Once an awestruck young curling fan, Dailene Sivertson now gets to compete against some athletes she used to idolize and follow on television as the Victoria native is set to slide out of the hack at the 2012 Scotties Tournament of Hearts.

Fresh out of junior curling, where she won three B.C. crowns. It will be the 21-year-old's first trip to the national women's championship, set for Westerner Park in Red Deer, Alta., starting Saturday.

Breaking the ice at today's Ford Hot Shots shotmaking competition will be a nice, comfortable way of easing in for Sivertson, who throws second stones and holds the broom for B.C.'s Kelly Scott. Sasha Carter plays third, while Jacquie Armstrong handles the lead duties.

"That would be quite nice to win that. I wouldn't mind getting a two-year lease on a new Ford, but we'll see," Sivertson said with a chuckle earlier this week prior to heading to Red Deer from Kelowna, where she's now based with Scott.

The B.C.-champion skip makes her seventh appearance at the Scotties and is a former back-to-back national victor in 2006 and '07. She also claimed a World title the second time around after a bronze in 2006.

Still, it will be nervous times, especially for Sivertson, the youngster of the group who replaced Jeanna Schraeder at the start of the season when Schraeder decided to take the year off to have a baby.

"Absolutely. I'd be lying if I said I'm going out there totally calm," said Sivertson. "It will be a little nerve wracking, but it won't last. I'll be in a spot that I've wanted to be for so long. I'm excited for it."

Sivertson has often told the story of growing up watching curling and claiming she would, one day, compete at the highest levels.

That time has arrived and she's doing her best to deal with what is to come in the nine-day event.

"We've talked a lot about what goes on at a Scotties, there is so much more than just curling," Sivertson admitted. "We've got our schedule set and discussed what to expect. I think I'm ready, though. Obviously I can't do much more than just try and prepare for it.

"There will be media, lots of family and lots of other events that we have to attend. I'm excited about experiencing all those little things, as well as the curling. So I'm going to do whatever I can to make sure I'm ready and that it doesn't affect the play.

"The second we step on the ice we're curling and it doesn't matter whether you're in a small rink or in an arena."

This will be the largest crowd that Sivertson has ever curled in front of and she knows hundreds of thousands more will be viewing on television across this curling-crazed nation.

"Practice went well this week and I feel like I've done everything I could to try and help the team win," she said. "Yes, I've watched the Scotties every single year for it seems like forever, but I've seen a lot of these teams on the [World Curling] Tour this year, so I'm kind of used to being on the ice against them.

"That start-struck moment? I'm going to be OK with that because I have seen them, so I'm not worried about that part."

And nothing would be better than helping skip Scott win her third Scotties.

"It would be unreal," Sivertson said. "I don't think I could even describe the feeling of winning a Scotties, right out of junior. Again, it's something I've always dreamed of doing."

mannicchiarico@timescolonist.com