Sports have started accommodating nursing mothers. Jennifer Jones helped pave the way

When Jennifer mary harris jones heard the cries of her dude mothers at the 2016 Scotties tourney of black maria in Grande Prairie, Alta., she knew she couldn't be soundless anymore. 

While she wasn't breastfeeding at the time, the Canadian curling star knew what it was like to nurse an infant in the stands, parking lots, and between games — all while playing at the highest level of competition.

Tournament organizers said players couldn't breastfeed in the locker rooms because of an insurance issue. Mothers were being told their options were to brave the February cold and nurse in a car in the parking lot, walk to a local curling club a block away, or nurse in the stands. 

So Jones decided it was time to speak up. 

"This is the 'Jennifer me' that doesn't like to create any commotion or ask for anything too much. Like everything's OK and it's fine. But in that moment, it wasn't fine, you know?" Jones, told The Sunday Magazine host Piya Chattopadhyay.

Jones told a reporter she knew at the Winnipeg Free Press about the situation, under the promise she remained anonymous. Soon after the story became public, tournament organizers set aside an area for nursing mothers. 

"We were lucky in curling that a lot of things were equal, but there were some things that just were never thought of," said Jones, whose memoir Rock Star: My Life on and Off the Ice was released last month. "I tried to speak up for those things."

There is no doubt Jones is one of Canada's greatest curlers, with an Olympic gold medal, and a long list of provincial, national, and world championships. But when she found out she was pregnant with her first child in 2012, she knew she would need to find great balance in her life, too. 

"All I ever wanted to do was be a mom. That's all I ever wanted," said Jones. "That was my priority, but I had made some commitments with my curling team. I had these dreams, I have these aspirations."

Curling great Jennifer Jones paved the way for moms in sport

Jones was also recovering from an injury at the time. But with the help of her physiotherapist, she was able to get back on the ice a few months after giving birth.

But then she had to balance taking care of a baby with her demanding curling schedule.

A curling match, plus the additional media, warm-up and opening ceremonies, can take up to four hours. That gave her little time to feed her child between matches. And with no private space, she was left to nurse wherever she could. 

Jones recalled one event where nursing moms were asked to use the stands or the parking lot in a nearby building.

"You're trying to sign autographs while you're nursing because there's fans around and it's like, this just doesn't seem the way it should be, right?"

Even after she was able to get a designated space for nursing, there were still some smaller, but awkward, hurdles to jump. She remembers at one event, where they were given an ice maker's room to breastfeed in. 

"The room was surrounded with, we'll say, pinup posters. So it seemed a little bit interesting, but at least they were making an effort," said Jones. 

Jones says the sport of curling and sports in general have made huge strides since she started competing.

At the 2024 Olympics in Paris, a designated space was set aside for families, mothers and children. It was far cry from the time when Jones was throwing the hammer, and would have to pump and deliver bottles to her baby outside the athletes' village.

In 2021, amid COVID-19 restrictions, Olympic organizers allowed mothers to bring their babies with them after athletes spoke out saying initial restrictions were forcing them to choose between their children and their dream.  

And at this summer's Canada Games in St. John's, travelling coaches who were breastfeeding were given a designated nursing space in hotels.

Canadian athlete says she’s forced to choose between her baby and Olympics

"Accommodating babies and families is not always easy," Janet Fox-Beer, a retired nurse and lactation consultant, told St. John's Morning Show.

"We know from sport and life that the easiest or simplest might not always be the best answer. And that when we work together as a community and as a village we end up with a bigger, broader picture and everybody benefits."

Jones says that when she first spoke up, she didn't want to make a fuss. She just wanted to tell the right people, and see the right thing happen.

"Now as a mom of two daughters, as a woman, I look back and I just wish I would have just been front and centre and said, 'This is wrong,' and attached my name to it," said Jones. 

"I wish I would have shouted it from the rooftops."

Interview with Jennifer Jones produced by Andrea Hoang

---

---