Lotts to play for

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This article was published 25/12/2024 (355 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Colton and Kadriana Lott’s moments together are few and far between these days.

Colton is hardly home as he navigates one of the hottest parts of the professional curling schedule, and more often than not, that means Kadriana must tune into a live stream to see her husband. Stretches like these can be difficult at times for the ambitious young couple from Winnipeg Beach, both of whom are in their 20s, but it’s a reality they’ve happily come to terms with.

“He’s been away quite a bit. I think it was in October or November, he said he only had eight days at home until the new year,” Kadriana said.

“It’s a busy life, but we support our dreams and our goals, and when he is home it makes it that much more special when he comes home.”

Colton plays third for Matt Dunstone’s world No. 8 ranked men’s team out of Winnipeg, while Kadriana throws second for Nancy Martin’s Saskatchewan-based squad. When they’re not with their four-person teams, they form one of the best mixed-doubles tandems in the country, currently ranked fifth.

Next week, they’ll play in what is undoubtedly the biggest event of their doubles career at the Canadian Olympic trials in Liverpool, N.S., where they will vie for the right to wear the Maple Leaf at next year’s world championships and, eventually, in Italy in the 2026 Olympic Games. The trials begin Dec. 30 at Queens Place Emera Centre, and the final draw takes place Jan. 4.

There’s not much the Lotts haven’t seen in a doubles career that’s yielded four medals in the Canadian championship, including gold at last year’s event in Fredericton. This year’s Olympic trial will in fact be a first for them.

They would’ve played in the 2021 trials, but that was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead, Rachel Homan and John Morris were selected to represent the country by the Canadian Olympic Committee and Own the Podium.

That experience hasn’t sat well with the Lotts. While next week presents an opportunity to spend plenty of time together, their sights will be squarely on what’s in front of them.

“It means the world to us to even have the opportunity to possibly represent Canada at the Olympics for doubles,” said Colton. “I think, especially from the previous quad, with COVID hitting and them pre-selecting teams, I personally feel like we were robbed of another chance (to earn a spot) and it’s just super exciting to now, three years later, be able to have this chance and put our best foot forward coming up here.”

The Lotts have played in two events together this season, but they’ve shown their chemistry on the pebbled ice can wipe away any rust that may build up. They won their first bonspiel in Morris in August and, after a long break, reached the finals earlier this month in Banff, Alta., where they lost a close contest to Jocelyn Peterman and Brent Gallant.

Colton’s heavy travel schedule hasn’t left much time for them to play together this year. While Kadriana practises what she can while alone, it’s been up to them to squeeze in a session together when time allows.

One of those days unexpectedly came last month when Colton returned from an event in St. John’s, N.L., a couple of days early. He raced over to a bonspiel in Stonewall, where Kadriana was playing in the semifinals. When her team lost, they took advantage of their free time by practising their doubles game. Colton’s dad maintains the ice at the rink, so they had no problem getting on.

Despite their limited reps together, they couldn’t be more confident ahead of the 16-team trial, which features many of the teams they just played against in Alberta. Their run to the championship game proved to them that they would be ready for whatever is thrown at them next week.

“For us, it’s we know what we’re capable of and we know what we can do, and having this tune-up (in Alberta) just really put things back into perspective on what we’re capable of and giving us that confidence going forward,” Colton said.

He returned from his last four-person event in Swift Current, Sask., earlier this week. They will use these few days together to clean up the little things on the practice rink before they head east on Christmas Day.

Though the Lotts recognize the balancing act involved with being a married couple on the national curling stage, they agreed that this is a business trip that requires their undivided attention. Managing that can certainly be a challenge, especially in a new event, but it’s something they’ve overcome together time after time.

“We’ve had lots of success in our mixed doubles career, and I think we just have to keep carrying that forward and just take it as a national event, take it as the Banff event,” said Kadriana.

“We just have to keep telling ourselves that this is just another event and the winner, still, you get to represent Canada, but at the same time, it’s you just got to keep putting one foot forward and like hopping on to the next thing as it comes and working together to make make our dreams happen.”

joshua.frey-sam@freepress.mb.ca

X: @jfreysam