World champion and Team Canada skip Jennifer Jones of Winnipeg this week sat down with Heart Chart editor Larry Wood for this exclusive and comprehensive interview.

Larry Wood -- In your opinion, has there been one defining moment in the evolution of your team to world championship status?

Jennifer Jones -- I don't think there was any one defining moment. I just think it was hard work. We are the best of friends on and off the ice. We have so much fun together. And I don't know if people really realize that. I mean, it's just a great time for us and we have so, so much fun. And it makes it so much easier to play. I think that's the biggest reason that we perform well under pressure.

Larry Wood -- Would you agree that the perfect freeze in the 10th end versus Japan in the Worlds semi-final at Vernon might qualify as a defining moment?

Jennifer Jones -- That probably was one of the biggest shots that we've ever made as a team in all our years together. Definitely. But they're all big. The seventh-end shot against China for two. That was a big shot in the last game. I mean, they're all big shots but, yeah, that freeze was big. Things weren't looking all that great. And we made the biggest shot in the toughest situation that we could. It ended up it was good enough to win that game.

Larry Wood -- It was a huge turnaround for your team right there.

Jennifer Jones -- You know, we had so much fun in Vernon. We soaked it all up and we went out there and said, 'no matter what, we're going to go out and enjoy it,' and enjoy it we did. It was a great time, but we had so much fun playing last year throughout last season, at the Canadians, the Worlds, everywhere.

Larry Wood -- As close-knit as this team has become, what might happen if you had to change the lineup because of injury or some other unforeseen circumstance?

Jennifer Jones -- Obviously it would hurt the chemistry but we have a great fifth player in Jennifer Clark-Rouire who has been with us for the past couple of championships. I think it would impact the team but we've also learned to deal with adversity and get through it.

Larry Wood -- Elaborate, please, on that chemistry.

Jennifer Jones -- You know it was Cathy Gauthier (now with TSN) who got this team together. She spared for my old team in an event and said she thought that Cathy Overton (Clapham) and I should play together. Cathy Overton and I went out for a drink one night and she told me she wasn't even going to curl that year. We really didn't know each other. And we hit it off instantly. And the rest is history. She's probably one of my best friends now. And Jill (Officer) and I have curled together forever. So it was Cathy Gauthier getting involved and getting the team together on the ice. Off the ice it is so relaxed. And we bring out the best in each other in the sense that we're all competitors, all want to get better, we all strive for excellence. You can't have a team on different pages and we're all on the same page. And then having Mike (McEwen) and Dawn fall in love and having Mike live in Manitoba and having Dawn move to Manitoba. I mean, she's a great addition to our team. It's like the stars all aligned and brought us together and made for some of the greatest moments in our lives last year and we'll always remember that.

Larry Wood -- You're a lawyer for Wellington West Capital in Winnipeg. How do you juggle that massive job with an equally massive curling schedule?

Jennifer Jones -- There's definitely not a lot of time at home and it's a challenge. But everybody has a lot of challenges in life and everybody has to deal with them. I don't think it's easy to have kids and curl. I don't think it's easy to have any job and curl. Mine is not a 9-to-5 job. There's stress and pressure connected with it but I've never not had that, so it's just my life and it's my life the way I understand it. I've learned to handle it and achieve what I'm trying to accomplish. It's as early in the morning as needed and as late at night as needed to get ithe work done and when I'm in town I work very long hours. I'm not home for supper. I work when I'm in town and I work when I'm on the road. I have a lot of responsibilities to fulfil. My firm is very, very accommodating and I try to show them I appreciate that by doing as good a job as I can.

Larry Wood -- As such, you must have a fantastic capacity for focusing on the job at hand.

Jennifer Jones -- I think I'm very efficient. There's no down or wasted time in my life. Everything has a purpose. When I'm curling, I'm curling and it's the only thing I'm thinking about. It's because I love to do it so much. That part of my life is easy. Because I'm so thankful for being able to play I don't mind working between the games. The curling part is easier than the working part, obviously. Curling is what I love to do. I mean, I enjoy my job but it's pretty hard to compete with curling in the Scotties Tournament of Hearts. Being an in-house legal counsel is definitely not as exciting as curling in the Canadian championship.

Larry Wood -- The responsibilities of a world champion skip seem to be growing by the year. Now there are sponsors to placate, events like the Scotties, charity events. How do fit it all in?

Jennifer Jones -- The promotion and the time is consuming and it's a challenge. I try to plan it around events. But what an honour it is to be able to curl and promote something you love. Something that's given us so much and you can go out and make a difference. It's pretty remarkable. We were in a charity event in Toronto last weekend and the fact that Cathy and I could go there and help raise money for spinal-chord research is so phenomenal. We love doing it. I love public speaking. I find it so rewarding.

Larry Wood -- But is there any danger, being in Victoria three days in advance of starting to defend your title and following a hectic schedule of promotions, that it will adversely affect your performance on the ice?

Jennifer Jones -- Busy, yes, but that's life in general for me. Honestly, it's typical of my life. Being busy is normal. It would be worse if I weren't busy because I wouldn't know what to do with myself. I did a day-and-a-half of promotion and then a day to relax. Ask me in a few days, but I don't think it should affect my performance because I don't think I'd allow that.

Larry Wood -- Are you happy with the way your competitive year (sans provincials) has gone to date?

Jennifer Jones -- We've really tried to start off events better than we have previously. We've qualified from A lot more than ever before. And we lost in the first round of playoffs a lot more, too. But we're pretty satisfied with our year and we're playing well but we're going to have to get some lucky breaks along the way here. Whoever wins the Scotties has to get that and get better as the week goes on.

Larry Wood -- And if you should successfully defend this title, will it be tougher defending the world title in a strange environment on the east coast of Korea?

Jennifer Jones -- Oh, I haven't thought about that. But I don't think it matters where you play the world championship. The teams are the same and the conditions are the same. I think when they are played in Canada it's thrilling for a Canadian team to experience that. But I don't think it matters as far as the competition goes. It doesn't change with the venue. It's the atmosphere that may be different. We were a different team in Vernon that we were in Paisley (Scotland, 2005). That was the first year the team had been together. We've grown a lot as a team since Paisley and the conditions in Paisley weren't great. Vernon and Paisley were night and day. I think if you asked anybody that played in Paisley and Vernon they'd say the exact same thing. The playing conditions in Vernon were great and there actually were fans in the stands. That they were Canadian fans was phenomenal. In Paisley we had friends and family there but we just didn't perform the way we should have performed. We do like playing in front of the bigger crowds. It's an amazing experience. It's more fun... for sure.