'I'm going to miss everybody': Jennifer Jones bids bittersweet farewell in her last Scotties
CBC
Jennifer Jones bid a reluctant goodbye to a curling stage where she's performed brilliantly in her career.
Her Manitoba team's exit in Sunday's 5-4 loss to Rachel Homan in the Scotties Tournament of Hearts final marked the end of an era in women's curling.
The 49-year-old from Winnipeg declared before the Canadian women's championship in Calgary that her 18th appearance was her last.
Jones intends to retire from team curling after this season, although she will continue to curl mixed doubles competitively with her husband Brent Laing.
Tied for the most Canadian curling titles with Colleen Jones at six and the only woman to skip an unbeaten team in an Olympic Games, two-time world champion Jones dominates debate over who is the country's best female curler of all time.
Her 11 appearances in Hearts finals, 39 career playoff games and 236 games played are all tournament records.
Jones stood in the centre of the home-end rings and acknowledged the standing ovation she received Sunday night from a sold-out crowd of 3,195 at WinSport Event Centre.
"I'm going to miss everybody," Jones said. "I love the game. I love being out here. I love what it's done for our daughters. They believe that anything is possible because of curling."
Jones is arguably leaving still at the top of her game. She showcased her catalogue of shots in Calgary with several precise draws, finesse hits and rolls and runbacks to score multiple points in an end.
But draw weight eluded her Sunday, which was lethal against Homan's team that excels in defending with big-hit weights.
Jones' walk-off deflection off an Ontario stone well outside the rings for a takeout on the button to win her first Hearts in 2005 is still in heavy rotation on curling highlight reels.
"As far as I'm concerned, she's put modern day women's curling on the map," said four-time men's world champion Glenn Howard, who coached Jones this season.
"She's been a force for 20 some years now. Her uncanny ability to make the big shot is what sticks in my mind. She just comes through clutch, clutch after clutch. She's a winner."
Competing at the level of curling she has requires travelling to almost-weekly tournaments across Canada in the winter.
