Walter getting an early Scotties start

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This article was published 19/02/2023 (979 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Jennifer Jones was 27 years old when she made her first appearance at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts.

Kerri Einarson, the reigning three-time champion, was 28 for her debut at the Canadian women’s curling nationals.

Now that the event has spots for three wild card entries, the bar to qualify is lower, but that doesn’t take anything away from how impressive it is that Meghan Walter — who turns 21 on Wednesday — is skipping a team in Kamloops this week despite being the youngest player in the entire 18-team field.

The Winnipegger, who curls out of East St. Paul Curling Club, is playing as Wild Card no. 3 with third Abby Ackland, second Sara Oliver, and lead Mackenzie Elias.

The No. 7-ranked team in the country has had some growing pains thus far, as they went into Sunday night’s late draw against Northwest Territories’ Kerry Galusha with an 0-2 record. They lost 5-3 in their opening draw Saturday afternoon against Wild Card no. 2 Casey Scheidegger and fell 12-5 to Team Manitoba’s Jennifer Jones early Sunday.

“It’s definitely super special. I’ve always looked up to the top women’s curlers in our province and in Canada. I think watching them growing up I always had the dream to be in the Scotties just like them,” Walter told the Free Press.

“Getting this opportunity at 20, 21 is something not a lot of women my age get to do, especially coming out of Manitoba, so I really just need to soak up this experience. Every year is different, we don’t know if we’ll be back here next year, the year after, or three years from now, so I think I got to take in every moment and not take anything for granted this week.”

This isn’t the first time Walter has been ahead of the curve. Back in 2019, Walter played third for Colin Kurz’s team — which included Brendan Bilawka at second and Oliver at lead — that won the Manitoba, Canadian and world mixed championships. They took down Germany 6-5 in Aberdeen, Scotland to claim the gold medal.

Walter was just 17 at the time, making her the youngest-ever world mixed champion.

“Colin, Brendan, Sara and I went into playing regionals, provincials and nationals for fun. We just wanted to put our men’s and women’s teams to the side and just have a little bit of fun with curling. That’s what we did, we’re four really good friends, and when we got to represent Canada at the worlds, it was kind of a surreal moment,” said Walter.

“We ended up having a great run and came home with the gold. It’s something I’ll always remember and cherish.”

Walter has her fair share of lows in curling as well. Prior to winning the under-18 women’s provincials in Minnedosa in early March of 2020, Walter had lost five straight Manitoba championships at the junior level — three U18 provincial finals, and two under-21 title games.

Walter also lost the Manitoba women’s final to Jones last month by a score of 10-5, forcing her to settle for a wild card spot at the Scotties.

“Losing all those provincial finals, I learned more and more every time I lost them, and I think that has benefited me in my game and my composure on the ice. I just believe you learn from every loss, and you learn even a little more from the bigger ones,” said Walter, whose older brother Brett won the men’s junior title in 2020.

“I think in juniors I was on a bit of a hill, and it was tough to climb up, but once we got to the top of the mountain and won our first provincial, all the hard work paid off.”

Ackland and Oliver played with Kaitlyn Jones last year, while Walter skipped a team of her own that included Elias. It’s the first year together for the new foursome, and a few months ago, a trip to the Scotties seemed unlikely. Ackland started the season skipping, but the group opted to make a change after finishing in last place at the Red Deer Curling Classic in November. After that, Walter and Ackland decided to swap places and two weeks later, they won the 20-team DeKalb Superspiel in Morris.

“I feel that if anyone knows me, they know I’m a relaxed, laid-back person. It’s not about personal fame, it’s about the team, and if having my name skipping isn’t working, then that isn’t the be-all and end-all,” said Ackland, 28.

“And (Meghan’s) definitely mature. She’s very mature for 20 years old and I think she’s been that way for a while. And I think she’s very aware of her demeanour out there and things she maybe has to work on and what we all have to work on. At the end of the day, she’s been a really good asset to have, even at the skip position, because she’s very self-aware and she’s very aware of all of our tendencies, too. She’s been very mature in that position and been able to call some shots when we need them and make some shots that are nerve-wracking.”

While the team hasn’t had the start in Kamloops that they were hoping for, they’re not pointing the finger at anyone or using the arena ice as an excuse. They’re confident if they can play up to their potential that they can hang with the best.

“I feel this definitely isn’t the way any of us have been playing this season. I think we can play better, communicate better, and be better as a team,” said Ackland.

“The whole week is a learning experience, but at the end of the day, we definitely want to come to play more than what we have been. At the end of the day, we’ll keep pushing and learning and that’s all you can do.”

taylor.allen@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @TaylorAllen31