Colleen Jones facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Colleen JonesCM |
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Jones on CBC Sports That Curling Show in 2021
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Colleen Patricia Jones
16 December 1959 Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
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| Died | 25 November 2025 (aged 65) Mader's Cove, Nova Scotia, Canada
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| Curling club | Mayflower Curling Club, Halifax, NS | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Member Association |  Nova Scotia |
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| Hearts appearances | 21 (1979, 1980, 1982, 1984, 1986, 1989, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2013) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| World Championship appearances |
6 (1982, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Top CTRS ranking | 2nd (2003–04) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Medal record
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Colleen Patricia Jones (born December 16, 1959, and passed away on November 25, 2025) was a famous Canadian curler and a friendly face on television. She was best known as the leader (called a 'skip') of two teams that won the World Women's Curling Championship. She also led her teams to win the Tournament of Hearts Canadian women's championships six times! This included an amazing four wins in a row. She held the record for the most wins at the Tournament of Hearts for a long time.
Colleen also worked as a reporter and weather presenter for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC). She was also a curling commentator for NBC in the United States, especially during the 2010 Winter Olympics. Many people considered her one of the greatest athletes from Nova Scotia. In 2019, a poll named her the third greatest Canadian woman curler ever! In 2016, she was honored with the Order of Sport and joined Canada's Sports Hall of Fame. She also coached the Owen Purcell curling team.
Contents
Colleen Jones' Amazing Curling Journey
Starting Young: Early Curling Days
Colleen was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. Her family loved curling, and she started playing at the Mayflower Curling Club when she was just 14 years old. She was very good at curling from a young age, even leading her high school team as the 'skip' (the team leader who throws the last stones).
In junior curling, she won two championships for her province. In 1976, she played 'second' (a position on the team) for Kathy Myketyn. In 1977, she led her own team as skip. She competed in the Canadian Junior Women's Curling Championship in both 1976 and 1977, showing great skill. In 1979, Colleen led Nova Scotia's team at the Canada Games. They won a silver medal after a close game in the final.
At just 19, she won her first of many Nova Scotia Women's Curling Championships. She quickly moved on to the national championship, where her team performed very well.
Becoming a Skip: National Success
In 1980, Colleen started leading her own team as skip. She won her first provincial title without losing a single game! At the national championship that year, her team did very well in the early rounds, but narrowly lost in the final game.
After a brief break, Colleen returned in 1982 to win another provincial title. At the 1982 Scott Tournament of Hearts, she made history by becoming the youngest skip, at 22, to win the national women's title! Her team then went on to represent Canada at the 1982 World Women's Curling Championship in Switzerland. They played well but were eliminated after some tough tiebreaker games.
Balancing Life and Curling: The Mid-Years
For a few years, Colleen balanced her curling career with her marriage and starting a family. Even so, she still managed to compete in many national championships. She continued to win provincial titles, like in 1984, which sent her team to the Scott Tournament of Hearts. There, her team had an excellent record in the early rounds, but they lost in the final game.
In 1986, she teamed up with a former teammate and won another provincial championship. Colleen also competed in the 1987 Canadian Olympic Curling Trials, hoping to go to the 1988 Winter Olympics where curling was a demonstration sport. Her team played well but just missed out on qualifying. She won her sixth provincial title in 1989. At the 1989 Scott Tournament of Hearts that year, her team had a strong record but was eliminated in a tiebreaker game.
A Decade of Dedication: 1990s Curling
Colleen took a break from competitive curling in 1989–90 to work on CBC's coverage of the 1990 Commonwealth Games. She returned the next season, winning her seventh provincial title. Her team competed at the 1991 Scott Tournament of Hearts.
With new teammates, she won her eighth provincial title in 1992, becoming the first skip since 1979 to win two provincial titles in a row. They played at the 1992 Scott Tournament of Hearts in her hometown of Halifax. In 1993, she won her third provincial title in a row. That same year, Colleen won the 1993 Canadian Mixed Curling Championship, playing alongside her husband, Scott Saunders. She continued her winning streak, claiming her 10th provincial title in 1994.
