Jamie Sinclair is hoping to have quite the fan turnout at the AMJ Campbell Shorty Jenkins Classic in Cornwall, Ont.
The American skip actually grew up in nearby Manotick and says she’s pumped to make her return to the 613 region this weekend for the elite event featuring Team Rachel Homan, Team Silvana Tirinzoni and Team Sherry Middaugh among other top teams on tour.
Sinclair just wishes her friends and family put in a little extra effort when cheering her on.
“Hopefully they’ve got signs or something,” Sinclair said with a laugh. “They’ve got to be creative.”
“I haven’t played in the Shorty in a long time. I think I played in it in my first year of women’s but after that I haven’t and it’s such a great event,” she added. “It’s changed locations since I’ve played in it but I’ve heard nothing but good things about Cornwall so I’m excited to go back. It’s so close to home, I’m going to have a bunch of fans so it’s going to feel really good.”
Born in Anchorage, Alaska, Sinclair joined Team USA’s High Performance Program south of the border in Blaine, Minn., in 2014 after skipping the Carleton Ravens to a Canadian university championship. She played third for Nina Roth during her first year in the program and was given the reins of her own squad last season. That team dissolved and Sinclair has now joined forces with third Alex Carlson, second Vicky Persinger and lead Monica Walker.
Jamie Sinclair made her Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling debut with Team Roth at the 2014 Canadian Open in Yorkton, Sask. (Photo: Anil Mungal)
“It’s always challenging with a new team, but specifically our team we’ve been really fortunate … four of us live in the same city right now and our fifth player [Tara Peterson] is coming in. She’s moving in October so all of us are going to live in the same city,” Sinclair said. “We’ve done a ton of team bonding and just because we can do a lot of training together has helped us establish those relationships and that bond that you need in order to perform at your best on the ice.
“We started this in the middle of the summer so having those connections built prior to the curling season starting was a huge benefit and so far so good. We get along really well. We’re super motivated, we’re all on the same page and the fact that all five of us are going to be in the same city for the entire season is going to be an advantage. We’re the only [HPP] team that’s fortunate to be in that situation so I think it’s going to separate us and help us accomplish all of our goals.”
The new crew doesn’t have the luxury of building chemistry slowly and have no choice but to play as much as they can to start the season with the Shorty Jenkins Classic being their third event in three straight weeks to kick off 2016-17.
Reigning U.S. national champion Erika Brown called it quits during the off-season and with no clear front-runner on deck it’s pretty much like an election without an incumbent. A spot to the worlds — and eventually the 2018 Winter Olympics — is ripe for the taking at the moment.
Sinclair’s two closest U.S. competitors skipped by former teammate Roth and 2016 world junior silver medallist Cory Christensen joined her team on the road for two events in Oakville, forcing them to keep up with the compatriots.
“It’s a little bit tricky this year because everything is a points chase. In order to play Curling Night in America, Continental Cup, even getting invited to certain events it’s all a points chase,” Sinclair said. “We pretty much just hit the ground running and decided to play three in a row. We fortunately got into the Shorty so we were able to do that. Just trying to get as many points as we can, try to get ahead of the pack and get invites to those specific events.”
“I feel like there are three women’s teams in the High Performance Program that are all pretty equal right now starting off on a level playing field,” Sinclair added. “It’s really just about who’s going to step up and perform this year. That’s going to be the team to take over and really make a run for that 2018 [Olympics] spot.”
Sinclair said the advantage to having all three teams evenly matched is they can all work together to help grow the sport in the U.S., but at the same time they’re still challenging each other for the top spot.
“It’s competitive but in a positive way,” Sinclair said. “It’s benefiting the U.S. for sure but it’s super competitive at the same time. We’ll just see how it plays out this season.”
“It’s nice to know that everyone has a chance so whoever puts in the most work, whoever is the most dedicated and whoever wants it the most is going to go that extra mile and really separate themselves from the pack,” she added. “That opportunity is available to everybody so that’s kind of cool. We’re definitely chasing that and feeling pretty confident in ourselves in accomplishing that going into the trials specifically.
“There aren’t that many times I’ve been in this kind of situation. It’s unique but the fact that everyone is even is more motivation than anything to just give it 110 percent and just doing everything that you can because you just have to one-up your opposition and then you’re good to go.”
Sinclair gained the early edge reaching the semifinals at the Oakville OCT Fall Classic two weeks ago while Roth and Christensen missed the playoffs (Sinclair defeated Roth during round-robin play in the only head-to-head meeting among the trio so far). However, it was Roth’s turn to shine at the Stu Sells Oakville Tankard last weekend when her team made the semis while Sinclair and Christensen were the ones who came up short and didn’t qualify.
Team Sinclair is currently 36th on the World Curling Tour’s Order of Merit and is hoping the hard work during the three-week opening stretch pays off. Roth is ranked 26th and Christensen sits at 28th, but both of them are off this week giving Sinclair a pivotal opportunity to gain some ground. Her team have their eyes on a spot in the Tier 2 division for the Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling Tour Challenge event taking place in two months in Cranbrook, B.C., and will need a strong finish at the Shorty Jenkins Classic in order to move up the ranks to guarantee an invite.
“Our first objective [for the Grand Slams] is to play in the Tier 2 in Cranbrook so we’ve got to get close to the top 25,” Sinclair said. “We were hoping to qualify in [the Stu Sells], came a little bit short, which sucks but hopefully we can qualify in the Shorty and then that will get us close to the 25-marker and then hopefully wait for an invite.
“But it’s all a points chase so that’s exactly what we’re doing. We’re playing the events and getting the points and if we do that we’ll get the invites to the Slams. But this year is kind of a building year so we’re being patient. We’re not expecting results right now, it was only our second event together this weekend so we’re super happy with the way things are going and this is definitely the team to make a difference. We’re excited for the season to come.”
The AMJ Campbell Shorty Jenkins Classic begins Thursday at the Cornwall Curling Centre.