22 March 2024
Canada’s Homan feeling East Coast hospitality
Rachel Homan is leading Team Canada at a world championship for the fourth time this week in Sydney.
It’s been a while since she last wore the Maple Leaf on the world stage – 2017 in Beijing, when she went undefeated, winning gold.
“It’s amazing to be back. It’s been great to be able to play in Canada with the whole arena cheering us on. We’re feeling the emotions from the crowd, it’s been a lot of fun.”
Playing in Beijing and Sydney have their differences, she shared.
“In 2017 – we were in Beijing, so a little bit different backdrop, different conditions. Obviously, we’ve enjoyed the food a little bit more in Sydney, Nova Scotia for sure!”
She also reckons that the atmosphere in the venue couldn’t be more different.
“The people here are amazing, they’re friendly. It’s such a welcoming town.”
She also adds, “I think at the worlds, World Curling does an amazing job and puts on an amazing event.”
Team line-up clicking
Looking at her current set-up, she is full of praise for her team – third Tracy Fleury, second Emma Miskew – who has been on Rachel’s team through thick and thin, lead Sarah Wilkes and alternate Rachel Brown.
“We’ve got a different line-up now and this line-up brings a lot of experience. We have great strategy discussions on the ice, and I think that really helps our game and managing our rocks. We put a lot into the games, we’ve all had a lot of big experiences, so we bring that to our game as well.”
Second player Emma Miskew has been right at Rachel’s side through her whole curling career and Rachel has a special thought for her outstanding lieutenant.
“It’s such a comfort to have Emma. She’s a phenomenal athlete, we have the same goals, the same drive, and the same motivation. We motivate each other, we want to be better, we want to support each other. I’m so lucky to call her my best friend and I’m so lucky to be on the team with her,” Rachel says.
Currently, Team Canada have qualified for the play-offs, with an unblemished winning record. Looking ahead she says, “we came here to bring back a medal for Canada, we’re going to give it all we have. I think we’ve shown that this week.”
