For this N.S. Olympic hopeful, curling is an 'escape from the reality'

When Jennifer Baxter steps on to the ice to curl, it's the outlet that allows her to put aside whatever else is going on in her life.

In recent years, there's been a lot.

Baxter, 38, is part of the Christina Black team that will carry the hopes of Nova Scotia at the upcoming Canadian Olympic trials in Halifax, which begin Saturday.

No Nova Scotia's men's team qualified for the competition, so the goal of becoming the first team from Nova Scotia to represent Canada in Olympic curling rests solely with Team Black.

There are eight men's teams and eight women's teams vying to compete in the Olympics in Italy starting Feb. 6.

By day, Baxter is a learning centre teacher with the Halifax Regional Centre for Education.

While some elite curlers can do their work remotely as they travel for events, Baxter must take time off work because that's not an option for her. It also means she goes without pay.

This is a reason the team brought on a fifth member, Marlee Powers, so that Baxter doesn't have to travel as much.

Baxter is out the door on weekdays around 8 a.m. and home no earlier than 7 p.m., given she trains or practises with her team after her job has wrapped up for the day. It's an exhausting routine.

On the personal side, Baxter got married three years ago and has two stepchildren with her husband. Baxter and her husband have struggled with infertility and have gone through two rounds of in-vitro fertilization. Baxter's father died earlier this year while she was competing in the Scotties Tournament of Hearts.

With so many sacrifices and struggles, is competitive curling worth it?

"I've spent my entire life [curling]," said Baxter. "And I don't know what I would do with my time otherwise. Like, it's really hard to think of