Long arm of the Lawes

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This article was published 19/03/2021 (1881 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Connor Lawes certainly has the intimidation factor on his side at the Canadian mixed doubles curling championship.

He’s got Aunt Kaitlyn, a two-time Olympic champion, as a partner.

Connor, 24, is joining forces this week with his celebrity relative inside the fan-free bubble in Calgary. The Lawes duo, one of 35 teams participating in the eight-day event at WinSport Arena, is off to a tough 0-2 start.

Kaitlyn doesn’t need gold medals from the 2014 and ’18 Winter Games dangling from her neck to prove she’s got clout.

Her superstar reputation on the pebbled ice precedes her.

“I’ve got one of the best female curlers as a partner,” Connor said this week. “If I just pull my weight, we definitely have a chance to be competitive at the end of it.

“I definitely wouldn’t pick anyone else.”

Just one other curler in Canadian mixed doubles has the cachet of Kaitlyn Lawes, 32, and that’s John Morris, her sidekick at the Olympics three years ago in Pyeongchang, South Korea.

The twosome earned gold, defeating Switzerland in the final, in the event’s Olympic debut.

It was the second Olympic triumphs of their careers. Kaitlyn played third for Jennifer Jones in 2014 in Sochi, Russia, while Morris was vice-skip for Kevin Martin at the 2010 Games in Vancouver.

Needless to say, Connor was a big fan, then and now.

“There’s the general excitement of cheering for Team Canada but just having that connection, knowing it’s a family member, there’s definitely something extra special,” said the Collingwood, Ont., resident.

“Up in the middle of the night watching games, missing class the next day because you’re not sleeping. But it was a good run, so fun to watch.”

Morris has a new mixed doubles partner, Danielle Schmiemann, in Calgary. She’s replacing Rachel Homan, who is due to deliver her second child in April.

The Lawes team lost to the Thunder Bay, Ont., twosome of Trevor Bonot and Oye-Sem Won in its first contest in Pool E round-robin play Thursday. A day later, Team Morris/Schmiemann fought the Lawes/Lawes duo and won.

This isn’t the first affiliation between Kaitlyn and her nephew on the national stage. They united for the 2014 Canadian mixed doubles championship in Ottawa, nearly a month to the day after she stood on the podium with Jones, Jill Officer and Dawn McEwen.

“We played in 2014 right after the Olympics. Connor was still in high school. It was a really cool experience for us. I think it was my first time back on the ice,” said Kaitlyn. “We’re super excited to get the team back together.”

Connor vividly recalls being 17 at the time and in awe of the grace and humility of his aunt.

“I was pretty young and it was my first opportunity to play at that level. The thing I remember was for all our family to come together after her big success. I know a lot of family came to watch that event and it was nice to get together and share what she had done,” he said.

“The gold medal was definitely there. There was a lot of stop and chats with people, and photos. I was the camera man for it and I didn’t mind doing that. I know it meant a lot to people to see it and experience it. It was cool to see her talk to people.”

A year later, Connor played with Tanner Horgan’s team from Northern Ontario the Canadian junior championship in Corner Brook, N.L.

He and Kaitlyn curled in a pair of mixed doubles events during the 2019-20 season, losing out in the semifinals. They gained enough points to qualify for the 2020 national championship in Portage la Prairie, however, the event was scrapped owing to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In early December, Curling Canada announced the lineup for a condensed ‘Season of Champions’ in the Alberta hub city, which included a Canadian mixed doubles championship.

“Ontario was pretty rough at the time they announced it and I was skeptical,” said Connor, who works in administration with the Ontario government. “But the Scotties and Brier looked awesome.

“I’m always game to curl and spend time with Kaitlyn because it’s an awesome experience. It’s definitely a good opportunity. It’s been a while since I’ve been to a national championship, so I’m hoping to make the most of it and definitely keep things competitive.”

Kaitlyn is tossing the first and fifth stones, while Connor heaves all the granite in between.

The kid can play, his aunt says.

“Once they talked about it moving to the bubble, we had qualified and it was a no-brainer that we wanted to compete,” said Kaitlyn, who considers curling her profession but also does speaking engagements and is taking online classes through Athabasca University, north of Edmonton.

“It’s so exciting to see curling through Connor’s eyes. The age he’s at now is what I was when we won the (2013 Olympic) Trials (in Winnipeg) to go to Sochi, so it’s refreshing and exciting and brings out my love of the sport.

“We’re going to have so much fun out there.”

jason.bell@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @WFPJasonBell