While the Travelers All-Star Curling Skins Game didn’t work out as well as could be hoped for Brad Jacobs last weekend, he hasn’t altered his rink’s preparations for representing Canada at the Sochi Olympics.
On Saturday (Jan. 11), Jacobs and his Skins Game foursome of third Jon Mead, second Marc Kennedy and lead Craig Savill, lost a semifinal to Alberta’s Kevin Martin, $11,500 to $9,500.
Still, Jacob’s Sault Ste. Marie, Ont. rink – third Ryan Fry, second E.J. Harnden and lead Ryan Harnden (all chosen to participate in the Skins Game) – which won the December Roar of the Rings Olympic curling trials to earn a berth at Sochi, also got to take in the big Olympic Block Party sendoff on Banff Avenue, Saturday.
At this time, said Jacobs, making appearances as curling’s Team Canada have been few, which suits his foursome.
Preparing to represent Canada, though, he said after the Skins final, Sunday (Jan. 12), “is obviously an honour, it’s a dream come true. We have a lot of pride in wearing that maple leaf for all Canadians and we’re really looking forward to getting this competition under way and getting to Sochi and taking it all in as best we can.”
Unlike local cross-country, biathlon and alpine skiing hopefuls who are continually in a four-year Olympic cycle, Jacobs and his crew didn’t really have an eye on the rings until they won the 2013 Brier, then went on to win a silver medal at the world championships.
“I don’t think we really started to look at the Olympics until the Brier was over,” said Jacobs. “When we formed our team we didn’t really know what to expect; we’ve only been together for a little over a year now and we’ve had success, but our main goal when we got together was to win the Brier.
“Then, after the worlds and everything, we knew where we stood in the points and we knew what we had to do and then it was a goal to make it to the trials and win that.”
Since earning the Olympics berth on Dec. 8 with a big weight double takeout against John Morris to win the trials in Winnipeg, the Jacobs rink has kept appearances to a minimum.
“We haven’t been super busy. Especially in our home town we asked everyone to hold off on that type of stuff until after the Olympics because we need to focus on the task at hand right now.”
Luckily for the Jacobs foursome, many of the teams they will face at the Olympics are the same as those they faced in spring at the world championships.
“The world’s last year was a great learning experience for us,” he said. “We really got to see what the other countries have got and what they bring. We’re a lot better prepared now for international compeition after the world championships and we really know it’s important to get out there and stick to our game.
“I think that was one of the things we didn’t do well at the worlds. We kind of got out of our strategy and our game plan and we really need to stick to that.”
