Meakin gets two title shots

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This article was published 01/02/2011 (5578 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

CALGARY — Most of Breanne Meakin’s mind was focused on the task at hand early Sunday evening at Calgary’s North Hill curling club, but there were a few moments where her mind wandered to Altona, Man.

While Meakin was going through a practice session with Team Manitoba for its game against Newfoundland at the M&M Meat Shops Canadian junior men’s and women’s championships, the other team she plays for, skipped by Cathy Overton-Clapham, was putting the finishing touches on a victory over Chelsea Carey in the final of the Scotties Manitoba women’s championship.

“We were tracking the game end by end before we got on the ice for practice,” recalled the 20-year-old skip, who’s playing in her fourth national juniors, and seeking her second Canadian title after playing lead for Kaitlyn Lawes’ Canadian championship and world junior silver-medal team in 2009. “Then my mom was giving me a big smile and a thumbs-up through the glass, and my dad (and coach, former world champion Rob Meakin) was like, ‘Cathy won!’ Now we’ve got a trip to Charlottetown (for the national Scotties next month).”

Meakin had spent the cashspiel season alternating between her junior team (third Briane Meilleur, second Erika Sigurdson and lead Krysten Karwacki) and a new women’s team formed over the summer by Overton-Clapham in the wake of her being dropped from Jennifer Jones’s team.

Overton-Clapham needed players in a hurry, and getting Meakin — one of Manitoba’s most accomplished juniors — was a bonus.

“Well, she’s got all the shots, for sure,” said Overton-Clapham on Monday, taking a break from an endless stream of congratulatory phone calls, text-messages and emails. “She’s keen, and she gets it — she’s a true athlete, for sure. She’s totally committed, and she really understands the game. She has all the angles figured out, and she’s very patient, very level-headed. She’s super-mature for her age; I mean, she’s won the Manitoba juniors four times, she’s been to the worlds. I mean, who’s done that? But she doesn’t walk around with a big head. She’s totally not that type of person.”

In fact, Meakin was humbled and flattered to be offered the chance to play for Overton-Clapham, a Manitoba Hall-of-Famer and one of the finest women’s players in Canadian history.

“I was just thrilled to have the opportunity to play with someone of her calibre and gain some experience with her,” said Meakin, who moved into playoff contention after a 10-4 win over Nova Scotia’s Lindsay Doucet Monday afternoon and rose to 4-3 with a 7-6 extra-end win over Saskatchewan’s Trish Paulson in the evening draw. “I knew it would be a busy year and that there would be some conflicts, but all in all, it’s been just a great season.”

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Paulson is at 5-1, a game back of leader Nadine Chyz of Alberta at 6-0.

All along, there was the potential for scheduling conflicts, but there was never any question that Meakin would forego the Manitoba women’s championship for her final shot at a Canadian junior title. Overton-Clapham called on Karen Fallis to fill in at provincials, and she will again at the national Scotties in Charlottetown, while Meakin goes as the team’s alternate player (and Rob Meakin serves as coach).

“I thought right away that it would be a great opportunity to have a mentor like Cathy for Breanne,” said Rob Meakin, who won the 1995 world men’s title as Kerry Burtnyk’s second. “It was really a good fit, I thought. I think she’s developing patience for the game, rock placement, learning how to miss. It’s been good to be able to work with both of them at the same time, too.”

— Postmedia News