By Ian Ewing
Rachel Homan can’t wait for the Scotties Tournament of Hearts to begin. Homan has skipped her young rink to their second Scotties in three years, and is looking to improve on a fourth-place finish in 2011.
The annual Canadian women’s curling championship is set for Feb. 16-24 in Kingston, making Homan’s Team Ontario the home rink. The Ottawa Curling Club women – lead Lisa Weagle, second Alison Kreviazuk, third Emma Miskew, and skip Homan – are expecting many friends and family to come down.
The tournament will be the biggest one they’ve played close to home yet. Homan says she’s not nervous – not yet, anyway.
“I’m just really excited, and I can’t wait to see everybody there and have them cheer us on in the crowd,” explains the 2010 Canadian junior champion who’s now once again coached by the man who directed her rink to that first national victory, Earle Morris.
Team Homan went a perfect 11-0 at the Ontario Scotties Jan. 21-27 in Kitchener-Waterloo to secure their berth at the national event. The team overcame last year’s heartbreaking last-rock loss at the provincials – their lone loss on that occasion. This year, their dominant play carried through to the final game.
At the nationals, they’ll come up against legends of the sport, including four-time Canadian champion and former world champion Jennifer Jones, representing Manitoba, and six-time Scotties champion and two-time world champion Colleen Jones, playing third for Nova Scotia. But the team won’t be focusing on their opponents’ credentials.
“It doesn’t matter who you’re playing,” Weagle notes. “You still have to make your shots, and sweep the rocks, and do all the things that we do in practice. You still have to execute the same skills.”
The girls talk a lot about focusing on the process, rather than the outcome, when they play. Work with a sports psychologist has helped.
So although they have the path to the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics mapped out on their website, with each tournament along the route scheduled, the team never seems to get ahead of themselves.
“By breaking it down into achievable smaller goals, the path to these big events kind of takes care of itself,” Weagle says. “By focusing on the process, the outcome – winning the game – will take care of itself.”
“We’ve worked so many hours and put in all the practice we need to get to where we are now,” Homan echoes. “We just believe in our ability and what we’ve done to prepare, and trust ourselves to keep doing what we’ve been doing. It’s been working for us so far this year.”
No kidding. Since winning the Rogers Masters of Curling on Nov. 18 – their first World Curling Tour major – they haven’t lost a game.
Every tournament they win and place well gives them valuable points in the Canadian Team Ranking System, used to determine who gets a spot at Olympic trials next fall. And that, they say, is the real goal this season.
Life devoted to curling passion
To get there, the women have made sacrifices. They practice nearly every day they’re not competing, spending evenings, weekends, and lunch hours at the rink or the gym. Work ethic, dedication, and a drive to achieve their goals are their trademarks. Weagle is the eldest, at 27. Kreviazuk is 24, and Homan and Miskew are 23. They talk about how the team has matured since the latter three left junior three years ago.
“We’ve had some lessons to learn,” Weagle admits, “but you know, we’re learning them. We’re trying to speed up the learning process so that we can achieve our goal of going to Sochi.”
Playing for Ontario at the Scotties in Kingston is a key step. But in spite of its importance, the girls expect the tournament will be fun.
“It’s amazing that we’re going to get to compete at home, and be Team Ontario in Ontario,” Weagle highlights. “A lot of our family and friends have already booked tickets. We’re really hoping that as many fans as possible can come out and cheer us on.”
“It’s just going to make it that much more fun,” Homan adds. “I don’t think it’s going to impact our game. I think it’s going to be awesome, and hopefully we play amazing for the home crowd.”
Sinclair claims Ontario jr. title
Perhaps following in Team Homan’s footsteps is Jamie Sinclair’s Manotick Curling Club rink, who won their second consecutive Ontario junior women’s curling title earlier in January.