Watching, working and waiting

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This article was published 23/02/2021 (1871 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Raunora Westcott’s pandemic surprise was a telephone call out of the blue.

Six-time Canadian champ Jennifer Jones was on the line with a request: Was she available to serve as the fifth for the upcoming Scotties national women’s curling championship in Calgary?

Three weeks later, Westcott is firmly entrenched behind the scenes at WinSport’s Markin MacPhail Centre, watching her new teammates chase another national title.

It’s one of the least glamorous jobs at the Scotties.

Between pre-scouting opposing teams and ice conditions and strategizing with coach Viktor Kjell, Westcott must also be ready to fill in for an injured or ailing teammate.

That brings up one of the toughest things about this gig: how do you shed months of pandemic-generated rust in your game?

“From a fitness perspective I feel good,” said the 44-year-old Winnipegger by telephone Monday. “I mean, it’s been tough in Winnipeg because we just haven’t had ice since October. I was playing a few doubles games with Kristy McDonald, my old skip, in October until things shut down.

“And then I literally had a couple of days to practise — Friday and Saturday last week — and then you’re out here. So when Jennifer called I said, ‘You do realize I haven’t been on the ice?’ And she said, ‘That’s OK, no one has.'”

For now, Westcott’s main task is to watch and learn.

“We’re strategizing about which games we need to follow, which rock lineups we want to collect from other teams and that kind of thing,” said Westcott, who had holiday time in reserve from the pandemic to take a leave from her post as an account manager for CWA National Leasing.

“From behind the sheet I’ve often got my binoculars stuck to my face and I’m looking at lineups of rocks and how other teams are drawing them on other sheets. And just how other teams are playing their games and how they’re setting up ends — when they’re up, when they’re down — in the first end and after the break.

“I’m making notes all the time and just kind of ensuring that we’re prepared when we do play our next game and these next teams.”

Pandemic regulations have made it more difficult to watch live, with team personnel not permitted to sit behind the house. Without fans, the building is quieter and cooler and Oakbank icemaker Greg Ewasko doesn’t have to lower the temperature to maintain ice conditions.

“It’s really tough to get a feel for how the ice is moving when we can’t sit right behind it,” said Westcott, lead on Michelle Englot’s 2017 Scotties silver medallists. “Greg’s done such a phenomenal job but every sheet has its little nuances in the way they run.

“There’s certain spots that might be a little bit straighter, (some) that maybe move more so we’ve talked a lot about how a sheet is moving so in our pregame meetings, everyone’s on the same page and we kind of know what to expect. It’s kind of nice for us because they don’t have to lower the temperature so right behind the sheet and I’m not freezing my butt off.”

One curious thing: Westcott had never played with Jones, third Kaitlyn Lawes, second Jocelyn Peterman or lead Lisa Weagle who beat Sarah Hill’s team from Newfoundland and Labrador 6-5 in their lone game Tuesday to improve to 3-2 in the Pool B round-robin standings.

“I think it’s a mutual respect,” said Westcott. “We’ve played against each other for so many years. We know each other very well and we were in juniors at the same time. I often run into Kaytlin and Jocelyn at our local clubs when we’re practising.”

Practice ice is at a premium in Calgary. Originally, all competitors were going to be allowed to practise daily after the final draw, but when organizers witnessed the congestion on opening day, decided to limit practice ice to teams playing in the evening draw.

Whether Westcott gets any game action is hard to guess.

“Jennifer has mentioned that she’d loved to get me in for a few ends here or there, so we’re waiting for the right time,” said Westcott. “If we’re having a tight game, that’s not the right time to come in unless one of the girls isn’t feeling well.”

mike.sawatzky@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @sawa14