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 Canadian curler from Winnipeg, Manitoba. She is famous for playing the "second" position on teams led by Jennifer Jones. They played together from 2003 until 2018, and even when they were younger, in junior leagues.

Jill Officer and Team Jones achieved amazing success. They won a gold medal for Canada at the 2014 Winter Olympics. They were the first women's team in Olympic history to win without losing a single game! The team also won two World Curling Championships in 2008 and 2018. In 2018, they also went undefeated on their way to the gold medal.

Officer has played with Jennifer Jones since she was 15 years old. Together, they won six national championships, known as the Scotties Tournament of Hearts, in 2005, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2015, and 2018. Winning six Scotties titles puts Jill Officer in a special group with only two other curlers: Jennifer Jones and Colleen Jones. Jill also won the Canadian Junior Curling Championships with Jennifer Jones in 1994.

In 2019, a poll by TSN (The Sports Network) named Jill Officer the greatest Canadian female "second" in curling history. This poll included votes from broadcasters, reporters, and top curlers. She was also ranked as the sixth greatest Canadian curler of all time.

During the 2019–20 curling season, Jill Officer worked as a coach for the team led by Tracy Fleury. Her niece, Kristin MacCuish, is also on that team.

About Jill Officer

Jill Officer was born on June 2, 1975, in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Her father, John, used to play hockey and is now a coach. Her mother, 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 Jill was 10 years old, her mother signed her up for curling at the Highlander Curling Club. Jill once 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 Officer went on an exciting trip to the Mount Everest base camp.

Jill's Work Outside Curling

Jill Officer is a freelance writer. She is also an RBC Olympian, which means she gives speeches for the Royal Bank of Canada. She also writes articles for The Curling News magazine.

Before her curling career took off, Jill worked as a reporter for a TV station called CKX in Brandon, Manitoba. Today, she lives in Winnipeg, Manitoba, with her husband, Devlin Hinchey, and their daughter, Camryn. Jill studied Communications and Journalism/Broadcasting 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 playing at the Highlander Curling Club in Winnipeg. After one game, Jennifer Jones, who had already made it to the Canadian Finals, asked Jill to join her team. Jill said she was "a bit star-struck" by the offer.

Early Junior Success

Playing as the "second" for Jennifer Jones, along with Trisha Baldwin (third) and Dana Malanchuk (lead), the team reached the Manitoba junior women's final in 1992. They lost that game to Tracey Lavery.

In 1993, Jill won her first title by winning the Manitoba Championships. This allowed them to compete in the 1993 Canadian Juniors. They finished with an 8-4 record but did not make 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 had a 7–4 record and won the final game 8-5 against Sherry Linton from Saskatchewan.

Winning the Canadian Juniors usually meant they would go to the World Junior Curling Championships the next year. However, a rule change by the Canadian Curling Association (CCA) meant they had to play in a special playoff game the following year. They lost this playoff to British Columbia. The CCA then gave Jones's team another chance to qualify. They were placed directly into the semifinals against British Columbia at the 1995 Canadian Juniors, but they lost again.

Major Championships and Olympic Gold

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 a tough time 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. At the end of that season, Kaitlyn Lawes joined the team as the new "third," replacing Cathy Overton-Clapham.

The Jones team won the 2013 Canadian Olympic Curling Trials, which meant they would represent Canada at the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi. They made history by becoming the first women's 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 Officer and the Jones team tried to qualify for the Olympics again 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. They made it to the playoffs but were eliminated.

The Jones team won the 2018 Scotties Tournament of Hearts, which was Jill Officer's sixth title, tying the record. For this event, Shannon Birchard played instead of Kaitlyn Lawes, who was competing in mixed doubles at the 2018 Winter Olympics. At the 2018 World Women's Curling Championship, Jill Officer, Jennifer Jones, Kaitlyn Lawes, Dawn McEwen, and Shannon Birchard (as their alternate) went undefeated to win the title. This was Jill's last World Championship, as she had announced she would be stepping away from competitive curling.

After Competitive Curling

Even after stepping away from competitive curling, Jill Officer stayed with the Jones team as their alternate player. She played "lead" for the team (Jones, Lawes, and Shannon Birchard) 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 the 2019 AMJ Campbell Shorty Jenkins Classic and the 2019 Curlers Corner Autumn Gold Curling Classic. At the Shorty Jenkins, they reached the final but lost to Jennifer Jones's team. At the Autumn Gold, they made it to the semifinals. Jill Officer 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 Officer also serves as a director on the WCF Executive Board during her term.

Teams Jill Officer Played On

See also

In Spanish: Jill Officer para niños