Jill Officer facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Jill Officer
Curler
Born	(1975-06-02) June 2, 1975 (age 50) Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Team
Curling club	St. Vital CC, Winnipeg
Career
Member Association	Manitoba
Hearts appearances	13 (2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2018, 2019)
World Championship appearances	7 (2005, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2015, 2018, 2019)
Olympic appearances	1 (2014)
Top CTRS ranking	1st (2005-06, 2006-07, 2007-08, 2009-10, 2010-11, 2011-12, 2013-14, 2014-15, 2017–18)
Grand Slam victories	16 (2006 Players', 2007 Autumn Gold, 2007 Players', 2008 Wayden Transportation, 2009 Players', 2009 Autumn Gold, 2010 Sobeys Slam, 2011 Players', 2013 Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries, 2013 Colonial Square, 2014 Players', 2014 Autumn Gold, 2016 Champions Cup, 2017 Players', 2017 Masters, 2017 National)
Medal record Women's Curling Representing  Canada Winter Olympics Gold 2014 Sochi World Championships Gold 2008 Vernon Gold 2018 North Bay Silver 2015 Sapporo Bronze 2010 Swift Current Representing  Manitoba Canadian Olympic Curling Trials Gold 2013 Winnipeg Bronze 2017 Ottawa Scotties Tournament of Hearts Gold 2005 St. John's Gold 2008 Regina Gold 2009 Victoria Gold 2010 Sault Ste. Marie Gold 2015 Moose Jaw Gold 2018 Penticton Silver 2006 London Silver 2011 Charlottetown Silver 2013 Kingston Bronze 2007 Lethbridge Bronze 2012 Red Deer Bronze 2016 Grande Prairie

Jill Officer (born June 2, 1975) is a famous Canadian curler from Winnipeg, Manitoba. She played as the "second" for the team led by Jennifer Jones for many years. This team won a gold medal for Canada at the 2014 Winter Olympics. They were the first women's team to win an Olympic curling gold medal without losing a single game!

Jill Officer and Jennifer Jones have played together since Jill was 15 years old. They won six national championships, called the Scotties Tournament of Hearts, in 2005, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2015, and 2018. Winning six Scotties titles puts Jill in a very special group of only three curlers who have achieved this. She also won the Canadian Junior Curling Championships with Jennifer Jones in 1994.

In 2019, a poll by TSN named Jill Officer the greatest Canadian female "second" in curling history. She was also ranked as the sixth greatest Canadian curler of all time. After stepping back from competitive play, Jill became a coach for the Tracy Fleury curling team, which includes her niece, Kristin MacCuish.

About Jill Officer

Jill Officer was born on June 2, 1975, in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Her dad, John, used to play hockey and is now a coach. Her mom, Leslie, loved sports and encouraged Jill to try many different activities. Jill took lessons in figure skating, played soccer, did gymnastics, and even baton twirling.

When she was 10, her mom signed her up for curling at the Highlander Curling Club. Jill said in an interview, "I was always hanging around a curling club or a hockey rink, so I was bound to take up one of those sports." In 2006, Jill went on an amazing trip to Mount Everest base camp.

Jill is also a freelance writer and works as an RBC Olympian. This means she gives speeches for the Royal Bank of Canada. She also writes articles for The Curling News magazine. Jill used to be a reporter for a TV station called CKX in Brandon, Manitoba. Today, she lives in Winnipeg with her husband, Devlin Hinchey, and their daughter, Camryn. Jill studied Communications and Journalism at Red River College Polytechnic. Her niece, Kristin MacCuish, is also a curler.

Jill Officer's Curling Journey

Jill Officer was just 15 years old when she was curling at the Highlander Curling Club. After one game, Jennifer Jones, who was already a top junior curler, asked Jill to join her team. Jill said she was "a bit star-struck" by the offer.

Playing as the "second" for Jennifer Jones, with Trisha Baldwin and Dana Malanchuk, the team reached the Manitoba junior women's final in 1992. They lost that game. In 1993, Jill won her first title by winning the Manitoba Championships. This sent them to the 1993 Canadian Juniors, where they had a good record but missed the playoffs.

In 1994, they won the Manitoba Championships again. They went to the Canadian Championships in Truro, Nova Scotia, with Jill still playing second. This time, they won the final game against Sherry Linton from Saskatchewan, becoming Canadian Junior Champions! This win usually meant they would go to the World Junior Curling Championships. However, a rule change made them play an extra game the next year, which they lost. The Canadian Curling Association (CCA) gave them another chance in the 1995 Canadian Juniors, but they lost again in the semifinals.

In 2008, Jill Officer, along with Jennifer Jones, Cathy Overton-Clapham, and Dawn McEwen, won the 2008 Scotties Tournament of Hearts. After that, they went on to win the 2008 World Women's Curling Championship.

After not doing as well as they hoped at the 2009 Canadian Olympic Curling Trials, the Jones team bounced back. They won the 2010 Scotties Tournament of Hearts and a bronze medal at the 2010 World Women's Curling Championship. After that season, Kaitlyn Lawes joined the team as the new "third."

The Jones team won the 2013 Canadian Olympic Curling Trials. This meant they would represent Canada at the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi. They made history by becoming the first women's curling team to win an Olympic gold medal without losing any games. The next season, the team won the 2015 Scotties Tournament of Hearts and a silver medal at the 2015 World Women's Curling Championship.

Jill and the Jones team tried to qualify for the Olympics again in 2017 but lost in the semifinal of the 2017 Canadian Olympic Curling Trials. Jill also played in the 2018 Canadian Mixed Doubles Curling Olympic Trials with Reid Carruthers, but they were eliminated in the playoffs. The Jones team then won the 2018 Scotties Tournament of Hearts, which was Jill's sixth Scotties title, tying a record. Shannon Birchard played in place of Kaitlyn Lawes for that event. At the 2018 World Women's Curling Championship, Jill, Jennifer Jones, Kaitlyn Lawes, Dawn McEwen, and Shannon Birchard (as alternate) went undefeated to win the world title. This was Jill's last world championship, as she had decided to step away from competitive curling.

After retiring from competitive curling, Jill Officer stayed with the Jones team as their alternate player. She even played lead for them at the Grand Final of the first-ever Curling World Cup, which they won. She also served as the alternate for Team Carey at the 2019 World Women's Curling Championship. The next season, she filled in for Team Tracy Fleury at two events, reaching the final at one and the semifinals at another. Jill was officially named the coach for Team Fleury before the 2020 Manitoba Scotties Tournament of Hearts.

In 2018, Jill Officer was chosen to be part of the World Curling Federation Athletes Commission. In 2022, she was elected to lead this commission. As the Chair of the Athletes Commission, Jill also serves as a director on the World Curling Federation's Executive Board during her term.

Team Lineups

Here's a look at the teams Jill Officer played on over the years:

See also

In Spanish: Jill Officer para niños