I hope everyone is having a great “end” to the curling season. On the competitive side, it’s been a busy month with 3 BC Championships, Club, Senior and Mixed, being held at McArthur Island CC, Penticton CC and Langley CC respectively. A big thank you to all 3 of these clubs and their volunteers and staff for doing such a great job of hosting. Congratulations to all the competitors for having the courage to compete and the coaches, officials and ice techs who are so key to every championship.

On the participation side, with over 23,000 curlers playing regularly at 88 affiliated curling centres across the province, it’s great to see the number of curlers back up to pre-COVID levels. Thanks to all clubs who submitted their second registration report on time. We encourage you to now let us know how many one-time, casual and school curlers you had this year to help us paint the complete picture of curling in BC this season.

With regard to Curl BC’s staff, there have been a number of changes over the past few weeks as follows:

• We welcome Kevin Berar as Curl BC’s new Communications Manager. Kevin  previously worked for Volleyball BC and the Township of Langley in similar roles. He is replacing Bryan Chan who was recruited by the Royal Vancouver Yacht Club. We wish Bryan all the best in his new role.
• Congratulations and a fond farewell, but not good bye, to 10-year “veteran” Will Sutton, who is stepping down from his job as Long Term Curler Development Manager to become the new GM at the Chilliwack Curling Club. Will replaced Chilliwack CC’s 26-year GM, Bruce Renwick, who is retiring to Vernon.
• Bruce is also stepping down as Curl BC’s Competitions Manager and his role will be filled by the dynamic duo of Event Manager Sherri Taylor and Administrative Manager Lindsay Shannon. We wish Bruce the very best in his well-earned retirement.
• We also welcome Clancy Grandy and Diane Dezura in the newly created contract roles of High Performance Program Coordinators. They will be working directly with High Performance Director, Melissa Soligo, who will be stepping back into a part-time role after 17 years with Curl BC.

Finally, I would like to express my condolences to the family and friends of Richmond Curling Club’s Jim Schuman on his passing. In addition to the tribute to him in this issue, I would like to add my personal thanks to Jim for always being so welcoming and inclusive and demonstrating volunteer leadership at its best. He will be greatly missed by all of us in the curling community.

Scott Braley