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

When Jennifer Jones heard the cries of her fellow mothers at the 2016 Scotties Tournament of Hearts in Grande Prairie, Alta., she knew she couldn't be silent 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