Team Nova Scotia third Jill Brothers in the Page 3 vs 4 game at the 2025 Scotties Tournament of Hearts on the weekend. (Curling Canada/Andrew Klaver Photography)

It was an intense, emotional week of curling at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts for Liverpool native Jill Brothers and Team Nova Scotia.

But they topped it off with a spot on the podium on Sunday.

Brothers is the third on the team skipped by Christina Black. They made it to the semi-final against Manitoba’s Kerri Einarson, losing 9-8, forcing Einarson to make her last shot for the win.

Brothers told QCCR from Thunder Bay on Monday that they were happy with how they battled back during the game. 

“We almost got the steal in the end, so we just kept believing in ourselves that we could make it a really close game and make her throw her last rock.”

It’s their first year together as a team, and Brothers says getting on the podium at the national championship was a big win for them.

“We were having a lot of fun and we just wanted to keep the game really exciting and close. … It’s a long, long week of a lot of focus and concentration and so we were just really happy with our performance.

“At the Scotties, you get a ring if you make it on the podium. So that’s always been a lifelong goal: I want to be on the podium, I want to get a ring.”

But the team also fought through some adversity to get there. Teammate Jenn Baxter’s father died suddenly on Saturday, the day before the semi-final.

“It was a mixture of letting out some tears in between the games and then parking the situation a little bit and just knowing that Jenn and her dad would want us to be out there giving our all. We found the energy to regruop and lean on each other a little bit.”

Rachel Homan’s team repeated as national champions, after their win over Einarson on Sunday.

“They were super kind to us. After they won, they came over to us and just acknowledged the situation we had been in the last couple of days. It was super special that they were so kind and congratulated us and just commended our play in the last couple of games knowing what we had been through.”

Team Nova Scotia entered the tournament in Thunder Bay ranked fourth in the country. And with the bronze medal win on Sunday, they believe they have a chance to be one of the seven teams with an automatic berth in the Olympic trials in Halifax in November.

All team members live in the Halifax area and train together at least four times a week. Some other elite Canadian teams have members scattered in different cities or provinces. Brothers said being in the same city has been a big part of their success so far. 

“There’s no way we’d be where we are without being together this much. … It’s invaluable. And we heard it a lot at the Scotties this year. I don’t know if we have any inspiration for teams to maybe get back to doing it (that way), I guess it feels like an old school way. Like Colleen Jones (and her team), they just all lived in the Halifax area and they were together all the time, just practise, practise practise and that’s how they got their results.”

The 41-year-old has been to the Scotties eight times in her career, as a skip and in other positions. But this is the first time the 2004 Canadian women’s junior champion made it to a senior semi-final.

“I had success at such a young age as skip and you do it for so long that the pressure can kind of wear on you after a while. I’ve skipped for a long time. It’s a position I’m comfortable in, but I like to chat, to communicate, I like to use my strength and sweep. I was so happy to play third for someone who loves to play skip.”

Brothers says she’s keen to get back to work as the technical director for the Nova Scotia Curling Association. But she’s really looking forward to getting home to Bedford and spending time with her husband Paul and their two kids.

Her family was in Thunder Bay for the Scotties, but the kids got sick early in the week, so they missed a lot of it.

“I just really want to spend some time with my kids. I just want to watch my kids plays soccer and go curling and go to dance. That’s my next goal is just to do some work and hang out with the kids.”

Brothers says she’s grateful for all the support from her family and friends and from her hometown of Liverpool.

“My sister lives there, my mom lives there. I’d choose to be there every second weekend if we could. It’s just great to have a special place that I still call home and they’re so supportive.

“A huge shoutout to my husband, Mom that lives in Brooklyn, my mother-in-law that lives in Cole Harbour. They all do so much.

“To have them supporting me to do this is incredible. They’ve always got my back. Even my neighbour, he had to take the kids to school when I flew out to the Scotties. We’ve got so many great people helping us out, so that’s super important.”

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

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Earl Mielke, a coach with Special Olympics Lunenburg/Queens, and his stepdaughter Rebecca Delaney recently returned from the national winter games in Calgary, where Delaney won a gold and a bronze medal. (Rick Conrad photo)

It may have been so cold that the first day had to be rescheduled, but for Liverpool athlete Rebecca Delaney, competing in her first national winter games was an experience she won’t forget.

Delaney, 27, won gold in the 100-metre snowshoe event at the Special Olympics Canada Winter Games in Calgary. She also won bronze in the 4 x 100 snowshoe relay. 

“It was very cold but I still did it,” she said in a recent interview. 

“It was amazing. Let’s just say when I got to the end, I cried.”

Delaney was one of four Queens County athletes competing at the games, which were held Feb. 27 to March 2. Jillian Young was on Delaney’s relay team that snagged the bronze. Young also won silver in the 100-metre event. Michael Moreau won silver in the 4 x 100 men’s relay, and Ben Theriau captured silver as a member of the curling team.

The athletes from Special Olympics Lunenburg/Queens were part of Team Nova Scotia’s 45-athlete contingent which won 30 medals overall in Calgary.

Delaney has racked up medals in national summer games and provincial competitions before. But it was her first time kicking up the snow at a national event.

Her time was so good in the 100-metre event that she was bumped up to another division in the 200-metre race, where she competed with the fastest snowshoers in Canada. She finished fifth in that race.

“That was fast. I went like a rock star.”

Team Nova Scotia was supposed to go for a visit to Banff National Park after the events were over. But the weather grounded their bus. So, instead, they took in an AHL game.

While Delaney is proud of how she did on the snowshoe track, she says the game and the closing dance were highlights. She says going to Calgary was about more than winning. 

“I met new friends and I had fun and that’s all that matters.”

Delaney’s mother Susan Inglis is the snowshoe team’s assistant coach and Inglis’s partner Earl Mielke is the head coach.

Betty Ann Daury is the other snowshoe coach, who put the Queens athletes through their paces as much as three days a week leading up the games.

Mielke says they held practices at Queens Place Emera Centre and Privateer Park on the Liverpool waterfront.

“There were days when it was colder in the park than it was at nationals. And the wind coming across down the Mersey River, I wanted to get in the truck, I wanted to go hide. But they kept going and Betty Ann pushed them. And that really got them ready for Games.”

Delaney is already looking forward to her next competition. That will be the provincial games in Wolfville this summer, where she’ll be running in the 100-, 200- and 400-metre races, and competing in the standing long jump and the shot put.

Mielke says they’ll start training in April.

“We have a number of other athletes who won’t go to provincials but enjoy the social part and the athletic part. … And they’re already asking now, when can we start. Probably April we’ll get back out and start training for the (summer) events.”

In the meantime, Delaney is doing her part as an ambassador for Special Olympics to get more people involved.

“We need more athletes. We just need more athletes, so please bring more athletes out to Special Olympics.”

And Mielke says they also need coaches. If you’re interested in joining Special Olympics Lunenburg/Queens, you can reach out to them through their Facebook page. 

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

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