At the start of this curling season, it was doubtful that Nancy McConnery would have much of an impact in the women's playdowns in Nova Scotia.
During the team's first cashspiel, the 45-year-old McConnery from the Dartmouth Curling Club injured her knee but she soldiered on, throwing the final stones from an almost upright position in the hack.
"I really don't know what happened to my knee,'' said McConnery. "I woke up after we had qualified for the bonspiel and the knee had ballooned up. The knee felt about eight-feet wide. My front end had to clean my rocks as I couldn't bend down.''
Then with a three-week break from curling in December, McConnery had knee surgery for a torn meniscus.
"The surgery was a success and I'm still a little sore but it is getting better with each day.''
McConnery, backed by Jennifer Crouse, Sheena Gilman and Jill Thomas, went to the provincials in Bridgewater as an underdog but knocked off defending champion Mary-Anne Arsenault of the Halifax Mayflower 7-4 in the final.
"We had a 4-3 record in the round robin and then defeated Jill Mouzar [2007 Nova Scotia champion] in the semifinal. In the final, we were down 4-2 after five ends but we didn't allow them to score again. They had some misses and we capitalized on those chances.''
McConnery felt that the turning point of the game probably came in the sixth end. "We were able to get our two on the sixth end and tie the game. I think that is when the momentum changed.''
For McConnery, who works out of her house as a massage therapist and for her husband's trucking firm, this will be her fourth trip to the Scotties Tournament of Hearts, starting next weekend at the Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre. In 1993, playing in her first women's provincials, McConnery won the New Brunswick title. In 1995, she curled with New Brunswick's Heidi Hanlon.
McConnery, who was born in Ottawa, then moved to Nova Scotia and was crowned the champion in 2003.
"I'm going back to the Scotties for a fourth time and you feel a little more confident each time. I know what to expect and how to handle the routine. My team has never been to the Scotties so this is just going to be a lot of fun for them.''
The McConnery rink played in five bonspiels this year and qualified in three of them.
"At the New Glasgow Sobeys Slam bonspiel, we didn't win a game [0-3] but it gave up the opportunity to play against some top teams like Jennifer Jones and play on arena ice.
"It looks like there are some new combinations at this year's Scotties but the field is always strong. I would say that the favourites are Jones [defending champion], Stefanie Lawton [from Saskatoon] and Cheryl Bernard [from Calgary].''
McConnery says the key to her game is finding draw weight. "I like the draw game and having a lot of rocks in play. If I can find some consistency with my draw weight, we will do fine. What I really like about this team is that they are not scared about any situation on the ice. They are young and fearless.''
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IN THE HOUSE
Team Nova Scotia
Home: Dartmouth Curling Club.
Skip: Nancy McConnery, age 45.
Third: Jennifer Crouse, 29.
Second: Sheena Gilman, 30.
Lead: Jill Thomas, 34.
Coach: Carole MacLean.
Last Scotties Appearance: 2003 at Kitchener. Finished round robin with 5-6 record and out of the playoffs.
