Northern Ontario's top curlers prepare for provincial playdowns
CBC
Some of northern Ontario's best curlers are hitting the ice in Kenora this week — and the stakes, to put it mildly, are high.
The Northern Ontario Curling Association (NOCA) men's and women's provincial championships run Tuesday through Sunday at the Kenora Recreation Centre.
The prize for the top teams is a big one, with the women vying for a berth at this year's Scotties Tournament of Hearts (in February in Kamloops, B.C.) and the men for a spot at the Tim Hortons Brier (in March in London, Ont.).
The competition in Kenora, of course, will be tough. In total, 11 men's teams, including four from Thunder Bay, are playing for that Brier spot.
The women's side includes seven teams — three of them from Thunder Bay.
"Every year, going into the year, our goal is to win the provincials and make it to the Scotties," said skip Krista McCarville, whose team — which also includes Kendra Lilly, Ashley Sippala, Sarah Potts and coach Rick Lang — is among the women's teams playing in Kenora this week.
"Every year we feel like, did we do enough?" said McCarville, who's skipped in the Scotties several times. "Could we have done more? Could we have practised more?
"But I honestly think, with our life, that we do as much as we possibly can," she said. "So, feeling good, but also, there's always nerves. I don't think that will ever end."
One of McCarville's opponents in the playdowns is Nicole Westlund-Stewart, who skips a team that includes Megan Carr, Samantha Morris and Rebecca Carr.
In Westlund-Stewart's case, Kenora is something of a milestone.
"This is my first time skipping at a provincial championship," she said. "I competed at the Ontario Scotties back in 2015 as lead, finished third there."
Westlund-Stewart says focus will be a key if her team is to find a spot on the Scotties schedule.
"Trust all the work that we've put in," she said. "We've been building as the year has been going on, and I think we're starting to peak at the right time.
"I think just falling back on all that work, and that preparation, that we put in, and just enjoy it. I'm really looking forward to competing in a high-level curling event."