Pincott has Manitoba roots

When Matt Dunstone and Erin Pincott pack up their things in Kamloops and move to Winnipeg later this year, the Brier champion won’t be the only one returning to his roots.

In a way, Pincott will be, too.

Her family tree goes through Manitoba with her grandparents meeting in Flin Flon before raising a family out west.

Her grandfather, Grant Young — who passed away in 2009 — represented B.C. at the 1981 Brier, playing lead for Barry McPhee, and helped ensure the apple didn’t fall far from the tree.

“In talking to my mom about this decision, I was just like, ‘What do you think Grandpa would think about this?’ And she was like, ‘He’d be super proud and excited for you,’” Pincott told the Free Press.

“So that was cool, because he’s the reason I got into curling. He registered my brother and I in the Saturday morning Little Rocks league. He didn’t live to see much of my success through juniors and whatnot, but even though I’m not from Manitoba, it’s kind of coming full circle.”

While Dunstone — who moved to The Loops in 2018 to be with Pincott — is looking forward to being closer to family and having more time on the ice with his good pal and standout third Colton Lott, it’s actually his partner’s career that has them changing area codes.

“Despite what people are thinking, he put zero pressure on me in terms of location,” said Pincott.

Former Kaitlyn Lawes third Selena Njegovan announced a Manitoba-based team last week that will see her skip a foursome featuring Pincott, Margot Flemming and Krysten Karwacki. With Flemming, a Yellowknife, N.W.T., product, being the designated import, something had to give and Pincott was more than happy to do her part to make things work.

The 30-year-old third has worn B.C. colours at four Scotties with Corryn Brown. After failing to reach the national stage this year, Brown and Co. made the decision to disband.

“After my former team parted ways, I told myself that I would jump at any kind of real opportunity that excited me. And certainly, Selena was at the top of my list of someone to play with,” said Pincott, an alternate for Team Lawes at this year’s Scotties.

“So that was really exciting for me. And I was looking for teammates that kind of shared the same goals and aspirations, and what they thought the daily training environment could look like kind of led to the move to Winnipeg to be able to be with the girls more full time. It’s no secret that Manitoba and Winnipeg love curling and there’s a lot of resources there, so I’m hoping it’ll be a really good opportunity for high performance training.

“I’ve never lived elsewhere outside of Kamloops, so in terms of a life change, that feels big right now. But there’s a lot of excitement that’s getting me through those unknowns at the moment.”

Switching provinces isn’t the only thing that’ll take some time to get used to. It’ll be an adjustment for Pincott to be on the ice without Brown after curling together for over two decades.

“We’ve kind of joked about how we maybe now know what an amicable divorce feels like in terms of just the emotion that comes with it. I mean, we’re sisters, really. We’re still the best of friends, I see her all the time,” said Pincott.

“That was one thing in the conclusion of Team Brown that we said ‘Let’s prioritize our relationships and friendships’ and I’m just really happy we can focus on that side of things now. But it’s been interesting, almost like a little bit of a grieving process, in closing that chapter.”

Spring is in the air in Kamloops, and Dunstone has been fortunate enough to golf a few rounds already. Meanwhile in Winnipeg, winter has been reluctant to say goodbye.

While they’re not moving until the summer, Pincott is well aware of what she’s going to eventually experience.

The couple met at the 2013 world juniors in Sochi, Russia.

“Matt was like ‘You don’t know what you signed up for.’ Obviously, I’ve spent a lot of time in Winnipeg for Christmas and stuff. I’ve been there in the winter, but not for a full winter. He’s like ‘You chose this, you can’t complain to me.’ So we’ll see. Hopefully it’s easy on me for the first year at least.”

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