Dawn Kathleen McEwen (born Askin; July 3, 1980) is a Canadian semi-retired curler from Winnipeg, Manitoba. She was the long-time lead for the Jennifer Jones rink, who became Olympic champions, winning gold for Canada at the 2014 Winter Olympics. McEwen is a two-time world champion in curling, having won with Jones at the 2008 World Championships and again at the 2018 World Championships. In 2019, McEwen was named the greatest Canadian female lead in history in a TSN poll of broadcasters, reporters and top curlers.[2]
Career
editMcEwen was born at the Riverside Hospital in Ottawa, the daughter of Wayne and Jane Askin (née Machin).[3] She grew up in Ottawa, where she began curling at the RCMP Curling Club at age seven, before moving to the Rideau Curling Club for their junior program.[4] After juniors, McEwen joined the Darcie Simpson rink, playing second on the team. The team made it to two straight Ontario women's finals, losing to Sherry Middaugh at the 2002 Ontario Scott Tournament of Hearts, and then to Anne Dunn in the 2003 Ontario Scott Tournament of Hearts. The next season, McEwen joined up with Jenn Hanna playing as her second, and lost in the semifinal of the 2004 Ontario Hearts. McEwen finally won the Ontario Scott Tournament of Hearts when the team won the event in 2005. At the national 2005 Scott Tournament of Hearts, the team made it to the final, where they lost to Jennifer Jones, after Jones made an in-off for the win.
In the 2006–07 season, McEwen was relegated to being the team's alternate so she could focus on her career. In 2007, she moved to Winnipeg and began playing for Jones. She won the Canada Cup with Jones in 2007. McEwen won her second provincial championship (first as a Manitoban) in 2008 and played in her second Tournament of Hearts with Jones, this time as a teammate, winning in the finals against Alberta. She would later win the 2008 World Women's Curling Championship that year with Jones, beating China in the final.
McEwen, together with the Jones team, would reach the final again in the 2009 Scotties Tournament of Hearts, this time as returning champions, and sealed their victory as repeating Canadian champions with a win. They would go to the 2009 World Women's Curling Championship in Korea but would suffer a defeat in the quarter-finals that put them out of the medal contention.[5]
McEwen would continue as lead as the Jones team defended their title as Team Canada at the 2010 Scotties Tournament of Hearts. After tying for the lead in the round robin, the team would play PEI and go straight to the final, where they would have a rematch against PEI. After going down 6–3, the team would come from behind and win in extra ends; this was McEwen's third championship.[6]
McEwen, with the Jones team, won at the 2013 Canadian Olympic Curling Trials, earning the right to represent Canada at the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi. They became the first and only women's team to go undefeated through the tournament, winning the gold medal.
The team's success continued, winning the 2015 Scotties Tournament of Hearts and winning a silver medal at the 2015 World Women's Curling Championship. In the 2017 Canadian Olympic Curling Trials, Team Jones lost in the semifinal to Rachel Homan, whose team would go on to represent Canada at the 2018 Winter Olympic Games. McEwen, along with her husband and fellow curler Mike McEwen, participated in the 2018 Canadian Mixed Doubles Curling Olympic Trials but did not qualify for playoffs with a 2–6 round robin record.
