Memorable. Intense. Surprising. Three words that could perfectly describe the year 2021 of Laurie St-Georges. She and her team will represent Quebec for the second year in a row at the legendary Scotties Tournament of Hearts, and like last year, St-Georges has every intention of leaving its mark.
Posted at 7:00 a.m.
At 24, the Lavalloise will already have the luxury of being able to participate in her second national championship. Last year, she was the big revelation of the tournament. In particular because of the good performance of his team, but also because of the impression it left.
Some observers have nicknamed her “the snow queen”. Because of her long blond hair and her features similar to those of Princess Elsa, in Disney films, but also thanks to her joie de vivre and her permanent smile on the ice rink. She had also won the Marj Mitchell Award, given to the player best embodying sportsmanship during the Scotties.
On January 7, Curling Quebec announced that St-Georges along with her teammates Hailey Armstrong, Emily Riley, her sister Cynthia St-Georges and Alanna Routledge would represent the province at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts, in Thunder Bay, starting this Friday. The team will be led by Michel St-Georges, Laurie and Cynthia’s father.
A news that was good, after a year full of twists and turns.
We received the news about two hours before the announcement was published on the Curling Quebec website. When we heard the news, it was completely incredible. It’s still a Canadian championship, so it makes us happy to be chosen. We waited impatiently for the news.
Laurie St-Georges
The St-Georges team was chosen from three registered teams. Obviously, they would have preferred to face them and win their place in the tournament, but the skip of the team consoles herself by saying that if she was chosen, it is because she has accomplished great things over the past few months. and that she has the talent to represent the province with dignity at this huge tournament.
After the Olympic Games, the Tournament of Hearts is the most important tournament for female curlers here. Even if there is more and more enthusiasm for this sport in Quebec, the frenzy is beyond comprehension in English Canada, where curling is a religion. Last year, on the English-language national channel, the inaugural weekend of the tournament attracted 331,000 spectators. The final brought together more than 500,000. Which, in addition, represented a drop unlike previous editions.
The objective will be again this year to play without pressure. Last year, St-Georges and his team were unknown and the tournament went well. There is no question for the team to change this winning formula.
The only pressure the team might feel, explains Laurie St-Georges, comes from being chosen by the provincial program. Still, it will be important for all the girls on the team to enjoy the moment and gain as much experience as possible. Especially since St-Georges will be one of the youngest skips in the tournament, at 24 years old. This youth must also be among the reasons that explain the enthusiasm around the St-Georges team: “It’s not necessarily our victories that people liked. Yes, it helps a little, but I really think it was more our energy,” said the Quebecer.
Like last year, the tournament will take place behind closed doors, at least to start with. It is possible that a limit of 500 spectators will be accepted as of February 4, but nothing has been confirmed yet. This will therefore be a second experience without spectators for St-Georges at the Tournament of Hearts. What usually makes the charm of the tournament is the crazy crowd and the delirious spectators. Even if she would of course prefer to have the chance to play in front of this crowd, the Laval resident will take advantage of this second opportunity to become more familiar with the environment, so that when the time comes, she will be ready: “When we arrive one day in a more hostile, more stressful environment, I will be able to relate to calmer moments than I would have experienced before. »
A rock and roll year
Laurie St-Georges has had the luxury of competing in some of the biggest competitions nationally over the past 12 months. She lived through great moments, but also great disappointments.
It all started with a first participation in the Scotties Tournament of Hearts in February.
In September, the St-Georges team, nicknamed “Team Rockstars”, qualified for the Olympic “(pre) pre-trials” in Ottawa. A competition with implications for the Olympic selection process. The team was one of eight teams battling for a pre-tryout spot.
In truth, the 2022 Beijing Olympics were not in the sights of Laurie St-Georges and her team. Nevertheless, being chosen to be part of the process was a huge reward. Even if the result and the team’s performances were a bit below expectations, St-Georges is able to take an honest look at the situation.
We may have unconsciously put a little pressure on ourselves, because it’s the Olympics. It happens once every four years. We had also had less practice than we have now. That meant that it wasn’t necessarily on our side.
Laurie St-Georges
In mid-December, Laurie St-Georges and her lover Félix Asselin, who is one of the best curlers in Quebec, traveled to Brantford, Ontario, to try to qualify for the Canadian Olympic trials in doubles mixed. Once again, the duo entered the tournament without too much apprehension. In the end, they won the competition with flying colors, earning their ticket to the Olympic trials which were to take place in Manitoba.
“It was really stressful and I’m lucky to have been able to experience that with my boyfriend. When we play together, we don’t put pressure on each other. What I like when I play with Félix is that there are just two of us. It’s intimate, we don’t depend on anyone else. We tell each other the real business, we understand each other, and it’s as if we were a single entity. When we won in Brantford, it was like the pinnacle, I was jumping all over the ice when we qualified for the Olympic trials. I was freaking out, because we had achieved our goal of going to the Olympic trials. »
However, on December 25, the trials were canceled due to the new wave of COVID-19. The duo’s chances of participating in the Games were therefore dashed. “It was devastating news, I was completely overwhelmed. It’s not really the kind of Christmas present we wanted to receive,” explained St-Georges. At least the year 2022 has started well with Curling Quebec’s invitation to participate in the Tournament of Hearts for the second year in a row. It came to close the loop of a busy year, during which the athlete also pursued his bachelor’s degree in communications at the University of Quebec in Montreal.
“It was an intense year! It feels like the year has lasted 10 years, because so much has happened. It’s weird, but that’s how I feel. I couldn’t be more excited for what’s to come and I couldn’t be more grateful. It’s been a crazy year. »