The Krista McCarville foursome is turning to experience to round out their 2011-12 squad.
The four-time provincial champions are losing second Kari Lavoie to pregnancy, replacing her with veteran Liz Kingston.
Kingston won the 1996 TSN Skins Challenge as a member of Heather Houston’s foursome, was a three-time provincial women’s finalist and represented Northern Ontario at the 2010 Canadian Mixed curling championship.
"We’re really excited for Kari being pregnant. We know Liz is a great addition to our team. She’s got a lot of experience. She’s played with Heather and Lorraine (Lang) for many years. She’s been to the provincial level many times, she’s been to the nationals, so we know bringing her on board she definitely bring experience to our team," said McCarville on Friday, helping launch the 2013 Dominion Curling Championship announcement for her hometown of Thunder Bay.
Change is nothing new for the McCarville crew.
Tiffany Stubbings, Tara George and Lavoie all helped her win titles before moving on to other things in life.
Ashley Miharija replaced George when she left to have a baby in 2010, then Sarah Lang, Lorraine’s daughter, hopped on board full-time last year when her mother decided to give up full-time competitive curling.
Kingston was the perfect fit, McCarville said.
"There’s lot of great curlers in Thunder Bay, but we just knew we would get some great experience with her and we knew that she wanted to come back competitively. We just didn’t know how much she did," McCarville said.
"So having our meeting a couple of weeks ago she decided this was what she wanted to do and we were so happy that she decided that."
The adjustment will take time, she added.
"Obviously it’s a change. We love Kari and we wish she was around. But we played with (Liz) on Wednesday night and it didn’t feel like as big of a change as we thought it would be. You know what? I think it’s going to be good."
Coach Rick Lang, a world champion in his own right, said the foursome will be going hard, looking to earn points to make their way to the Olympic qualifiers two years from now.
"It takes a huge commitment, but they’re a hugely talented team. It’s time to show it now. They’ve got to show and prove that they’re a top 5. I think they’ve proven they’re a top 10 in Canada, but they’ve really got to step it up a notch and make the top few elite teams."
McCarville’s team, who couldn’t escape the Ontario Scotties Tournament of Hearts last winter, falling to Rachel Homan 9-6 in the final, is bucking the trend and looking to experience rather than youth to propel them to the next level.
It’s the right way to go, said Rick Lang. You can beat experience.
"Liz played with Heather and Lorraine at many provincial championships and the skins game that were here. She’s got experience playing the big names in the game. She won’t be nervous out there. And I really hope she brings a level of maturity and experience to our team to help us take that next step."
