While other rinks in the tournament were scrapping and clawing through their respective playdowns, Carey and her rink of third Sarah Wilkes, second Dana Ferguson and lead Rachel Brown were hitting the occasional practice ice, playing an exhibition game or two, just staying as sharp as possible without the high-pressure competition.
“There’s a nice rest and some time off to heal the bodies and stuff,” Carey said shortly after practice on Friday afternoon. “It’s more the emotional and mental side of it with being on the high of having won something instead of just coming in. But we know how to manage that, so we’re not expecting a problem… it’s better physically for old people like me to have a break, but your head and your emotions have to be managed, and an event like this isn’t too hard to get up for and focus.”
It certainly doesn’t hurt that when it comes to the Scotties, almost every team has seen regular action on the World Curling Tour this season while also playing in high-level Grand Slam events.
That breeds plenty of familiarity, and takes away a bit of the ‘aura’ the Scotties winner used to carry – even so far as somewhat removing the target the defending champions might have had in the past,
“I don’t know that you do because we play these teams all the time,” Carey said. “I don’t look at Rachel [Homan] and think and think it’s Team Ontario, it’s just Rachel and her team we play every other week. It’s the same kind of teams we’ll see at Slam, and where you think there’s going to be a good game, you think the same thing here.”
One thing that will be different this year is how much money the teams will make. Curling Canada brought pay equity into the equation for the first time this year, meaning both the Scotties and Brier winners will receive $105,000 each.
“I wish it was retroactive,” the two-time Scotties champion said with a laugh. “But it’s been a long time coming, we have pay equity at the Slam events so that set a bit of a precedent, then we look at this and say ‘why isn’t it the same for the Brier and Scotties’. It’s long overdue but definitely welcome.”
Money or no, one thing is for certain with the Carey foursome – winning again and repeating as champions most certainly won’t get old, and being able to draw on a winning pedigree helps toward that goal.
“The first one is your first one, so you’re really excited,” Carey said. “Then you really want to win one and once you’ve done that, you want to win it again, but it take some of the pressure off, since you never know how many you’re going to get back to.
“But the more experience you have, the better you are at managing your experience through a long and gruelling week.”
Carey and Team Canada play their opening game against Northern Ontario’s Krista McCarville during the 1:30 p.m. draw on Saturday.
