Gunning for gold

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 15/11/2009 (5994 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

111The 35-year-old Winnipegger works by day as a corporate lawyer at Wellington West and by night is one of the best female curlers in the world.

In early December, Jones and her team will attempt to secure a spot at the 2010 Olympics as Canada’s women’s curling representative. Constantly travelling for work, curling and speaking engagements, we caught up with Jones on the phone this week from her Toronto hotel room.

7 Plus 7: You’ve become one of the most successful women curlers in the world and are known across the country as a celebrated athlete. Curling as a little girl at the St. Vital Curling Club did you ever expect this to unfold?

JJ: As a little girl I dreamed about this but you never know if your dreams are going to come true. Then you wake up one day and it’s happening.

7 Plus 7: You’ve accomplished a lot in your life. What haven’t you done that you’d like to do?

JJ: I’ve been fortunate to do so many things and lucky enough to live out my dreams. But I’d like to have kids and a family.

7 Plus 7: So, you’re a high-powered lawyer — should we be scared if we ever walk into a courtroom and you’re on the other side?

JJ: Probably not. I don’t spend any time in the courtroom. I spend all of my time in an office looking over contracts.

7 Plus 7: You’re pretty busy what with a full-time legal career and you’re a professional athlete. What would you do with a complete day off?

JJ: Is there such a thing? Wow. I guess I’d fly somewhere in the mountains where it’s totally quiet and lose myself in the quiet.

7 Plus 7: You’re on TV a lot: Hockey players are famous for worrying about their hair and football players want their pants to fit just right — what do you fret over?

JJ: Well, I’m a girl so I worry about my hair a bit. I don’t want it in my face so I always wear it the same way. I’m also always yelling with my mouth open so there’s never a nice picture. I definitely don’t want anything stuck to my teeth.

7 Plus 7: Can you describe what it would be like to be on the ice listening to ‘O Canada’ after winning a gold in Vancouver at the Olympics?

JJ: I can’t. Just stepping on the ice to play a game will be life-changing. When we won the world championships in Vernon on home ice, that was one of the greatest experiences in my life. Stepping on to the podium and hearing the national anthem, it’s undescribable. I had tears rolling down my cheeks. Playing for Canada is an honour.

not matter where but it’ll be something else in Vancouver.

Here’s 7 Plus 7 with Jennifer Jones:

7 Plus 7 questionaire

Starbucks or Tim Hortons?

Tim Horton’s “They support curling.”

Favourite Winnipeg restaurant

Tre Visi

Summer destination

Lake of the Woods

Car or SUV?

SUV

Stranded on a deserted isle and left with one piece of music, what would you choose?

Anything by Ray LaMontagne

Movie or book?

Movie “Good Will Hunting is my favourite movie — or anything with a happy ending.”

If you could go fishing for a day with one person, who would it be?

Tiger Woods

7 Plus 7 Q and A