Jill Brothers and her teammates have decided to accept an invitation to represent Nova Scotia at the Scotties Tournament Hearts in Calgary.
They just needed an extra end to make the decision on Thursday.
The Mayflower foursome asked for and received a 24-hour extension from Curling Nova Scotia to reach their decision that had many moving pieces.
On Monday, the curling association announced the cancellation of several provincial championships, including the high-profile Scotties and Tankard due to COVID-19 restrictions.
Brothers and teammates Erin Carmody, Sarah Murphy, Jen Brine and Emma Logan were invited to compete at the national Scotties as the 2021 Nova Scotia money list leaders.
Curling Nova Scotia offered the national invitations to the 2020 provincial champions, but Mary-Anne Arsenault's winning team didn’t meet the qualifying standards of having three of the four original members playing together this year.
Arsenault moved to British Columbia last year while Logan joined Brothers, leaving Christina Black and Jennifer Baxter as the remaining members.
That meant the Brothers team only had a few days to research Curling Canada’s COVID-19 safety protocols, talk with employers and family to enact a plan to allow for the travel to Alberta and the subsequent 14-day quarantine period upon their return.
“Everybody's week played out differently but when it came down to it on Wednesday morning a couple of the girls were stressed out, still waiting for work (decision). So we said 'why is it 4 p.m. today, why do we need to know by then?'
“We didn’t understand why it had to be so fast. We had a lot of responsibilities to take care of and we wanted to do a good job representing the province. So we don’t want to throw ourselves into this without knowing all the things we need to know. After a phone call on Wednesday morning and expressing my concerns about how much stress we all felt being put in a tight amount of time to figure it out. Andrew Abraham at Nova Scotia Curling was very understanding and said 'if 24 hours is going to help you guys, we can make that happen.' It alleviated a bit of stress to allow us to research the things we needed to know to make the decision.”
I don’t think we were expecting everyone to be so ‘you go get them, good for you, do this.’ Everyone got more support from work than we were expecting. Everyone’s work was so kind and wonderful. That support was a huge turnaround.
- Jill Brothers
Brothers said the support her team received helped alleviate the pressure they were all feeling.
“On Monday we get got the invitation and it became a reality. It was suddenly a lot and I was like I can’t make this happen. I went to work on Monday and told my three bosses (at Halifax’s Dime Salon) what was happening and how much time I would need off. They have always supported my endeavours and thirty minutes later, it was Ok.
“I don’t think we were expecting everyone to be so ‘you go get them, good for you, do this.’ Everyone got more support from work than we were expecting. Everyone’s work was so kind and wonderful. That support was a huge turnaround.
“I didn’t think I would be able to have this outcome but the overwhelming support gave me the push.”
Lineup change
There will be one change to the lineup as Murphy, the team’s second has elected not to participate. Emma Logan, the team’s fifth, will throw lead stones while Brine will move into the second slot. Also, coach Jeff Wilson will not be able to make the trip.
Brothers said both Murphy and Wilson will be following closely from home.
“Sarah and Jeff will be Zoomed in for sure, especially when we need the extra support. Jeff is a great coach and he helped us get through this week big time. He’s new to us, so it’s amazing how he’s just been all in this week even though he knew he couldn’t go. There was a lot of emotions (this week) and he was able to bring it back to what we needed to talk about and get it done.”
Brothers said the game will look different for her in Calgary without Murphy, but said her second is all in to help them prepare.
“Sarah throws second but holds the broom for me. She’s been my support in the house, so it’s going to be different. But she’s like, all hands on deck, what do you need me to do.”
Brothers said the team is looking to add a fifth member for the Scotties.
“We are picking away at that aspect and will be adding a coach or a fifth. So we could add someone as a fifth, who could be a coach or mentor as well.”
Safe event
The national Scotties and Tim Horton’s Brier, along with several other high-profile events, are being held in a bubble at Calgary’s Markin MacPhail Centre from Feb. 20-28.
“The Scotties is the first one up, so hopefully we can set a really good outcome and everything will be positive,” said Brothers. “Hopefully, they take the over-cautious approach and I’m sure they will.
“We went over the Curling Canada guidelines and there are really good rules in place. In that regard, we feel like we have done our research and we know how to keep ourselves very safe.”
A Scotties veteran
Brothers won provincial Scotties championships in 2019, 2016 and 2007, so she is no stranger to the pressure associated with the national event. But this year will be different with the stands empty due to COVID restrictions.
“I’m competitive by nature so the fans are obviously huge fun and exciting point of it. I don’t feel I will need the fans there to get butterflies in my belly and feel like I’m going to puke on last rock,” laughed Brothers.
“It’s still going to be the lights, the TV cameras, lots of interviews and all that kind of stuff. Just the (Nova Scotia) jacket alone makes you feel like you’re there, your representing.
“I watch a ton of sports, so I think I would have a panic attack if I saw the stands full right now. I feel it’s going to be, in that sense, normal, even though we have not done it. You’re so used to seeing empty stands right now on TV. You don’t want to see people close to each other right now.”
Brier reps
On Monday, Jamie Murphy announced that he would not be joining his team of Paul Flemming, Scott Saccary and Philip Crowell at the Brier. The six-time Nova Scotia Tankard champion skip cited the 14-day quarantine upon return as one of the main reasons.
The team is in the process of adding a fourth member to join them for the Brier being held March 6-14.
