Colleen Patricia Jones (16 December 1959 – 25 November 2025) was a Canadian curler and television personality. She is best known as the skip of two women's world championship teams and six Tournament of Hearts Canadian women's championships, including an unprecedented four titles in a row and held the record for most Tournament of Hearts wins from when she won her 67th game in 1994 until her eventual 152 wins were eclipsed by Jennifer Jones in 2021.
Jones also served as a reporter and weather presenter for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, and as a curling commentator for NBC in the United States, particularly during the 2010 Winter Olympics.
In 2018, Jones finished second to Sidney Crosby in a listing of the greatest 15 athletes in Nova Scotia's history. In 2019, she was named the third greatest Canadian woman curler in history in a TSN poll of broadcasters, reporters and top curlers. In 2016, Jones was awarded the Order of Sport, marking her induction into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame.
She had previously coached the Owen Purcell rink.
Curling career Early years Born in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, from a family of curlers, at age 14 she joined the Mayflower Curling Club. She found success in competitive curling from an early age, playing skip for the St. Patrick's High School curling team.
In juniors, Jones won two provincial women's championships; in 1976 playing second for Kathy Myketyn, and in 1977 skipping her own team of Colleen Chisholm, Sheila Jones and Shelley Blanchard. At the 1976 Canadian Junior Women's Curling Championship, the Myketyn-led team finished with a 3–6 record. In 1977, Jones and her team went on to represent Nova Scotia at that year's Canadian Junior Women's Curling Championship, where she led her rink to a 6–4 round robin record, good enough for fourth place. In 1979, Jones was the skip of the Nova Scotia women's team at the Canada Winter Games. There, she made it to the final, where she lost to New Brunswick's Denise Lavigne, settling for a silver medal.
She was only 19 years old when she won the first of her 16 Nova Scotia Women's Curling Championships, playing second on a rink skipped by Penny LaRocque. Two days after winning a silver medal at the 1979 Canada Games, Jones was off to the 1979 Macdonald Lassies, the national championship, as a member of LaRocque's rink. There, the team finished tied for second in the round robin, with a 7–3 record. The team then lost in their tiebreaker match, missing the playoffs.
Early success as skip (1980–1982) In 1980, Jones was skipping her own team of Sally Jane Saunders, Margaret Knickle and sister Barbara Jones. She won her first provincial title as a skip, going undefeated at the Nova Scotia women's championship, defeating Gwen Osborne in the final. She then led her team at the 1980 Canadian Ladies Curling Association Championship, going 9–1 in round robin play, good enough for first place, earning her team a bye to the final. However, she faltered in the final, losing to Saskatchewan's Marj Mitchell, whose round robin record was only 6–4. Later that month, Jones played third on the Nova Scotia rink, skipped by future husband Scott Saunders at the 1980 Canadian Mixed Curling Championship. There, the Saunders-led rink finished with a 5–6 record, tied for fifth.
Jones was eliminated from zone playdowns in Nova Scotia in 1981, but returned in 1982 to win her second provincial title as a skip, with teammates Kay Smith and sisters Monica and Barb. At the 1982 Scott Tournament of Hearts, the re-branded national women's championship, she became the youngest skip, at age 22, ever to win the national women's title. There, she led her team to a 7–3 round robin record, in a five-way tie for first place. In the playoffs, she beat Saskatchewan's Arleen Day and then Manitoba's Dot Rose in the final. The team then went on to represent Canada at the 1982 World Women's Curling Championship in Switzerland. Jones led the team to a 6–3 round robin record, in a four-way tie for second place. This put them in a set of tiebreakers against Scotland's Isobel Torrance and Norway's Trine Trulsen. The team lost both games, eliminating them from playoff contention.
1983–1989 Over the next few years, Jones' career, marriage and a family slowed down her competitive curling, though she still made it to numerous national championships.
Jones was eliminated from the 1983 provincials by Virginia Jackson after losing her second game of the double-kockout event. Jones won the provincial mixed title that year however, playing third for Scott Saunders. They represented Nova Scotia at the 1983 Canadian Mixed Curling Championship, where the team finished with a 6–5 record.
Jones beat Virginia Jackson in the final of the 1984 Nova Scotia Hearts, sending her, third Wendy Currie and sisters Monica and Barb to the 1984 Scott Tournament of Hearts. At the Hearts, she led her team to another first place round robin finish, with a 9–1 record. However, she lost in the final to Manitoba's Connie Laliberte rink.
Jones was eliminated early on during the 1985 provincials. The following season, she joined forces with her former teammate, Penny LaRocque who had become her main rival in the province, with LaRocque throwing third. The team found success, winning the 1986 provincial championship, beating Mary Mattatall in the final. The team also included frontenders Cathy Caudle and Susan Robinson. They weren't very successful at the 1986 Scott Tournament of Hearts however, going 5–6 in the round robin, missing the playoffs.
The Jones–LaRocque partnership did not last long, and LaRocque went on to form her own team again. At the 1987 provincial championship, Jones was eliminated from play after losing to LaRocque and Virginia Jackson. Jones and teammates Kay Smith, Kim Dolan and Cathy Caudle played in the 1987 Canadian Olympic Curling Trials that season, with a chance to compete at the 1988 Winter Olympics, where curling was a demonstration sport. There, she led the team to a 4–3 round robin record, but lost to Pat Sanders in a tiebreaker. Jones won another provincial mixed title with husband Scott Saunders in 1988, but could not play in that year's Canadian Mixed Championship due to work commitments.
