C OMPETING in two World Championships just a week apart is both a blessing and a curse for Jen Dodds.
Having suffered the disappointment of finishing eighth at the Women’s World Championships as a member of Team Muirhead in Canada last week, the curler has now returned to home soil in preparation for her assault on the Mixed Doubles World Championships, which begin in Aberdeen tomorrow.
The quick turnaround means Dodds has had little time to wallow in the disappointment of missing out on a medal in Canada. Instead she has had to immediately turn her attention to her mixed doubles partnership with Bruce Mouat and what they need to do to get their hands on silverware this week.
“It’s definitely very unusual because you’d never normally have two Word Championships in the space of a couple of weeks so it’s going to be a challenge,” Dodds says. “There were so many close games in Canada, you’re literally talking about a shot here or there and if they had gone slightly differently, it might be a completely different conversation.
“So after the disappointment of the ladies event, I had to reset because I’ve got another job to do now and I need to focus on that. There’s definitely not been long to dwell on things.”
Dodds and Mouat will be Scotland’s representatives in the 20-team event, opening their campaign against Italy on day one.
Having pipped the likes of Olympic medallist Eve Muirhead and world championships medallist Bobbie Lammie for selection, and with Mouat fresh off his world silver medal-winning performance last month, Dodds is in confident spirits, although she is refusing to allow much talk of becoming world champion just yet.
“Bruce has had an incredible season and is playing really well at the moment so I’m looking forward to teaming up with him again,” says Dodds of her partner. “We’ve had a good season and that puts us in a good position. We’ve taken a lot of confidence from our recent results.
“We’re not thinking too much about the gold medal yet though because there’s a lot of games to be played. First things first, we want to qualify from the group and then it’s a new competition from there. Going into this week though, we know that if we play our best, we can fight for the top spot.”
As part of Team Muirhead, Dodds plays the second stone whereas in the mixed doubles, she will play the first and last so has the pressure of playing what could be the winning shot in each game. However, she is relishing the opportunity to test herself in a different capacity.
“It is different, although when I was a junior I had some experience of playing the last stone so it’s not totally foreign to me,” she says. “It’s just about having that belief in yourself and having the confidence that you can play all the shots when needed.
“It’s an amazing feeling if you make that winning shot but it’s also a pressure. But there’s pressure whatever you’re doing, whether you’re throwing the first stone, the last stone or sweeping the last stone, every job is important.”
This year, the World Championships has extra significance. The top seven teams will qualify for next year’s Winter Olympics in Beijing when the mixed doubles makes it debut and so while Dodds is reluctant to get too caught up in the excitement of securing a spot, she admits it is impossible to ignore.
“You have to acknowledge the extra pressure of Olympic qualification, but you also have to try to treat it like every other competition,” she says. “You have to simplify everything and think well, it’s just a game of curling. We both know how to curl and while it’s easier said than done to put the Olympic qualification to one side, we have to take it one game at a time.
“I’ve worked not just the last four years but probably the last 12 years to get to the Olympics, so you do think about it. But I try to put it to the back of my mind because there’s a lot of work to do before getting there.”
Pictures taken by British Curling/Graeme Hart
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