Colleen Jones may be reluctant to put herself in the same echelon of Canada's curling legends, but there is little doubt the 44-year-old CBC broadcaster has solidified her spot as the best of the best after leading her rink to victory yesterday at the Scott Tournament of Hearts.
Playing as Team Canada, the Halifax foursome knocked off Marie-France Larouche of Quebec 7-4 in Red Deer, Alta., for the rink's record-breaking fourth consecutive title and fifth in the past six years. This victory came 22 years after Jones captured her first Canadian crown, and makes her the most decorated curler in the game's history.
In the past, Jones has dismissed classifications that put her alongside teams such as Vera Pezer and Sandra Schmirler. But she has surpassed them and, at least in terms of records, now stands alone.
Yesterday, it was hard not to be impressed with the performance of the team from Halifax, which includes Kim Kelly, Mary-Anne Arsenault and Nancy Delahunt, as it grinded out its 11th win of the week. It was almost flawless in execution and showed why the team has become, quite simply, one of the best women's teams to ever slip on sliders.
Team Canada skip Colleen Jones celebrates her team's victory after beating Team Quebec 7-4 in the final at the Scott Tournament of Hearts in Red Deer, Alta., Sunday (Chuck Stoody/CP)
The game started cautiously, with both teams choosing to play most of their shots into the house. The Quebec rink forced Jones to one in the second after Larouche, 23, made a nifty split with her final shot.
But she wasn't that sharp in the next end, turning a simple hit for two into a steal of one for Team Canada when she threw her final shot wide.
Then in the fifth end, a mix-up occurred that may serve as exhibit 1 in the difference between men's and women's curling.
Jones, playing in her 18th Canadian women's championship, drew the four-foot ring with her final shot, believing it would give her two points. But her second rock was close with a Quebec stone, both almost fully into the eight-foot ring. However, Delahunt, believing the opposition had confirmed two Team Canada points, kicked the rocks off before Quebec third Karo Gagnon could see which was closer to the centre, a definite breach of curling etiquette.
After some discussion, the Quebec team conceded the second point, something it didn't have to do under the circumstances. The concession is something that likely wouldn't happen in a game between, say, Randy Ferbey and Kevin Martin.
As the remaining ends advanced, inexperience began to show as the youthful Quebec squad, which was almost half the average age of the Jones rink, battled aggressively but wasn't able to keep up.
Finally, in the ninth end, the bubble burst for the team from the Quebec City area, which also included Annie Lemay and Véronique Grégoire.
With a chance to sit two, Larouche threw her stone well inside the intended line and missed the Team Canada counter. She never saw her stone sail past the shot rock, as she turned away in disgust, realizing immediately how poorly she had thrown it. Larouche's tears began to flow long before Jones played a takeout for two points and a 7-4 lead.
The 10th end was a mere formality as Jones sealed the win with a takeout on her first stone.
It was not much of a surprise that these two teams arrived at the final. They were among just a handful of squads that seemed willing to play aggressively. Along with Sherry Middaugh of Ontario, who lost a gut-wrenching, extra-end semi-final to Larouche on Saturday, and Sherri Anderson of Saskatchewan, the finalists stood out among a field that at times exhibited strategy that would make a Sunday morning beer-league skip shudder.
And that seems precisely why Jones has thrived.
She is one of the few women who seems to have a command of the strategy for the four-rock free-guard zone. And she plays to win, rather than like so many of her competitors who appear to be on the ice trying not to lose. So often this week, the television microphones picked up players whose thoughts seemed to revolve around "what if I miss this shot," as opposed to Jones, who was thinking "watch me make this one."
That confidence has not come easily. There was a time not too long ago, before her magical run of the past few years, when many believed the game had passed Jones by. But she remoulded her team and her own game to bring it in line with the best competition. She picked the brains of the likes of Russ Howard and Randy Ferbey, asking them what they would do in certain situations. She spent time with Lino Di Iorio, a technical wizard regarded as the most innovative trainer in the world. Di Iorio did everything from matching the four players' sliders to determining their proper split times for deliveries. And the rink hired Ken Bagnall, a sports psychologist who gives them motivation when the brass ring seems somewhat tarnished.
Not to be dismissed is the team's ultracompetitive nature; it simply hates to lose.
Despite the defeat, all was not lost for Larouche, who earned a spot in the 2005 Olympic trials by virtue of her finish and the fact that Jones had already secured her berth. She seems to have the tools to one day take the final step and could very well be wearing Canadian colours in Turin at the 2006 Winter Games.
Jones now advances to the world championship from April 17 to 25 in Galve, Sweden. In addition, she gets to return, yet again, to next year's Scott Tournament of Hearts in St. John's.
Special to The Globe and Mail