Jones won her sixth provincial title in 1989, with teammates Mary Mattatall, sister Monica (now Moriarty) and lead Kelly Anderson, defeating former teammate Cathy Caudle in the final. At the 1989 Scott Tournament of Hearts, she led her team to a 7–4 round robin record, in a five-way tie for second. She lost to Team Canada's Heather Houston in a tiebreaker though, eliminating her from playoff contention.
1989–1998 Jones took the 1989–90 season off from competitive curling to focus on CBC's coverage of the 1990 Commonwealth Games. The following season, she was back to her old form, winning a seventh provincial title, beating Heather Rankin in the 1991 Nova Scotia final. At the 1991 Scott Tournament of Hearts, Jones led her rink of Mary Mattatall, Kim Kelly and Nancy Reid to a 5–6 record.
With new lead Sue Green, Jones won her eighth provincial title, defeating Marg Cutcliffe in the final at the 1992 Nova Scotia provincial championship. Jones became the first skip to win back to back provincial titles since 1979. The team represented Nova Scotia on home ice in Halifax at the 1992 Scott Tournament of Hearts, where they finished with a 6–5 record, missing the playoffs.
Jones won her third straight provincial title in 1993, defeating Tracy Dobson 9–0 in just three ends in the Nova Scotia final. Jones and her new team of Heather Rankin, Kay Zinck (Smith) and Mary Anne Arsenault then went on to finish 6–5 again at the 1993 Scott Tournament of Hearts. After winning her fourth provincial mixed title playing third for husband Scott Saunders, Jones won the 1993 Canadian Mixed Curling Championship. The team went 8–3 in round robin play, earning a bye to the final with a first place finish. In the final, they beat Alberta (skipped by Terry Meek) to claim the national championship.
Rankin's membership on Jones' women's team was brief, and Jones with Zinck, Angie Romkey and Kim Kelly beat Rankin in the 1994 Nova Scotia final, Jones' 10th provincial title. At the 1994 Scott Tournament of Hearts, the team finished with a 4–7 record. Jones and husband Scott Saunders won another mixed provincial title in 1994. They represented Nova Scotia at the 1994 Canadian Mixed Curling Championship, where they finished 4–2 in pool play, in a five-way tie for first in their pool. They then lost to New Brunswick in a tiebreaker before losing to Ontario in the Wildcard quarterfinal.
Jones provincial winning streak finally came to an end in 1995, when she lost to Virginia Jackson at that year's Nova Scotia Tournament of Hearts.
After winning another provincial mixed championship with husband Scott Saunders, Jones began the 1996 calendar year at the 1996 Canadian Mixed Curling Championship, throwing third for the Saunders-skipped Nova Scotians. The team finished the round robin in a two-way tie for second at 8–3, but were upset in the page 3 vs. 4 playoff game to British Columbia. Later that month, she won her 11th provincial women's title with teammates Zinck, Kelly and Nancy Delahunt, beating Helen Radford in the 1996 Nova Scotia final. At the 1996 Scott Tournament of Hearts, Jones led her team to a 6–5 round robin record, in a five-way tie for fourth place. The team managed to win their first tiebreaker against British Columbia's Jodi Busche, but lost in their next game to Manitoba's Maureen Bonar, eliminating them from playoff contention.
Jones and Saunders won a second-straight provincial mixed title, earning them the right to represent Nova Scotia at the 1997 Canadian Mixed Curling Championship in January that year. There, the team finished 8–3 again, tied for second. They were again eliminated in the 3 vs. 4 game, this time against Northern Ontario. A few weeks later, Jones won her 12th provincial title at the 1997 Nova Scotia Hearts, beating Mary Mattatall in the final. Jones led her team of Helen Radford, Kim Kelly and Nancy Delahunt to a 4–7 record at the 1997 Scott Tournament of Hearts. Mattatall won her revenge at the 1998 Nova Scotia Hearts, beating Jones in that year's provincial final.
Two World Championships and Tournament of Hearts dominance (1999–2006) In January 1999, Jones won her second Canadian Mixed Championship, throwing third rocks for Paul Flemming. At the 1999 Canadian Mixed Curling Championship, the team went 8–3 in the round robin before winning all three of their playoff matches, beating PEI in the final. Later that month, with her new team of Kim Kelly, Mary Anne Waye (later Arsenault) and Nancy Delahunt, Jones won her 13th provincial title, defeating Nancy McConnery in the Nova Scotia final. The team then went on to go 8–3 at the 1999 Scott Tournament of Hearts in the round robin. In the playoffs, the team beat Manitoba's Connie Laliberte in the 1 vs. 2 page playoff game, putting them into the final, where they beat the defending champion Cathy Borst rink, representing Team Canada. This was the second Canadian curling title for Jones. The team then went on to represent Canada at the 1999 World Women's Curling Championship in Saint John, New Brunswick. There, the team missed the playoffs, finishing with a 4–5 round robin record.