WEYBURN – Weyburn curler Brennen Jones is excited for the upcoming Tim Horton’s Brier, which will run from Friday, March 3, to Sunday, March 12, in London, Ont., which will be his second time to play in the national men’s championship.
He plays third on the Kelly Knapp rink out of Regina, which recently won the SaskTel Tankard in Estevan.
The other members of the rink include Trent Knapp, lead; Mike Armstrong, second, skip Kelly Knapp, coach Brian McCusker and fifth player Dustin Kidby.
Jones had previously played on the Pat Simmons rink in 2011 which went to the Brier that year, and his teammate, Mike Armstrong, had played on the Scott Manners rink in 2012 at the Brier. He explained he had stepped back from the sport about four years after his trip to the Brier in order to focus on his family and on raising his children.
“I didn’t really expect to compete again, but this opportunity came up to play with some good friends,” said Jones. “We all have the same drive and work ethic.”
This is the second year the Knapp rink has played together, and last year they lost out in a qualifier for the Tankard. This year, they played in six major events and won four of them, plus the Tankard win with the victory over the Steve Laycock rink in the final.
Jones said the rink is playing very well together and described the team as an “even keel” group that is very supportive of each other.
“We let Kelly call the game. He asks us for input, and it seems to work very well. We have a really nice balance, and Kelly really enjoys our input and appreciates it,” said Jones. “He has a really good idea of the strengths and weaknesses, and we can analyze the ice fairly well.”
Jones said he knows some of the older teams who will be at the Brier, as he’s played against a number of them, but there will be a few younger teams he hasn’t played, such as from B.C., PEI and Nova Scotia.
He’s not worried about them, as his teammates have played against these younger teams. Jones noted some of the teams, like Brad Gushue’s rink, have played more than they have, but the rink made the decision to stick around Saskatchewan this winter as they have families and work considerations.
“We know what our abilities are and we just to put our best foot forward and play the best we can,” said Jones. “We’re going to go out there and have fun. We’re with our best buds.”
He added there will be some family members who will make the trip out to London to watch them, although his wife and children will watch from home. Noting his kids are three and five years old, they are excited to know their daddy will be on TV, and will dress up in Saskatchewan colours to watch when their rink is playing.
“I couldn’t do it without the support of my friends and family. It’s nice to have the support to lean on,” said Jones, adding, “This is the most fun I’ve had in this sport in a long time, so it’s given me a nice breath of fresh air.”
Asked if his previous trip to the Brier will help prepare him for the upcoming competition, Jones said that experience was 11 years ago, and he was only about 23 years old at the time.
“I’ve matured quite a bit since then. The Tankard had SaskTel there with cameras. We had quite a few viewers there, so that was a good experience. This is a completely different stage, and there’s going to be a lot more cheering, especially when Ontario is on the ice. It’s hard to say what it’ll be like, but we want to do well,” said Jones.
He noted he was very appreciative of the Weyburn supporters who came down to the Tankard. “I did see a lot of familiar faces. We do have a lot of Weyburn support, and we certainly appreciate it.”
Jones pointed out there was a very sweet aspect to the Tankard win this year, as their lead, Trent Knapp, Kelly’s twin brother, had played in the SaskTel Tankard in 2018 on Colton Flasch’s rink, and that year lost to Steve Laycock in the final, which was also in Estevan.
“We really wanted to win for Trent, and not see history repeated,” said Jones, noting that Trent is Kelly’s twin brother, and they have curled together most of their lives, so the win this year was extra sweet for them.
The winner of the Brier will represent Canada at the World Men’s Curling Championship, which will be held this year in Ottawa.
