Captain Rachel Homan practises with her team for the Canadian Junior Curling Championship.
Under bright television lights and rolling cameras, four Ottawa curlers felt the heat and faltered in the final game.
Team Homan may not have won nationals last year, but they have dominated Ontario curling, winning back to back Ontario junior championships.
More important, the team of Emma Miskew, Lynn Kreviazuk, and Laura Crocker is returning to nationals Jan. 16 to 24 in Sorel-Tracy, Que and has a shot at redemption.
“Last year, we had never been in a national final and there was a lot of pressure,” says skip, Rachel Homan. “Hopefully we can take our experience last year and turn it into a good one this year."
Kreviazuk, the team’s lead, is confident that nerves will not be a factor this year.
She says the team has learned from past mistakes and is now better prepared to be in a national final.
“I think we can win because we’re really dedicated and we practice really hard,” she says. “We know what to expect and can play a little harder this season and I think we have what it takes to win it.”
Team Homan has had a successful season. The team participated in pre-trials for the upcoming 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. They played against Canadian curling celebrities Jennifer Jones and Sherry Middaugh and almost made the cut for Olympic trials.
Miskew, the team’s third, says the rink’s biggest strength is familiarity.
With the exception of Crocker, who came on board in 2009 as the second, the team has been together for several years. Miskew and Homan have played together for eight years and Miskew says their relationship is a big reason for the team’s success.
“We’re obviously great friends and when we were younger we were able to get used to each other,” says Miskew. “So as time went on we learned each other’s tendencies and how to react around each other to make sure there is good chemistry on the ice.”
Earl Morris has coached the two since the beginning. He says the team, and more specifically the tandem of Homan and Miskew, will be remembered as something special.
“Rachel Homan is an extraordinary skip,” he says. “No one will come along for a long, long time in junior curling in Ontario to come close to what … her team has accomplished in their nine years.”
All four curlers are also university students.
With practice almost everyday and tournaments on the weekends, there is little time for a social life. Kreviazuk knows a lot of time goes into curling, but she says the team is focused on nationals. They are confident that nerves will not cost them another chance at a national title.
“Making it to the nationals was incredible last season, being in the finals was definitely overwhelming,” Kreviazuk says. “We really hope to achieve that again this year and maybe even win it all.”
At press time, Team Homan was undefeated at nationals, posting six victories and leading the tournament.