Northern Ontario will be represented by a healthy heaping of nationals experience when the country’s curling elite community gathers for both the Scotties Tournament of Hearts (February 14th – 23rd – Thunder Bay) and the Montana’s Brier (February 28th to March 9th – Kelowna, B.C.) in the next month or so.
Nowhere is that level of experience more prevalent than in skip and hometown favourite (Thunder Bay) Krista (Scharf) McCarville as the 42 year-old mother of two makes her 12th appearance at the Scotties.
In fact, McCarville first qualified for the Canadian Women’s Curling Championships prior to the creation of her now long-established rink, back in 2006 when she skipped a team that included Tara George, Tiffany Stubbings and Lorraine Lang in London, returning the following year with the same lineup to compete in Kelowna – all while representing Ontario at that time.
(Northern Ontario had not been granted provincial status as an entry at the Scotties)
In 2009, Kari MacLean slides in to replace Stubbings as the team travels to Victoria for the Scotties, with MacLean assuming the lead position in 2010 as Ashley Miharija (now Sippala) makes her Scotties debut in Sault Ste Marie.
It was only after taking a couple of years away from the competitive game that McCarville assembled her now familiar quartet that includes Kendra Lilly and Sarah Potts, with New Brunswick native Andrea Kelly jumping aboard in 2023-2024 as the team opts for a five-player rotation.
In the ten year period from 2016 to 2025, Team McCarville has represented Northern Ontario no less than eight times. Given that kind of longevity, one can understand that there might be room for some changing of the landscape on this now two decade old journey of sojourns to Scotties for the long-time teacher.
“I think this one was different only from the fact that it was in Thunder Bay,” said McCarville this week. “I have only had one other provincial in Thunder Bay – and with Thunder Bay hosting the Scotties this year, I think we felt a little more pressure in wanting to represent Northern Ontario.”
After dropping a 6-5 decision to Robyn Despins (Fort William CC) in round robin play, McCarville and company defeated their clubmates 9-4 in the Sunday morning semi-finals of the NOCA Provincials last weekend, capping things off with a come-from-behind 6-5 win in the final versus the up and coming Emma Artichuk foursome.
“We’ve been talking about this all year, leading into the playdowns and wanting to win so badly,” said McCarville. “Having all of our families and friends here cheering us on is really important.”
Truth be told, it’s easy to cheer for Team McCarville.
Where the overwhelming majority of Canada’s top women’s rinks feature a winter calendar that is chocked full of ultra competitive bonspiel play right across the country, the McCarville rink typically limits themselves to perhaps four or five bonspiels a year.
“We don’t go to too many bonspiels, but when we go, I feel that we are super excited, energized and ready to compete,” said the skip. “In years where we have done more back to back bonspiels, I honestly feel that we get tired and don’t feel as refreshed. It’s easy to get exhausted from our lives and jobs – and curling.”
And for as much as game play, especially against equally or more talented teams, offers the ability to grow and develop, it is also not the only pathway to impeccable rock throwing abilities.
“We practice a ton,” sated McCarville. “I don’t really know exactly how many times the top teams practice, simply because they are not always together. But I’m together with Sarah and Ashley and Rick (coach Rick Lang) five or six days a week.”
All things considered, Kendra Lilly is not all that far away, a quick flight from Sudbury to Thunder Bay creating the environment for the team to expand the chemistry that allows them to enjoy a more level playing field with those rinks that criss-cross the country with regularity.
“We’ve gotten together for training weekends, as we call them, where we can practice for three days straight,” said McCarville. “Those bonding weekends are really important. A huge part of curling together as a team is having the bond outside of curling.”
Although Team Epping is still in its infancy, the foursome coming together as a team for the first time this year, none of the four gents are likely to be too overwhelmed when exposed to all that is the Brier.
John Epping is making his fourth appearance, having claimed bronze in 2018 in Regina while vice Jake Horgan (2) and second Tanner Horgan (3) can also draw on previous trips to the Brier – not to mention countless visits to U18 and U21 national tournaments.
Kelowna will mark the first Brier for 33 year-old lead Ian McMillan, though the young man who was born in Dryden is no stranger to high profile curling competitions, a Grand Slam event regular who also took part in the 2021 Canadian Olympic Curling Trials with teammates Braden Calvert, Kyle Kurz and Rob Gordon.
In other local curling news, the Idylwylde Golf & Country Club plays host this weekend to the 2024-2025 OUA Women’s Curling Championships.
The Laurentian Voyageurs are joined by 11 other teams seeking to capture the provincial banner and earn a berth at the U Sports Championships in Lethbridge.
Finally, Kakabeka Falls Curling Club serves as the site of the NOCA Provincial Mixed Doubles Championship beginning on February 5th, with no less than 15 pairings on hand looking to claim supremacy. Local hopes are limited with only Dustin Montpellier and Amanda Gates representing the NCU Community Centre, with a few other curlers in the field having played in the past with Sudbury athletes.
