INUVIK
A team of Inuvik girls are intent on rocking the national curling scene.
The curling team of Carina McKay-Saturnino, Karly King Simpson, Hilary Charlie, Rayna Vittrekwa and Vanessa Lennie is gunning for a Canadian championship. - photo courtesy of Nick Saturnino
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The team, coached by Nick Saturnino, has competed in the national under-18 championships three years running and they're not planning on turning their brooms in any time soon.
Team members include Carina McKay-Saturnino, Karly King Simpson, Hilary Charlie, Rayna Vittrekwa and Vanessa Lennie. Saturnino said they're a close-knit group beginning to sense what their potential could be.
"They're working hard and setting some goals," he said in a telephone interview.
The team has been together for six years now, and Saturnino has coached them continuously during that period, along with some other coaches.
He said it's been a learning curve for all concerned, since he didn't know much more about curling than the team did when they started. He became involved since his daughter Carina is one of the team members.
Still, it didn't take long for him to sense that he might have something special on his hands.
"I had hoped they would be this good," he said. "They seem committed now."
That commitment and hard work has been one of the keystones to their success, he said, especially since other elite teams have played together since "they were five or six years old."
It's also what is going to allow the team to harness that raw potential and staggering skill, Saturnino said.
"It all depends on how hard they want to work," he said. "And their desire to learn."
Motivating the team hasn't been difficult for the most part, Saturnino said. The members also seem to have a sense that something special could happen for them.
"We've been working a lot harder," said Carina. "We've improved a lot, and we're hoping we stay together longer than just junior."
Saturnino said the team has upped its practice time and intensity level.
"They're on the ice quite a bit," he said. "I think they might have a shot at a national championship some day."
The team has just returned from the 2013 Optimist International Under-18 Junior Curling Championships.
"All teams played seven games with Team NWT ladies winning two and losing five. This was the third time the Inuvik girls represented the NWT at this event. The girls finished 12th in 2010 in Regina and 12th in 2012 in Toronto. This year their final world ranking was 10th."
Prior to this, it had been 36 years since a team from Inuvik has qualified for the junior championships.
Saturnino said he thought it likely the team would also qualify for the Arctic Winter Games next year and the Canadian Winter Games as well.