Following her fifth Scotties title at the 2018 Scotties Tournament of Hearts, McEwen and the Jones team went undefeated at the 2018 World Women's Curling Championship for her second world championship title.[7]
With the addition of Jocelyn Peterman, who replaced Officer at second, the Jones team won the 2018 Canada Cup, defeating Kerri Einarson in the final.[8] They also won the 2019 TSN All-Star Curling Skins Game over Tracy Fleury.[9] At the 2019 Scotties Tournament of Hearts, the team represented Team Canada, but missed playoffs.[10]
In their first event of the 2019-20 season, Team Jones won the 2019 AMJ Campbell Shorty Jenkins Classic, defeating Tracy Fleury in the final. Next, they played in the 2019 Colonial Square Ladies Classic, where Fleury would take them out in the semi-finals. They had two quarterfinal finishes at the first two Slams of the season, the Masters and the Tour Challenge. The team struggled at the Canada Cup, finishing with a 2–4 record. The team made the final at the Boost National, losing to Team Hasselborg,[11] and the quarterfinals at the Canadian Open.[12] The team made the final of the 2020 Manitoba Scotties Tournament of Hearts and lost to Team Einarson.[13] By virtue of their CTRS ranking, the team had a second chance to qualify for the 2020 Scotties Tournament of Hearts through the wild card play-in game, where they defeated Team Fleury to become Team Wild Card.[14] At the Scotties, they finished the round robin and championship pool with a 9–2 record as the second seed in playoffs but lost to Kerri Einarson (Team Manitoba) in the 1 vs. 2 playoff game and to Rachel Homan (Team Ontario) in the semifinal to finish in third place.[15] It would be their last event of the season as both the Players' Championship and the Champions Cup Grand Slam events were also cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[16] On March 18, 2020, the team announced that Lisa Weagle, after parting ways with Team Homan, would join the team in a 5-player rotation.[17]
McEwen did not play in any events with Team Jones during the abbreviated 2020–21 season as she was expecting her second child in April 2021.[18] Despite her absence, her team won the 2020 Stu Sells Oakville Tankard[19] and finished runner-up at the 2020 Stu Sells Toronto Tankard on the tour.[20] The 2021 Manitoba Scotties were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Manitoba, so Curl Manitoba appointed the Jones rink to represent Manitoba at the 2021 Scotties Tournament of Hearts.[21] At the 2021 Hearts, the team finished with a 9–3 record, putting them in a third-place tiebreaker match against Alberta, skipped by Laura Walker. Alberta defeated Manitoba 9–8 to advance to the semifinal.[22] The team ended their season at the only two Grand Slam events of the abbreviated season. They missed the playoffs at both the 2021 Champions Cup and the 2021 Players' Championship.[23][24]
Team Jones qualified for the playoffs in each of their first four tour events; however, they were not able to qualify for any finals. At the first Grand Slam of the season, the 2021 Masters, the team was able to reach the final before losing to Tracy Fleury in a 9–7 match.[25] They then missed the playoffs at the 2021 National two weeks later.
A month later, Team Jones competed in the 2021 Canadian Olympic Curling Trials. There, the team posted a 5–3 round robin record, earning a spot in the semifinal. They then defeated Krista McCarville to qualify for the final, where they would face Fleury again. After a tight game all the way through, Team Fleury stole one in the ninth end to take a single-point lead. In the tenth end, Jones had an open hit-and-stick to win the game; however, her shooter rolled too far, and she only got one. This sent the game to an extra end. On her final shot, Fleury attempted a soft-weight hit on a Jones stone partially buried behind a guard. Her rock, however, curled too much and hit the guard, giving up a steal of one and the game to Team Jones.[26] After the game, Jones said that "We're there to pick each other up when you miss, not everybody can say that and that's really a big strength of our team."[27][28] With the win, Team Jones travelled to Beijing, China to represent Canada at the 2022 Winter Olympics.[29] Through the round robin, the Canadian team had mixed results, ultimately finishing tied for third with a 5–4 record. However, because of their draw shot challenge results, which were the lowest of the teams they were tied with, they ranked fifth overall, missing the playoffs.[30]
On March 15, 2022, Team Jones announced they would be parting ways after the 2021–22 season.[31] McEwen also announced her retirement from competitive curling in March 2022.[32]
Team Jones still had two more events together before parting ways, the 2022 Players' Championship and 2022 Champions Cup Grand Slams. At the Players', the team went 1–3, missing the playoffs. They then missed the playoffs again at the Champions Cup with a 1–4 record, ending the team's run together.[33]
McEwen came out of retirement to play for Team Kerri Einarson at the 2024 Tour Challenge Grand Slam event. McEwen was sparing for second Shannon Birchard who was suffering from a knee injury. The team went on to win the Slam,[34] capturing McEwen's 16th career slam title in the process.
