After winning the Pepsi Ontario Provincial Junior Women’s curling championship in early January, Ottawa Curling Club members Jamie Sinclair and Casandra Raganold are set to represent their province in the 2012 M&M Meat Shops Canadian junior championship from Feb. 4 to 12 in Napanee, Ont.
“I’m still kind of in shock,” says Sinclair, 19. “Winning provincials wasn’t exactly in our plans but now going to Nationals and having all of Ontario supporting you is quite the experience.”
Sinclair says being a regular in the OCC’s Wednesday Cash League has helped her prepare for the national stage.
Each week, she squares off against some of the country’s best, including former world champion Craig Savill and 2007 Scotties Tournament of Hearts runner-up Jenn Hanna.
“There are so many great teams in that league,” says Sinclair. “It teaches you to diversify your game. Any time you go up against Hanna or Savill you learn something new.”
Hanna notes Sinclair’s maturity level is one of the most impressive parts of her game.
“Sometimes you see younger players get frustrated when something doesn’t go right, but not Jamie,” says Hanna, who lost in the national junior championship final in 1998. “She’s very stoic and just takes things as they come.”
Ottawa Valley Curling Association youth director Tom Sinclair, no relation, also says the Wednesday league brings big benefits to the young curler’s game.
“There’s no question that when you’re in an environment of excellence, it creates a culture of high performance,” he says.
“Playing in the cash league definitely teaches a young curler how to deal with the mental struggles of the game.”
Sinclair and Raganold are just the latest additions to a wide collection of OCC members who have burst onto the national curling scene.
In 2011, Mat Camm lost in the final of the men’s national junior championship. Rachel Homan won a national junior title in 2010, before winning the Ontario Scotties Tournament of Hearts the following year.
Homan, 22, continued her success this season at the Ontario Provincials going undefeating before losing, in the finals.
“The talent pool in Ottawa is extremely deep,” says Tom Sinclair. “Jamie will do well because she’s had to beat some of the best to get where she is.”
However, both the youth director and Hanna warn that playing in a national championship brings new pressures, such as playing in the spotlight, and curling on live television. Sinclair says she and her team are up for the task.
Winning gold alongside Homan at the 2007 Canada Winter Games was invaluable experience, she says.
“It taught me how to deal with the crowds, the yelling, the cowbells and the media. It was a taste of the big stage.”
Sinclair says if she stays focused, trusts her teammates, stays positive and just enjoys the journey, the distractions will all fall into the background.
“We just have to enjoy ourselves. These opportunities don’t come very often.”