Jessica Smith (curler)
| Jessica Smith | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| ♀ | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 29 September 1997 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Team | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Curling club | Dunedin CC, Dunedin[1] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Skip | Jessica Smith | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Third | Grace Apuwai-Bishop | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Second | Sophie Tran | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Lead | Temika Apuwai-Bishop | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Mixed doubles partner | Ben Smith | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Curling career | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Member Association | New Zealand | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| World Championship appearances | 2 (2023, 2024) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| World Mixed Doubles Championship appearances | 1 (2025) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Pacific-Asia Championship appearances | 1 (2017) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Pan Continental Championship appearances | 2 (2022, 2023) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Jessica (Jess) Smith (born 29 September 1997) is a New Zealand curler[2] from Invercargill.[3]
At the international level, she competed at the 2023 World Women's Championship (first-ever Worlds for the New Zealand women's curling team), Pacific-Asia Championships 2017 and the 2022 Pan Continental Championships.
At the national level, she is a New Zealand women's and mixed doubles champion curler.
Personal life
Her brother[4] Ben is also a curler;[5] the pair won the New Zealand Mixed Doubles Curling Championship in 2018 and 2019.[6]
In 2020, at the age of 23, she was diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma cancer,;[7] and after a difficult treatment, she recovered and returned to the ice, including the international stage, leading the New Zealand women's team to win the right to play at the 2023 World Women's Curling Championship for the first time in Women's World Curling Championship history.[5]
Smith currently works as a nurse.[3]
Teams and events
Women's
| Season | Skip | Third | Second | Lead | Alternate | Coach | Events |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013–14 | Eleanor Adviento | Tessa Farley | Holly Thompson | Jessica Smith | Waverley Taylor | Liz Matthews | PAJCC 2014 (4th) |
| 2014—15 | Eleanor Adviento | Waverley Taylor | Jessica Smith | Holly Thompson | Eloise Pointon | Nelson Ede | PAJCC 2015 |
| 2015—16 | Wendy Becker | Bridget Becker | Jessica Smith | Holly Thompson | NZWCC 2015 | ||
| Eleanor Adviento | Jessica Smith | Waverley Taylor | Holly Thompson | Emma Sutherland | Nelson Ede | WJBCC 2016 (5th) | |
| 2016—17 | Jessica Smith | Holly Thompson | Waverley Taylor | Bridget Becker | Anna de Boer | NZWCC 2016 | |
| Jessica Smith | Holly Thompson | Emma Sutherland | Courtney Smith | Eloise Pointon | Nelson Ede | WJBCC 2017 (16th) | |
| 2017—18 | Bridget Becker | Jessica Smith | Holly Thompson | Emma Sutherland | NZWCC 2017 | ||
| Bridget Becker | Jessica Smith | Thivya Jeyaranjan | Holly Thompson | Emma Sutherland | Nelson Ede | PACC 2017 (5th) | |
| Jessica Smith | Holly Thompson | Emma Sutherland | Courtney Smith | Mhairi-Bronté Duncan | Nelson Ede, Peter Becker |
WJBCC 2018 (4th) | |
| 2018—19 | Jessica Smith | Holly Thompson | Mhairi-Bronté Duncan | Courtney Smith | NZWCC 2018 | ||
| Bridget Becker | Natalie Thurlow | Abby Peddie | Eloise Pointon | Jessica Smith | Peter de Boer | 2019 WQE (8th) | |
| Jessica Smith | Holly Thompson | Mhairi-Bronté Duncan | Courtney Smith | Lucy Neilson | Nelson Ede | WJBCC 2019 (Jan) (12th) | |
| 2019—20 | Jessica Smith | Holly Thompson | Mhairi-Bronté Duncan | Jennifer Stewart | NZWCC 2019 | ||
| 2020—21 | Jessica Smith | Holly Thompson | Jennifer Stewart | Ruby Kinney | NZWCC 2020 | ||
| 2022—23 | Jessica Smith | Holly Thompson | Natalie Thurlow | Bridget Becker | NZWCC 2022 | ||
| Jessica Smith | Holly Thompson | Natalie Thurlow | Bridget Becker | Ruby Kinney | Nelson Ede | PCCC 2022 (5th) | |
| Jessica Smith | Holly Thompson | Bridget Becker | Natalie Thurlow | Ruby Kinney | Nelson Ede | WWCC 2023 (13th) | |
| 2023—24 | Jessica Smith | Holly Thompson | Bridget Becker | Natalie Thurlow | NZWCC 2023 | ||
| Jessica Smith | Courtney Smith | Bridget Becker | Natalie Thurlow | Holly Thompson | PCCC 2023 (5th) WWCC 2024 (13th) |
Mixed doubles
| Season | Female | Male | Events |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2013–14 | Jessica Smith | Joshua Whyte | NZMDCC 2013 (9th) |
| 2014–15 | Jessica Smith | Peter Becker | NZMDCC 2014 (9th) |
| 2016–17 | Jessica Smith | Ben Smith | NZMDCC 2016 |
| 2017–18 | Jessica Smith | Ben Smith | NZMDCC 2017 (5th) |
| 2018–19 | Jessica Smith | Ben Smith | NZMDCC 2018 |
| 2019–20 | Jessica Smith | Ben Smith | NZMDCC 2019 |
| 2020–21 | Jessica Smith | Ben Smith | NZMDCC 2020 (4th) |
| 2022–23 | Jessica Smith | Ben Smith | NZMDCC 2022 |
| 2023–24 | Jessica Smith | Ben Smith | NZMDCC 2023 |
| 2024–25 | Jessica Smith | Ben Smith | NZMDCC 2024 WMDCC 2025 () |
References
- ^ Dunedin Curling - New Zealand Curling
- ^ Jessica Smith at World Curling
- ^ a b "2024 World Women's Curling Championship Media Guide" (PDF). Curling Canada. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 March 2024. Retrieved 11 March 2024.
- ^ "NZ women ready to 'move granite' at first Curling World Championships outing". Stuff.co.nz.
- ^ a b "From cancer diagnosis to curling world championships". Olympics.com. 21 April 2023. Archived from the original on 21 April 2023.
It was in April 2020, just after then 23-year-old Smith and her brother Ben found out
- ^ "NZ Mixed Doubles Curling Championship". Curling New Zealand. Retrieved 5 April 2023.
- ^ "New Zealand's Jess Smith back on international stage following cancer battle". World Curling Federation. 3 November 2022. Archived from the original on 27 March 2023.
External links
- Jessica Smith at World Curling
- Jessica Smith at CurlingZone
- Jessica Smith on Facebook
- "Recapping the Pan-Continental Championships with guests - Jess Smith (NZ) and EJ Harnden (CAN)". From The Hack. 9 November 2022.
- "Three Players Star (Again) at New Zealand Curling Finals - The Curling News". Sports Illustrated. 26 June 2022. Archived from the original on 26 June 2022.
- "High stakes for NZ curling team". The News. 2 March 2023. Archived from the original on 19 April 2023.