Personal life
editMcEwen married fellow curler Mike McEwen in 2013. They have two daughters, Vienna[35] and Avalon.[36] McEwen graduated with a Bachelor's degree in Communications from the University of Ottawa in 2004.[4] She works as a case officer with the Government of Canada.[37]
Teams
edit| Season | Skip | Third | Second | Lead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999–00 | Jenn Hanna | Dawn Askin | Stephanie Hanna | Melanie Robillard |
| 2001–02[38] | Darcie Simpson | Kellie Andrews | Dawn Askin | Linda Fulton |
| 2002–03[39] | Darcie Simpson | Jenn Hanna | Dawn Askin | Linda Fulton |
| 2003–04 | Jenn Hanna | Joëlle Sabourin | Dawn Askin | Stephanie Hanna |
| 2004–05 | Jenn Hanna | Pascale Letendre | Dawn Askin | Stephanie Hanna |
| 2005–06 | Jenn Hanna | Joëlle Sabourin | Dawn Askin | Stephanie Hanna |
| 2007 | Jennifer Jones | Cathy Overton-Clapham | Jill Officer | Dawn Askin |
| 2007–08 | Jennifer Jones | Cathy Overton-Clapham | Jill Officer | Dawn Askin |
| 2008–09 | Jennifer Jones | Cathy Overton-Clapham | Jill Officer | Dawn Askin |
| 2009–10 | Jennifer Jones | Cathy Overton-Clapham | Jill Officer | Dawn Askin |
| 2010–11 | Jennifer Jones | Kaitlyn Lawes | Jill Officer | Dawn Askin |
| 2011–12 | Jennifer Jones | Kaitlyn Lawes | Joëlle Sabourin (Sept–Dec) Jill Officer (Jan–April) |
Dawn Askin |
| 2012–13 [a] | Jennifer Jones | Kaitlyn Lawes | Jill Officer | Dawn Askin |
| 2013–14 | Jennifer Jones | Kaitlyn Lawes | Jill Officer | Dawn McEwen |
| 2014–15 | Jennifer Jones | Kaitlyn Lawes | Jill Officer | Dawn McEwen |
| 2015–16 | Jennifer Jones | Kaitlyn Lawes | Jill Officer | Dawn McEwen |
| 2016–17 | Jennifer Jones | Kaitlyn Lawes | Jill Officer | Dawn McEwen |
| 2017–18 | Jennifer Jones | Kaitlyn Lawes Shannon Birchard (STOH only) |
Jill Officer | Dawn McEwen |
| 2018–19 | Jennifer Jones | Kaitlyn Lawes | Jocelyn Peterman | Dawn McEwen |
| 2019–20 | Jennifer Jones | Kaitlyn Lawes | Jocelyn Peterman | Dawn McEwen |
| 2020–21 | Jennifer Jones | Kaitlyn Lawes | Jocelyn Peterman | Dawn McEwen / Lisa Weagle |
| 2021–22 | Jennifer Jones | Kaitlyn Lawes | Jocelyn Peterman | Dawn McEwen / Lisa Weagle |
Notes
edit- ^ Jones was on maternity leave for the beginning of the 2012–13 curling season and returned to her team in January 2013.
References
edit- ^ "Birth and Death Notices". Ottawa Citizen. July 4, 1980. p. 38. Retrieved March 16, 2020.
- ^ "Canada's Greatest Curlers: McEwen earns top spot as best lead". TSN.ca. February 18, 2019.
- ^ "Askin". Ottawa Citizen. July 5, 1980. p. 46. Retrieved February 18, 2022.
- ^ a b "Dawn MCEWEN". Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics. Archived from the original on February 18, 2022. Retrieved February 18, 2022.
- ^ Brad Norman (March 30, 2009). "China Makes History". Curling Scoops. Retrieved February 8, 2010.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Jones foursome on top again". Winnipeg Free Press. February 7, 2010. Retrieved February 7, 2010.
- ^ "Jennifer Jones leads Canada to world women's curling championship title | CBC Sports". CBC. Retrieved August 24, 2018.
- ^ Horne, Ryan (December 9, 2018). "Jones wins record fourth Canada Cup title with incredible shot in ninth".
- ^ "Jones wins third straight TSN Skins Game". February 3, 2019.
- ^ Hobson, Russ. "Jennifer Jones knocked out of playoff contention at the Scotties".
- ^ Brazeau, Jonathan (December 16, 2019). "Hasselborg tops Jones to win Boost National women's title". Grand Slam of Curling. Retrieved March 19, 2020.
