women curlers in the land.

And if the kilted cacophony is leading the way in welcoming Manitoba rock stars Kerri Einarson & Co. home after capturing their fourth-consecutive Canadian women’s curling championship, tying an all-time record, well… that’s even better.

“Always love a good bagpiper,” Einarson, the Team Canada skip declared after she and teammates Shannon Birchard (second), Briane Harris (lead), Krysten Karwacki (alternate) and coach Reid Carruthers stepped off the escalator at James Richardson International Airport Monday afternoon to a group of cheering family and friends.

The Gimli squad’s third, Val Sweeting, resides in Alberta and didn’t travel to Winnipeg after Sunday night’s triumph in Kamloops, B.C., at the 2023 Scotties Tournament of Hearts.

“It’s a little different this time because, during COVID, we weren’t able to have a whole bunch of people here (at the airport),” said Einarson. “So it’s exciting to… see all these faces here.”

Despite being physically and mentally worn after a tough week of competition and a 4 a.m. wake-up call to catch their flight home, the smiles on their faces seemed as though they might be permanent.

The record-tying victory came over provincial rival and six-time national champ Jennifer Jones, and tied the four-straight record set by Nova Scotia curling legend Colleen Jones and her teammates beginning in 2001.

“Overall, I feel pretty good,” said Birchard, who added she didn’t sleep much. “We’re looking forward to getting some good rest this week and then we’ll start training up again before we leave.”

There are indeed plans for more travel on the team’s itinerary. They’ll represent Canada in the women’s world championship March 18-26 in Sandviken, Sweden.

It was Birchard’s fifth title.

“It’s pretty special, and each time is unique in its own way,” she said. “It’s not even real to me… I have so much gratitude for my teammates.

“I think we definitely had hopes of winning one in the time that we’ve been together,” she continued. “But four in a row is something none of us had on their bingo card. We just keep taking each season as it comes and not thinking too far ahead, and we’re really enjoying our time together.”

Each of the team’s four national titles can be defined by a particular attribute. This year’s was resiliency, and it’s possible no one embodied that more than Harris, who is five months pregnant.

Einarson, who won the Sandra Schmirler Award (most valuable player in the playoffs) for the fourth-straight year, gave it to Harris.

“That award, it means a lot,” Einarson said. “To give that to Briane, I had that in my mind the whole time because she’s just a really hard worker and she fought through everything. She didn’t complain about any aches and pains and it’s not easy playing pregnant. She just pushed through, and I think now she’s starting to feel it.”

Harris was touched by the gesture.

“That was really sweet of her,” she said. “(Einarson) got it, rightfully, but that was really sweet of her to give that to me and just shows how much they really appreciate me and (it) makes me feel really special on the team.”

They’re excited about leaving for Sweden on March 12; it will be the first time representing Canada on the world stage in an event not impacted by COVID. The 2020 worlds were cancelled by the pandemic. Her team finished sixth in 2021 and won bronze in last year’s tournament.

“It’s definitely going to be something different. Our family and friends are going to be coming and supporting us. We get to go to Sweden, we’ve never been there, so we’re pretty excited for that,” Einarson said.

jfreysam@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @jfreysam