Which isn’t much of a surprise, considering Sara’s mom is none other than Canadian curling legend Sandra Schmirler.
With the 2020 Scotties Tournament of Hearts taking place in Moose Jaw Feb. 14-23 and marking the 20th anniversary of Schmirler’s death, expect the three-time world champion and 1998 Olympic gold medalist to loom large over the proceedings. And if things go according to plan, England will be right there on the ice soaking it all up.
The 22-year-old Regina product currently plays third for one of Schmirler’s greatest rivals in Michelle Englot and saw action in the recent Moose Jaw stop of the Sask Women’s Curling Tour.
“Probably at least once an event,” England said with a laugh when asked how often fans approach her to talk about Sandra. “That happens a lot, but I love when it happens. The best way for me to get to know my mom is through everyone she impacted. So I enjoy when everyone comes up and talks to me about her.”
England was only two when her mom passed after a lengthy battle with cancer. She’s followed in Sandra’s footsteps, though, and has already put together an impressive resume: England has won the last three Jiffy Lube provincial junior women’s championships, the last two as a skip.
So when it came to move up to the women’s ranks this season, Englot and her decades of championship-level curling seemed like a perfect fit.
“She has years and years of experience and every time there’s discussion on the ice, we’re learning from that discussion,” said England, who takes the ice alongside second Shelby Brandt and lead Stasia Wisniewski. “She’s sharing a lot of wisdom and her thought process on shots and that’s giving us a lot of new angles on the game.”
It’s all paid off through the early going, as Englot landed the top Scotties provincial qualifying spot through the SWCT standings. Playing for a provincial women’s title and potentially following in Sandra’s footsteps is an opportunity England is looking forward too – especially with the national Scotties only 45 minutes west on the Trans Canada.
Sara England delivers a shot during the Moose Jaw Sask Womens Curling Tour stop.“I got to play in my home province last year in juniors in P.A. and it was a ton of fun,” England said. “It was probably the best nationals I’ve been too, just knowing all the volunteers who worked to make it that way and all the school kids who came out and were cheering for us. I think that’s more what I want to experience, just being part of that again.”
England will have no shortage of support in that quest, too. In addition to Englot and her eight provincial titles, Sara also has her mom’s teammates – Jan Betker, Joan McCusker and Marcia Gudereit – to chat with, even if she doesn’t cross paths with them as much as she’d like.
“I think Marcia is coaching a junior team so I still see her quite a bit around the rink and that’s always nice,” England said. “I wish I saw them more than I did, but once in awhile I’ll see them at the rink and it’s fun, I love them. They’re kind of like my aunties, I’ve know them so long. They know me well and whenever we have success I still get text messages from them, so we’re still really close.”
And if she does have a chance to take the ice in the Scotties Tournament of Hearts?
“It would be a dream come true,” England said. “One, just to play in the Scotties has always been one of my major goals. Then playing it in your home province, just a couple of minutes away from home would be the best experience. I know now how to thrive off that energy and that will help if we get there. Even going to provincials, it’s going to be in an arena in an open setting, so just being able to pull from everybody’s energy instead of blocking it out will be a lot of fun, too.”
