‘It’s incredible to be a part of’ Hall of Fame curler Jones makes Olympic broadcast debut By: Mike McIntyre Posted: 6:11 PM CST Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026

MILAN — Jennifer Jones has worn many hats over her lifetime: world-class curler, Olympic gold medallist, corporate lawyer, motivational speaker, business owner, mentor, partner and mother.

And now, a brand new one: broadcaster.

The Winnipegger has slid into the booth for CBC to call mixed doubles along with the men’s and women’s events from the Milan Cortina Games, bringing a wealth of first-hand knowledge about the sport she dominated for years into homes around the world.

“Very, very excited about it,” Jones told the Free Press on Tuesday. “I knew when I was curling that I really wanted to get into broadcasting when I was done. And you never know if there’s going to be that opportunity. So, just very grateful to have that opportunity.”

You can take the athlete out of the game — Jones hung up her competitive broom for good in 2024 — but you can’t take the game out of the athlete.

“Calling the games, my adrenaline flows just as much as if I’m on the ice,” she said, laughing. “Because I know how these athletes are feeling. You almost live vicariously through them. You feel the heartache, you feel the joy, you feel the triumph. And it’s incredible to be a part of.”

“I knew when I was curling that I really wanted to get into broadcasting when I was done… just very grateful to have that opportunity.”

From a distance, it turns out. CBC is calling the curling remotely, meaning Jones and the broadcast crew are based out of a Toronto studio. With games routinely starting locally at 10 a.m. in Cortina d’Ampezzo — six hours ahead of Toronto’s eastern time zone — that has led to plenty of middle-of-the-night wake-up calls.

“It is definitely more challenging to call it remotely. But it also has some great perks,” she said. “So there’s pros and cons to everything. We’re doing the best we can, and it’s been so so much fun so far.”

Besides, Jones already has her up-close Olympic experience, including winning gold for Canada at Sochi 2014, a triumph that cemented her status as one of the greatest ever to come out of the hack.

Her Manitoba-based rink also qualified for Beijing 2022 and finished fifth in the round robin, missing out on the playoffs due to a tiebreaker. One member of that team — second Jocelyn Peterman — just competed here in Italy in the mixed doubles event alongside her husband, Brett Gallant.

The Alberta-based duo opened the event last week with three straight wins, only to drop five consecutive games to miss the playoffs. They closed things out Monday with a victory, finishing 4-5.

“Jocelyn and Brett were world class and just didn’t have their best event, and it just didn’t work out. And sometimes that happens,” said Jones.

She was on the call for those games, along with Tuesday’s medal events. Italy beat Great Britain to win bronze to the delight of the home crowd, while Sweden edged the United States 6-5 in the gold-medal final. The American coach is Winnipegger Cathy Overton-Clapham, one of Manitoba’s most decorated curlers and a longtime rival of Jones.

As much as she might want to cheer on good friends during the broadcast, Jones said she is working to stay as neutral and impartial as possible.

“I think we’re doing a pretty good job,” said Jones, who also has 17 Grand Slam of Curling titles, nine provincial championships, six Canadian championships and a pair of world championships on her Hall of Fame resumé.

“Calling the games, my adrenaline flows just as much as if I’m on the ice.”

Now her attention turns to the men’s and women’s events, which get underway Wednesday. Rachel Homan’s rink is among the Olympic favourites on the women’s side, while Brad Jacobs’ crew is expected to contend on the men’s side.

“We always send great Canadian teams, and they’ll have a really good chance to have a successful Olympics,” said Jones.

Still, the competition will be tough. Canada is no longer a medal shoo-in in curling, playing a big role in the explosion of the sport in other countries. But you can put down the pitchforks and hold off on calls for a national summit.

“I don’t think there’s any crisis,” Jones said.

“Curling really needed to grow around the world, and it has. And there’s so much diversity in terms of who is winning, and that’s incredible. And exactly what the sport needed in order to really grow and gain popularity around the globe. And it’s doing that.”

That said, complacency can’t become the enemy.

“We always send great Canadian teams, and they’ll have a really good chance to have a successful Olympics.”

“We do need to make sure that, as a country, we are looking at our next generation of curlers, to make sure that we have those next people coming up the ranks who can compete on the world stage,” she said.

“That has to be a high priority for sure.”

Jones also believes the mixed doubles discipline has played a major role in the sport’s evolution — something she and her husband, Brent Laing, enjoyed success in, though they ultimately fell short of Olympic qualification.

“I do think it’s one of the best things that’s ever happened in curling,” she said.

“It’s also great for emerging or developing nations in terms of curling, because you really only need two players. It just allows countries newer to the sport to to really compete at the highest level. And from a fan perspective, it is a faster and more entertaining game. There’s more rocks in play for the new fan who doesn’t understand, and it moves a lot quicker.”

In fact, Jones hopes the traditional game can borrow a few ideas from its newer counterpart.

“Maybe we’ll see some of those rules move over to make it a quicker game and make it more entertaining for the fans to watch,” she said.

“It’s so fast-paced, so many rocks in play and one little, tiny mistake can cost you the game. That’s why it’s so much fun. It really is. It is a great discipline, and it’s really helped curling thrive.”

Given all her insights and ideas, might there be another hat to wear in the future — one that puts her in a position to help shape the sport’s direction? Time will tell. For now, Jones is content to enjoy the moment and hopes the broadcasting door stays open.

“I really hope so. I just love it,” she said. “Especially with curling, it’s to still so fun to be involved in the sport that I love. And I love the Olympics.”

winnipegfreepress.com/mikemcintyre