THUNDER BAY – The crowd was electric on Day 6 of the 2025 Scotties Tournament of Hearts, and the loudest sections of them all belonged to a Rosslyn Road school.
The students roared every time team Northern Ontario got set to make a shot, and got thunderous when one of their own, skip Krista McCarville, was in the hack.
McCarville, of course, is better known to the students at Holy Family School as Mrs. McCarville, a Grade 6 teacher who just happens to be one of the country’s top curlers.
Lucas Clark, an 11-year-old in McCarville’s class, said it was fun to watch her on a different stage, doing something she loves outside of the education world.
“It’s kind of nerve-wracking, though,” he said. “It’s pretty fun to watch her. It’s pretty special. I’m pretty happy that I’m here watching her.”
McCarville, boosted by the support of her students and dozens of others from the Thunder Bay Catholic District School Board school, went on to beat Prince Edward Island 15-2 in the game, tying a Hearts-era record with her score.
Her intensity on the ice is only matched by her empathy in the classroom.
“She’s really funny, nice, smart. I like her a lot as a teacher,” Lucas said.
Classmate Damian Tassone, also 11, his fellow students chanting for Team McCarville in the background, was a little less enthusiastic about the actual curling, but happy to be at Fort William Gardens, nonetheless.
“It’s cool. It’s fun. I get to miss school,” he said. “I don’t curl, but it’s pretty fun.”
Damien said it’s neat to have a teacher that everyone in Thunder Bay knows.
“It’s cool having a famous teacher and then you get to go watch her do what she does best.”
McCarville got another thumbs up for her classroom ability.
“She’s really good. I really like her as a teacher,” Damian said.
Mitchell Polci agreed it was a fun experience being at the Scotties watching McCarville curl, something a little different than learning math or science in the classroom.
“I like coming to watch her games. I’ve watched a few of them. I’m having a blast, it’s super fun here,” he said, adding his advice to Mrs. McCarville, who started out 0-4 but then won three straight times, would be just to have fun and soak up the moment.
“She’s a nice teacher. She’s good and she’s really good at curling too. I think it’s pretty cool seeing her in the classroom and out here on the ice."
Meanwhile 11-year-old Dylan Martiovic said it’s awesome having McCarville as a teacher, but it does come with some downsides.
“It’s just sad to see her not be my teacher because she always has to go away for curling tournaments.”
After the P.E.I. game, McCarville said she and her teammates had to adjust because of the noise, using hand signals and other tricks to formulate shot and sweeping strategy.
But she wouldn’t have had it any other way.
“We talked about it before the game. We knew it was going to be very loud in here with the kids and just the second sweeper always has to look up and communicate with the other sweeper,” she said.
Noise aside, it was a magical moment for the two-time Scotties Tournament of Hearts runner-up.
“It was definitely exciting. It was nice to have that kind of game when they were here watching. So that’s really nice. Coming out and just playing a really good game, playing strong like we have the last couple of games feels really good.”
McCarville, who will not make the playoffs for the second straight year, wraps up round-robin play on Friday afternoon against New Brunswick.