- ^ "Playoffs". Grand Slam of Curling. Retrieved March 19, 2020.[permanent dead link]
- ^ McKay, Pat (February 3, 2020). "Kerri Einarson wins 2020 Manitoba Scotties". CTV News. Retrieved March 19, 2020.
- ^ "Wild Card Winner!". Curling Canada. February 15, 2020. Retrieved March 19, 2020.
- ^ "Scotties Final Set!". Curling Canada. February 23, 2020. Retrieved March 19, 2020.
- ^ "GSOC cancels remaining events of 2019–20 season". Grand Slam of Curling. March 13, 2020. Retrieved March 20, 2020.
- ^ Strong, Gregory (March 18, 2020). "Team Jennifer Jones adds free-agent all-star lead Lisa Weagle". CBC Sports. The Canadian Press. Retrieved March 19, 2020.
- ^ Devin Heroux (January 19, 2021). "Lisa Weagle in for Team Jones as Dawn McEwen says no to bubble due to pregnancy". CBC. Retrieved August 12, 2021.
- ^ "Stu Sells Oakville Tankard". CurlingZone. Retrieved August 12, 2021.
- ^ "Mann upsets Jones in Stu Sells Toronto Tankard final; Epping edges Howard in men's final". TSN. October 12, 2020. Retrieved August 12, 2021.
- ^ Devin Heroux (December 21, 2020). "Ontario, Manitoba cancel playdowns for Scotties, Brier". CBC. Retrieved August 12, 2021.
- ^ "Alberta's Walker into Hearts semifinal with 9-8 win over Manitoba's Jones". CTV News Calgary. February 28, 2021. Retrieved August 12, 2021.
- ^ Jonathan Brazeau (April 17, 2021). "Homan, Einarson remain red hot heading into Champions Cup playoffs". Grand Slam of Curling. Retrieved August 12, 2021.
- ^ Jonathan Brazeau (April 23, 2021). "Sharpshooting Team Einarson secure bye to Players' Championship semis". Grand Slam of Curling. Retrieved August 12, 2021.
- ^ "Fleury successfully defends Masters women's title with extra-end win over Jones". CBC Sports. October 24, 2021. Retrieved January 30, 2022.
- ^ Video Women's Final - 2021 Tim Hortons Curling Trials - Fleury vs. Jones on YouTube
- ^ "Jones beats Fleury in extra end to win 2021 Canadian Olympic curling trials". Sportsnet. November 28, 2021. Retrieved June 18, 2022.
- ^ "Jones, Gushue to represent Canada at Winter Olympics in Beijing". TSN. November 28, 2021. Retrieved January 30, 2022.
- ^ "5 members of Canada's Olympic team placed under COVID-19 protocols in Beijing". CBC Sports. January 29, 2022. Retrieved January 30, 2022.
- ^ John Korobanik (February 17, 2022). "Team Jennifer Jones win final game but miss playoffs at Beijing 2022". Olympics. Retrieved June 18, 2022.
- ^ Melissa Martin (March 14, 2022). "Team Jones announces current season will be their last". Winnipeg Free Press. Retrieved June 18, 2022.
- ^ Anil Mungal (May 6, 2022). "Time to Say Goodbye". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved May 6, 2022.
- ^ Jonathan Brazeau (May 6, 2022). "Team Jones' run together ends with elimination in Champions Cup pool play". Grand Slam of Curling. Retrieved June 18, 2022.
- ^ "Einarson upends Homan to capture HearingLife Tour Challenge women's title". Sportsnet. October 6, 2024. Retrieved October 7, 2024.
- ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on March 4, 2016. Retrieved February 26, 2016.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ @CurlingCanada (April 16, 2021). "Congratulations to @02ginger and @MikeMcEwen80 on the birth of their little girl Avalon!" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ 2017 Canadian Olympic Curling Trials Media Guide
- ^ Ottawa Citizen, January 27, 2002, pg B2, "Rideau curlers come up short in Hearts final"
- ^ Ottawa Citizen, February 2, 2003, pg B2, "Ontario: 10th end loss for Merklinger"
