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Meet your 2022-23 Curl BC Youth Advisory Committee

August 25, 2022

Curl BC is excited to welcome nine Curlers with lived curling experiences throughout Curl BC’s 8 zones. They’ll be paramount in reinvigorating  Curl BC programs and services geared towards youth curlers and competitors at the U9, U12, U15, U18, U21 and U25 stages of Long-Term Curler Development.

The Youth Advisory Committee (YAC) is responsible for making recommendations to the Curl BC Staff or appropriate board subcommittees responsible for the development, promotion and growth of youth curling, both competitively and recreationally. The YAC will form Three Sub-committees that have ongoing work plans focused on making progress in the following areas of youth curling development:

  1. Achieve a better understanding of youth desires and expectations with respect to both competitive and recreational curling experiences;
  2. Increased youth participation in club-organized junior programs;
  3. Increased youth participation in youth playdown competitions;
  4. An increase in youth transitioning to adult playdown competitions from club championships to mixed to men’s, women’s or mixed doubles.
  5. Increase in youth membership in Curl BC affiliated curling clubs;
  6. Increased youth participating in curling through schools (elementary, secondary and post-secondary)
  7. Increase appeal and interest for curling among youth.
  8. Increase in youth participating in volunteer activities at all levels of curling including, but not limited to: club level camps, tours, zone, provincial and national level events. This could include assisting with event hosting, officiating, coaching, club operations, etc.

Meet the team of nine curlers who will be working towards reinvigorated programs and services and making progress in the above areas:

Jorja Kopytko is a confident, energetic, fun, and driven person. As a member of the YAC, Jorja would like increase the number of youth curlers in BC by reducing some of the challenges junior curlers have in finding a team and people to play with. Jorja also recognizes that it can be difficult to divide your time between school, work, and curling, but loves the balance of all three. She would like to see more youth in BC experience curling at the elementary school age through field trips to clubs. Jorja’s proudest curling accomplishment was qualifying for and competing at the 2022 Junior Nationals in Stratford, Ontario.

Hannah Durrant is a hardworking, dedicated, outgoing, positive, and passionate person. As a member of YAC, Hannah would like to work towards solutions that reduce the costs of competing/travelling, challenges of finding a team, and create a culture where curlers feel supported when transitioning from youth curling to adult curling. One way Hannah would like to do this is by funding or creating more transitional programs, so that youth curlers are encouraged to stay in the sport, even if not at a competitive level. Hannah would like to ensure these programs are held in accessible areas across the province. Hannah is most proud of graduating from university and working a job in her chosen field as a research and negotiations associate

 Kayla Wilson is hard working, caring, and a team player who uses her organization skills and reliability to collaborate and bring new ideas to the table. As a member of the YAC, Kayla would like to support greater consistency at competitions and tour events, promotingthe benefits of participation to all who are playing.  Kayla is proud of an engagement group through her schooling that allowed her the opportunity to make international students and immigrants feel welcome in new communities.  Additionally, she was fortunate enough to learn about various cultures and backgrounds, furthering her interest in international relations.

Keelie Duncan is a strong, independent leader that is highly motivated, intelligent, kind and compassionate. As a member of YAC, Keelie would like to develop strategies for organizations to provide greater support to athletes to travel to events/tournaments and grow youth curling by holding more “try curling” events in communities across BC. Keelie is most proud of being awarded multiple sportsmanship awards at major events, and earning the bronze medal at the 2022 U18 National Curling Championships.

Lauren Cochrane is described by many as a confident, booming, funny person with the self-awareness to know what she needs for success. As a member of YAC, Lauren would like to promote a culture and environment where teens can be proud that they are a curler and want to promote it to their friends, family and community. Lauren’s biggest curling accomplishments are winning gold at the BC Winter Games and winning the 2023 Canada Games Trials. Lauren was also selected for the provincial honor choir and earned a Gold award in singing.

Logan Miron is passionate, caring, hardworking and dedicated individual with a willingness to discuss problems and discover solutions. Developing new curler recruitment tools, providing programs and branding/marketing plans geared towards teenagers getting involved in league play and supporting athletes who are looking to find a new team in their communities are three areas Logan is passionate about supporting as a member of the YAC. He is most proud of his career as a paramedic

Matthew McCrady is passionate, open, honest, loving, and doesn’t back down from challenges. As a member of YAC, Matthew would like to provide youth curlers with additional programming after they have advanced from a club junior program, assisting the transition into competitive play. He would also like to support the rebuilding and marketing of competitive leagues for youth curlers to help make the transition from a “new curler” to  “competitive curler” more streamlined and inclusive. Matthew’s proudest curling moment was winning the 2019 BC Junior Championships and his proudest work accomplishment was working as the assistant ice technician under the guidance of his dad, the Chief Ice Technician at the 2019 BC Mixed Doubles Championships.

Neil Imada is intelligent, caring, funny and always working towards being a great curler. As a member of the YAC, Neil would like to see a broader spectrum of competitive/high performance programs, training, and development opportunities for more curlers at the U15 age/stage of development. Neil’s proudest accomplishment has been earning the chance to play in the 2023 Canada Winter Games.

 

Zane Bartlett is hardworking, committed, and kind. As a member of YAC, Zane would like to use his problem-solving skills to come up with creative solutions and programs. One goal is to see competitive curlers from across BC promote the sport by go into high schools to teach youth about curling, providing an easy opportunity to get into the sport, with support from experienced curlers. By introducing an entire class all at once, it would become easy for kids to form teams with friends who are in the same class or school. Zane’s proudest accomplishment so far in life is definitely his university graduation. He says, “It felt good to see the work I put in and culmination of all my schooling finally pay off and was a very memorable experience.”