Northern Ontario's Scharf joined by daughter at Scotties Tournament of Hearts

Now that Grade 11 exams are out of the way, Bella McCarville can concentrate on her next task: helping her mother and new teammates try to win the Scotties Tournament of Hearts.

The 16-year-old McCarville is making her debut at the Canadian women's curling championship as an alternate for Northern Ontario skip, and her mom, Krista Scharf.

"To experience it with her is pretty amazing," Scharf said from Mississauga, Ont. "Just seeing it through her eyes is awesome."

Proudly sporting the green Northern Ontario colours, McCarville took it all in Saturday afternoon as Scharf, Kendra Lilly, Ashley Sippala and Sarah Potts opened with a 7-4 win over Alberta's Kayla Skrlik.

Seated on the bench with coach Rick Lang, the Thunder Bay, Ont., teenager scanned the four sheets with her binoculars and listened to the three-time Brier champion talk strategy.

"I learned a lot even just from one game," McCarville said. "A little bit stressful, but it was good."

Skrlik scored the first multi-point end in the eighth for a 4-3 lead but Scharf replied with a deuce of her own in the ninth. Northern Ontario put the pressure on in the 10th end and Skrlik had no answer, coming up well short with her final draw.

"We knew it was going to be a battle," said Scharf, who went back to her maiden name last August. "We just said we want to keep it close."

Nova Scotia's Christina Black defeated Nunavut's Julia Weagle 9-1 and Alberta's Selena Sturmay walloped Prince Edward Island's Amanda Power 12-3. Manitoba's Beth Peterson posted a 7-5 win over Mackenzie Mitchell of Newfoundland and Labrador in the other early game.

In the evening round-robin session at Paramount Fine Foods Centre, Canada's Kerri Einarson scored two in the 10th end for a 7-6 win over Ontario's Hailey Armstrong.

Manitoba's Kaitlyn Lawes topped Quebec's Jolianne Fortin 11-4, Nova Scotia's Taylour Stevens defeated Saskatchewan's Jolene Campbell 11-3 and Nicky Kaufman of the Northwest Territories doubled Yukon's Bayly Scoffin 10-5.

'We'll make an exception'

After winning the provincial championship, Scharf asked her teammates and coach about the idea of adding McCarville to the lineup. They all "immediately said yes," she said, and McCarville's teachers and principal at St. Patrick High School were also supportive.

McCarville was able to take her exams earlier in the week. She only missed one actual day of school, she said, since the regular exam week falls during the 10-day competition, which started Friday night.

"Luckily the school board was really good to her and to myself," said Scharf, who works as a teacher. "It was because it was a national [competition] they said, 'We'll make an exception.' And here we are."

McCarville is also on two junior teams — an under-18 side that just qualified for nationals — and an under-20 rink.

"We [often] play in little curling clubs with 15 people there and then you walk into this," Lang said. "I hope she falls in love with it."

McCarville would be called in to play in the event of illness or injury. She could also play an end or two in the event of a lopsided score.

"Honestly I've had this in my mind this whole entire year," Scharf said. "I just thought she's at a good age now where she's a competitive curler. She's a really good curler and I feel like if we needed her to fill in, she could fill in."

In the meantime, McCarville is enjoying the big crowds and everything that goes with the national championship experience.

"It's honestly so much more than I ever thought it would be," she said. "Just like doing the [media day] pictures, the interviews, all of this. It's really good."

Canada's Kerri Einarson, Manitoba's Kaitlyn Lawes and Nova Scotia's Christina Black are some of the favourites in an 18-team field that's missing five-time Scotties champion Rachel Homan, who's preparing for the upcoming Milan Cortina Olympics.

Scharf, a two-time Scotties finalist, is making her 13th career appearance at the national playdowns.

"The fact that Rachel's not here, every team is holding the gold trophy in their eyes thinking, 'This is my tournament,'" Scharf said. "So we know that everyone's going to be playing their best and we have to do the same."