Twenty-year-old Ottawa curler Andrea Sinclair wanted a fresh start.

Team Koltun is happy to give her just that.

And by announcing their newest roster addition this week, the Yukon's junior women's curling rink has put the national curling community on notice – Team Koltun is going all in this coming season.

Sinclair will join fellow 20-year-olds Sarah Koltun and Patty Wallingham in competing on both the junior and women's circuits, while the Duncan sisters, Chelsea and Jenna, will split the fourth position.

Chelsea, 21, graduated from the junior ranks after Team Koltun finished fourth at the national championships in February.

This year, the squad will take aim at two major achievements – a medal finish at junior nationals in Liverpool, N.S., and a berth at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts in Montreal.

Sinclair, a bronze medallist at the 2011 Canada Winter Games in Halifax, should help in both pursuits. The longtime vice had been playing out of the Huntley Curling Club in Carp, Ont.

"This past year, I had a frustrating season,” she told the Star from Ottawa yesterday. "Things just didn't get going. I had a talk with my dad about what I could do next in terms of curling, and he said

‘Well, Yukon needs a player.'”

Not long after, Sinclair sent a Facebook message to her old rival Koltun, and the rest was history.

A week-long visit was set up earlier this summer, where the five teammates spent time hanging out together and meeting with sport psychologist Tracey Bilsky.

The group clicked well together, and the decision was made to have Sinclair join the club. She will play lead on the women's team, and vice on the junior team.

It will be another month before Sinclair makes the move to the Yukon capital, and the 20-year-old admitted she's both excited and nervous to be joining Team Koltun.

"They've always had their foot on the gas,” she said of her new teammates. "That's something that I've been looking for in a team, is a team that will do whatever they have to do to get to the top, and just keep pushing it. They want to win, and that's sort of what drew me in.”

Sinclair threw her first rock when she was five years old. Growing up competing in Ontario, she has never been closer to a Scotties appearance than she will be next season.

The Yukon faces off with N.W.T. to determine which rink represents the North at the women's national championship.

"As a junior curler, it's a lot harder in Ontario to try and do the women's circuit with all the playoffs crisscrossing,” she explained. "I had thought (the Scotties) would be a lot longer down the road, and not so immediate.”

Koltun said she first met Sinclair in Halifax, when their respective teams squared off at the Canada Games. While the Yukon won the match, Sinclair had the last laugh, eventually taking home the bronze medal.

She said having Sinclair join her side will help, especially as her rink attempts to break into the women's circuit.

"It's pretty exciting for us,” Koltun said. "It's kind of a transitional year. We hope it will be our best season yet. I only expect good things.

"Obviously last year for our team, was a little bit disappointing. It was very exciting to finish fourth at nationals, but it was disappointing that we didn't place a little bit better.”

Coach Lindsay Moldowan said the fate of her team is in their hands now.

"I think they are in complete control of what they accomplish this year,” she said. "If they put the work into it that they've committed to right now, I think that they'll have a really good season.

"We're going to be playing a lot of the top teams across Canada, and doing what we love to do. I'm really excited.”

Sinclair will bring both experience and knowledge of new opponents to Team Koltun.

"Curling in Ontario, she's been playing against a lot of the junior teams that we're going to have to meet up against this year,” said Moldowan.

The fact that Sinclair has played third her entire career will also help offset the loss of Chelsea Duncan from the junior team.

"She's really easy to get along with,” Moldowan said. "She seems like a natural fit.”