Sisters Amanda and Jenny Gates have been mainstays of the Sudbury curling scene for some time now.
Sure, their pathways in youth curling (bantam, junior, et al) might have seen these trajectories divert, just a little, Amanda part of the early days of the Tracy and Jennifer Horgan rinks, following that through to a quartet of appearances at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts, Jenny checking out the field a little more.
From her junior days with Kendra Lilly, through a highly successful OUA career that saw her claim a CIS bronze medal with Laurentian (along with her sister) and then enjoying even more success with the Laurier Golden Hawks, Jenny would eventually make her way out west.
The younger of the two (Amanda is currently four years her elder), Jenny bolstered her resume, spending time with the likes of Laura Crocker, Sarah Wilkes, Chelsea Carey and Kelsey Roque before moving home in 2018. That opened the door to connecting with Team McCarville, attending a trio of Scotties and garnering silver in 2022 following a loss in the finals to Kerri Einarson.
But for that brief stint at L.U. and coming together to take a shot at the NOCA championship in 2022 and 2023 with the duo of Jackie McCormick and Crystal Taylor, the sisters Gates had seldom co-existed as members on the same rink.
That was going to change, this winter, as the Sudbury tandem decided the time was right to take another serious shot at the Scotties. At ages of 39 (Amanda) and 35 (Jenny), the talented and super-outgoing northerners have teamed up with skip Lauren Mann from Ottawa and Oye Sem Won from Thunder Bay (former teammates of Amanda Gates - women’s and mixed), a new formation that is already enjoying success.
Stepping on to the ice for the very first time as a team, the Mann foursome won four of five encounters at the Stroud Sleeman Cash Spiel (Oct 17th – 20th), falling in the final to Chelsea Principi from Niagara Falls (4-2).
“I was impressed with how we just tried to figure everything out,” said Jenny this week, the team next seeing action at the Swiss Chalet Women’s Curling Stadium Spiel in North Bay from November 7th – 9th. “We still have a lot that we want to work on. We are all very much committed to excellence.”
“But it did feel pretty natural and easy, for a first time, which was a nice surprise.”
The fact that the local front-enders experienced this phenomenom should not raise a singular eyebrow, with Team Mann boasting a roster that slides Amanda at lead, Jenny at second, Oye at third and Lauren at skip. “Everyone is where they should be,” noted Jenny.
“Amanda is a career lead – and loves it. She thrives at it. She’s amazing at it. I feel very similar at second. It’s where I am so comfortable. And we love sweeping and that helps a lot.”
Though born in Sudbury (and spending the first eight years or so of her life in the Nickel City), Lauren Mann is most well-known in the curling circles of the nation's capital.
At no point had Mann curled with any of the remaining trio, though the 40 year-old veteran of competitive curling circuits had previously curled, at times, with the Sudbury-connected duo of Kira Brunton and Stephanie Barbeau (not simultaneously).
“We wanted to step up our competitive curling schedule this year and we knew that we needed a top skip,” said Jenny. “Skips are a little bit hard to come by, especially locally.”
The Gates’ had only recently confirmed the northern Ontario birth status of Lauren Mann, which only enhanced the attraction. “We had known her as a competitor and a peer over the years and alwatys had a lot of respect for her.”
In both Mann and Sem Won, the matching experiences that the locals valued so much in rounding out their search were present. “We were looking for teammates that had done what we wanted to do: had been to the Scotties, had been to national championships, won provincials,” said Jenny.
“That was huge.”
“The physical ability of a curler is one thing, but finding out what you are willing to put in versus what you want to get out of it is a huge, huge thing. That was a big part of the discussion, what would be our commitment level, during the week, because we are completely separated, with the exception of Amanda and I.”
Still, for as much as they want to take a serious shot at coming out of Northern Ontario, theirs is not the schedule as those who frequent the upper levels of the World Curling Tour. “We’re not a team whose sole focus is curling, curling, curling,” said Jenny. “All of us have a lot going on in our personal lives.”
“It’s really huge to find four people who are on the same page.”
The Mann rink opened the Stroud bonspiel with a 9-3 win over Katelin Langford (Uxbridge), following that up with victories against local talent Abby Deschene (8-1) and Amanda Gebhardt from Listowel (9-1). Things did not slow down a whole lot in the semis as the crew elminated Julia Markle from Toronto, before falling to Principi.
There was no doubt the curling ability was there. The rapidly evidenced chemistry, however, may have had as much to do with the overriding recognition of this fact by all four team members.
“There is just this mutual respect,” said Jenny. “We all have a lot of respect for each other, knowing that we all came from different teams and different places.”
Thankfully, all heading in the same direction, a route that will take them to the NOCA Championships in North Bay from January 6th to the 11th.