Her provincial winning streak ended in 1995, but she quickly bounced back, winning her 11th provincial title in 1996. Her team made it to the tiebreaker games at the 1996 Scott Tournament of Hearts. Colleen won her 12th provincial title in 1997.
Record-Breaking Wins: The Golden Era (1999–2004)
In 1999, Colleen won her second Canadian Mixed Championship. Later that year, with her new team, she won her 13th provincial title. This led them to the 1999 Scott Tournament of Hearts, where they won the national championship! This was Colleen's second Canadian curling title. Her team then represented Canada at the 1999 World Women's Curling Championship.
As defending champions, Team Jones played at the 2000 Scott Tournament of Hearts. They didn't make the playoffs that year, but came back strong in 2001, winning her 14th provincial title. At the 2001 Scott Tournament of Hearts, Colleen led her team to another national championship win! This was her third overall. They then represented Canada at the 2001 World Women's Curling Championship in Switzerland. There, they played incredibly well, winning their first World Curling Championship! This win also allowed them to compete in the 2001 Canadian Olympic Curling Trials.
Colleen's team continued their amazing success, winning the Canadian championship again in 2002. Then, they made history by winning the Scott Tournament of Hearts for a record-setting fifth time in 2004! This meant Colleen was the first skip to win four Canadian titles in a row. After that, her team went on to win their second World Curling Championship.
In 2005, her team didn't make the playoffs at the Scott Tournament of Hearts, but they received a huge standing ovation from the crowd. The next year, they reached the semi-finals. At the end of the 2006 season, her successful team decided to go their separate ways.
Later Curling Adventures
After a short time playing a different position, Colleen went back to being a skip. She played with new teammates for the 2007–2008 season, including Olympic bronze medalist Georgina Wheatcroft. At the end of that season, Colleen decided to retire from competitive curling for a while.
However, in 2010, Colleen announced she would return to competitive curling! She was inspired by the Vancouver Olympics and wanted to try for the 2014 Olympics. Unfortunately, she was diagnosed with meningitis shortly before a big competition. Her team still won the Nova Scotia title and a bronze medal at the 2011 Scotties. After recovering, Colleen won the 2011 Nova Scotia Senior Women's Championship.
For the 2012–2013 season, Colleen reunited with former teammates Mary-Anne Arsenault and Kim Kelly, aiming for the 2014 Winter Olympics. Her team won the 2013 Nova Scotia Scotties Tournament of Hearts and competed at the national event.
Colleen also competed in four Canadian Senior Curling Championships. She won a bronze medal in 2012 and a silver medal in 2015. In 2016, she won her first Canadian Seniors title! This allowed her team to represent Canada at the 2017 World Senior Curling Championships in Alberta, where they went undefeated and won the world title.
Colleen Jones' Major Achievements
Colleen Jones is a member of the Canadian Curling Hall of Fame and the Nova Scotia Sport Hall of Fame.
- World Curling Champion: 2001, 2004
- Canadian Curling Champion: 1982, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004
- Canadian Mixed Curling Champion: 1993, 1999
- World Senior Curling Champion: 2017
- Canadian Senior Curling Champion: 2016
She was appointed to the Order of Canada in 2022, which is a very high honor.
Colleen's Broadcasting Career
Colleen started her career in radio sports in 1982. She then moved to television in 1984 and joined the CBC in 1986. From 1993, Colleen was the weather presenter and sports reporter for CBC Morning News. She also reported on curling for CBC during the 2006 Winter Olympics in Torino.
Colleen also provided curling commentary for the American network NBC during the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. She continued to be a sideline reporter for curling events at the 2014, 2018, and 2022 Winter Olympics. She also co-hosted an online show called That Curling Show.
On April 6, 2023, it was announced that she retired from CBC after almost 40 years with the company.
Colleen's Family Life
Colleen Jones was married to Scott Saunders and they had two sons. One of her sons, Luke Saunders, is also a curler. He currently plays on the Owen Purcell team.
See also
In Spanish: Colleen Jones para niños
