WATERLOO, Ont. - Laura Walker’s (née Crocker) 2021 is going pretty well so far. 

The Golden Hawks Hall of Famer (and three-time U Sports champion) started the year off with a bronze medal at Canada’s national women’s curling championship - the Scotties Tournament of Hearts.

The event in February was like none other Walker had participated in before. 

“It was a very different scenario for us. We weren’t used to being alone in our hotel rooms, not being able to go out for meals … It was my first ever event with a baby, I had my son there with me, who was five months old at the time … We were proud in the end to come out of that with a medal,” Walker said. 

The Scotties is the biggest tournament of the season for women’s curling in Canada but, this year, Walker has her sights set even higher. After placing third at the Canadian Curling Trials Direct-Entry Event in September, Walker’s team secured a spot at the Canadian Olympic Curling Trials. The winner will go on to represent Canada at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.

“It’s kind of at the top of the list for every athlete out there; to compete for their country. Especially for amateur athletes that don’t have the opportunity to play in a professional league or something like that, for us, this is the top of the top," she said.

It's Walker’s third try at qualifying for the Olympics and second as a skip. In 2017, she played third on a team skipped by Kelsey Rocque, whom she’ll be competing against in this year’s trials.

“I play with a lot more confidence now than I did then,” said Walker. 

A bronze medal at the Scotties will, of course, do wonders for confidence, but Walker attributes this more to the work she’s put in than results. “Working with my sports psychologist, trying different things, and trusting what it is that I’m doing out there, that’s given me some confidence going into this trials process knowing that if I do the right things I will play well."

A glance at her list of accomplishments reveals Walker has a history of doing the right things, both on and off the ice. In addition to her three U Sports championships, Walker was a three-time U Sports Academic All-Canadian during her time at Laurier and named the 2012 Outstanding Woman of Laurier. 

“I think that’s important for students to make their university experience everything that it can be … If you can look back and say I did everything I could, I was a good person, I tried hard, and I made a difference, then that’s what matters,” she said.

“Looking back on my time at Laurier, it’s not necessarily the wins that I remember, but it's the feeling of giving back and the feeling of success in all areas … The people that I met along the way and the support I received, those are the things that I remember and I think I would remember those things whether or not I won a U Sports championship.”

One of those people Walker met along the way was Jim Uhrig, the former manager at the KW Granite Curling Club. 

“He was a big part of our success there both academically and athletically. He just made our lives easy. We all loved hanging out there.” 

Uhrig is a longtime supporter of the Laurier curling program and received the Tuffy Knight Award in 2011. Walker named her time spent at the Granite Club as her favourite off-ice memory from her time at Laurier.

Since and even before graduating in 2012, Walker has won in nearly every level of curling, including a silver medal at the 2010 World Juniors, a mixed-doubles gold medal at the 2019 Curling World Cup with partner Kirk Muyres, and a gold medal at the 2020 Alberta Scotties Tournament of Hearts. 

When asked what drives her to keep striving for success at the next level, Walker had no shortage of reasons to stay motivated. “I think proving to myself as much as anything else that I can achieve things at the highest level.

"Now, also, being a mom, (it’s about) setting an example for my kids that chasing your dreams is a possibility and not to let anyone tell you that you can’t achieve whatever it is that you want to achieve,” Walker said. 

Walker knows it’s also important when preparing for events like these to keep things in perspective. “A lot of athletes, unfortunately, do put so much pressure on this event, and when it only comes around once every four years and only one team can win, it can certainly lead to a lot of mental health issues.

"I do try to remind myself that at the end of the day I’m lucky to get to play the sport that I love and I’m going to do everything in my power possible to compete and to achieve my goals. And if I don’t, then I’m still pretty lucky at the end of the day,” she said.

Team Laura Walker for the Canadian Curling Olympic Trials includes Kate Cameron and Taylor McDonald, both of whom were on the bronze medal-winning team at the Scotties, as well as Nadine Scotland and Heather Rogers. The event will be held in Saskatoon from November 20-28 and each draw will be broadcast on TSN.