Having a baby in the middle of curling season was a little inconvenient for Jen Rusnell but it hasn't rocked her house.
With the Scotties B.C. women's provincial championship less than a month away, Rusnell's baby son Connor must have known there wouldn't be much time for his mom to practice and he arrived a month early, on Nov. 6.
That's given her a chance to fine-tune her curling game, time she thought she wouldn't have.
Rusnell plays second for the Prince George rink with skip Patti Knezevic, third Kristen Fewster (Jen's sister who lives in Squamish), and lead Rhonda Camozzi. On Jan. 6 they begin their weeklong provincial quest on home ice at the Prince George Golf and Curling Club, among 10 teams vying for the right to represent B.C. in the Scott Tournament of Hearts in Montreal, Feb. 1-9.
"When we found out we were expecting, we put some plans in place with the team in case I wasn't able to play," said Rusnell, 29, who practiced until two days before Connor was born.
"We know we have a very strong fifth player, Nicole Backe, from [Vancouver Island] and she played in Maple Ridge in November and will be up for provincials. Fortunately for the team, he was born early so I've got lots of time to get myself back out on the ice. I was really fortunate I was able to play so late in my pregnancy."
Rusnell, 29, and her 27-year-old sister Kristen have curled together since they were 10 but in all that time they've never curled in a large event in their hometown. Neither have Knezevic, 40, and the 42-year-old Camozzi. Last year, in their first provincial tournament together, the Knezevic rink lost 9-6 in the B.C. final to Kelly Scott of Kelowna.
"We've never had a junior provincial or a ladies provincial at home," said Knezevic. "I think it's great for the sport of curling. It's going to bring people out and it's great for our sponsors. The sponsors get to come out and see what we do and why we put the time into it."
A win at the Cloverdale Cashspiel and a third-place result at a cashspiel in Maple Ridge gave Knezevic enough Canadian Team Ranking System points, to qualify for provincials early and avoid having to attend the open playdowns this month in Kelowna and Maple Ridge. Not having to travel to those qualifiers has been easy on the minds and pocketbooks of the Knezevic rink.
"We qualified for provincials out of the gate last year and for me it was so enjoyable, I enjoyed practicing through December," said Knezevic. "It's stressful financially for the team when you have to travel."
Rusnell's husband Cale is part of Bill Cameron's men's team, which on Sunday qualified for the men's provincial championship, Feb. 4-9 in Vancouver. Her father Rick Fewster used to play third for Les Abriel, one of the most successful Prince George men's teams of the 1990s and early 2000s.
"It means a lot, it's home, and there was no way I wanted to miss curling provincials at home, it's way too exciting," said Rusnell. "It's exciting for all of us. We all have lots of friends and family for support here."
The Prince George club has installed video monitors over the rings on the ice at the far side of the rink and has significantly improved rink lighting to make the provincial tournament more spectator-friendly.
"I was born and raised here so all the friends and family and our sponsors can come out and watch," said Camozzi. "It's not different than playing in any other event, you just play the same, and hopefully people will be rooting for us. "
Most days lately, Camozzi and Knezevic have been tossing rocks back and forth to each other in practice, with Fewster living out of town and Rusnell not available for practices.
"It's tough, for sure," said Camozzi. "We're trusting in our teammates that they're doing the work. I know Patti and I are practicing five days a week, Patti sometimes twice a day, and we both have young families.
"We've had a real successful season, we played some of the best teams in the world and had great success."
