You’ve saved the date. Now register to be there!

You can attend in-person (Best Western Plus Coquitlam Inn, 319 North Road, Coquitlam) or over the phone and we ask that you register online beforehand. Visit http://curlbc.ca/membership/meeting-minutes/2013-curl-bc-agm-registration/ to register.

Those attending in person can take advantage of the lunch offered beforehand, starting at 12:30pm.

We will be sending out material for your review, including the agenda, the Curl BC Annual Report, the Curl BC Financial Report, and proposed bylaw changes, before the AGM.

Questions? Prefer to register by talking to someone in person?

Please contact Curl BC Administrative Assistant Rita Mikk at 604-333-3618 or 1-800-667-2875.

Among the winners are Team Brown, from Kamloops Curling Club, who won gold at the M& M Meat Shops 2013 Canadian Junior Curling Championships in February. The team went on to represent Canada at the World Junior Curling Championships in Sochi, Russia. The team has been awarded the Team of the Year award. Skip Corryn Brown, third Erin Pincott, second Samantha Fisher, lead Sydney Fraser and coaches Ken Brown and Brian Fisher all live in Kamloops.

Langley Curling Club was awarded the Curling Centre of the Year award for the wonderful service it provides to the curling community – to both recreational and competitive curlers. The club was home to a number of BC champions this past season, including both the men’s and women’s senior champions, the women’s master champions and junior curlers from the winning 2013 Tim Hortons BC Junior Men’s Curling Championship team and the winning 2013 BC Mixed Doubles Championship team.

The full list of winners is:

Team Brown – Team of the Year (see above)

Team Karen Lepine (Langley Curling Club) – Master Curler Team of the Year. Three members of this team from Langley Curling Club were BC Senior Champions as well as Masters Champions and travelled to both PEI and Thunder Bay to compete at the national level. The team is made up of Karen Lepine (Surrey), Lorraine Jeffries (Port Alberni), Carol Martel (Vernon) and Agnes Sigurdson (Langley).

Katie Witt – Anita Cochrane Coach of the Year Award. Katie (who lives in Coquitlam and coaches at Royal City Curling Club, New Westminster) is an extraordinary advocate for curling. The Level 3 Certified coach teaches all ages, abilities and personalities and wins them over to being the best and wanting to learn more. She has been a wonderful asset to her club. She is very generous with her time, both on and off the ice in teaching new curlers and has brought in many new curlers to the game. In 2012-13 she was a coach at women’s provincials, junior provincials and masters provincials.

Patti Caldwell (New Westminster) – The Wally M’Lot Official of the Year Award. Patti is a respected umpire and has volunteered countless hours at Curl BC events. She is liked by junior curlers because she does a great job of explaining the rules, educates the players, comforts young players and tells them to hold their heads high when things are not going as well as they hoped. She is respectful to the kids and kind-hearted.

Megan & Sarah Daniels (Delta Thistle Curling Club) – Female Junior Athlete of the Year. These two sisters have been jointly awarded the Female Junior Athlete of the Year award for their great record in 2012-13. Sarah, 13, skipped the juvenile team to a gold medal at the 2013 Tim Hortons BC Juvenile Curling Championship and the Optimist International U18 Curling Championships. Megan was third on the team. Both girls competed at the Junior level as well, achieving bronze medals. Sarah also teamed up with her father Ernie Daniels to take part in the inaugural Canadian Mixed Doubles Trials, held in Leduc, Alberta.

Corey Chester (Victoria Curling Centre) and Kyle Habkirk (Coquitlam Curling Centre) – Male Junior Athlete of the Year. Corey Chester was a member of the team who won gold at the 2013 Tim Hortons BC Junior Curling Championships. He travelled to Fort McMurray for nationals. Kyle Habkirk won bronze at the 2013 Tim Hortons BC Junior Curling Championships, gold at the 2013 BC High School Curling Championships and gold at the 2013 Tim Hortons BC Juvenile Curling Championships.

Karen Lepine – Female Adult Athlete of the Year. Karen Lepine won gold at the 2013 Tim Hortons BC Senior Curling Championships and the 2013 BC Master Curling Championships. Despite breaking her arm at the senior national event in Summerside, PEI, Karen continued to curl for the rest of the season, also travelling to Thunder Bay, Ontario, for the national masters championships.

Andrew Bilesky – Male Adult Athlete of the Year. Andrew Bilesky (New Westminster) skipped his team to a gold medal at the 2013 Canadian Direct Insurance BC Men’s Curling Championship in Parksville. The young team were able to beat much more experienced curlers to take the medal. Andrew and his team also came second behind Team Kevin Martin at the West Coast Curling Classic in the fall of 2012.

Alison Duddy – Athlete With a Disability Award. Alison (Quesnel) was the lead on the wheelchair curling team that took gold at the BC Wheelchair Curling Championship in Nanaimo in January 2013. The team (Team Cormack) travelled to nationals where they took the silver medal. Despite only starting wheelchair curling four years ago, this is Alison’s second silver medal at the national level. She now has the distinction of being selected an all-star lead at the national level.

Key West Ford (New Westminster) – Friendship Award. Key West Ford has been a real friend to curling with their support of the Pacific International Cup at the Richmond Curling Club. The company has been providing cars and vans for the event for a number of years. The event attracts participants from clubs as far away as Australia and the vans are a big help to the travelling teams. If the organizers had to pay for the vehicles, it would cost them thousands of dollars.

ThyssenKrupp Elevators Ltd – Sponsor of the Year. ThyssenKrupp Elevators Ltd sponsored the 2013 BC Wheelchair Curling Championship, providing considerable funding for the event in Nanaimo. It was a very successful event, attracting spectators and dignitaries from the mid-Island community.

Langley Curling Club – Curling Centre of the Year. (see above)

Ernie Daniels (Delta Thistle Curling Club) – Volunteer of the Year. Ernie’s official role with the Delta Thistle Curling Club is that of vice-president, but he is much more. He is their webmaster, drawmaster, statistician, and coach extraordinaire. Described as a “computer wiz”, he helps with all aspects of technical support for the club. He also volunteered to do the playdowns.com updates when the club hosted the Coastal Playdowns, blogging about each shot for people who were tuning in online. Ernie has also initiated a pro-shop for the curling club, looking after inventory and following sales trends.

Donna Butler (Cranbrook Curling Club) – Janette Robbins Award (Builder). Donna is highly respected as an official and volunteer in whatever capacity is necessary. No job is too big or too small. She cleans, helps with the ice, helps children at the schools in the area become interested and more familiar with the game, among other things.

Vernon Ronmark (Creston Curling Centre) – Pat Kennedy Award (Long Service Volunteer). Vernon was selected to win this award because of his tremendous personal commitment and contribution to the sport of curling in BC over many years.

Kelli May (Nelson Curling Centre) – Elsie McKenzie Award (Youth & Junior Curling Program Volunteer). Kelli has coached the juniors at Nelson Curling Centre for over a decade, and continues to do so even after her own kids have grown up and moved on. Nelson’s junior program is currently in a period of transition and rebuilding, and Kelli’s commitment to making that rebuilding successful is a tremendous boost to the community.

All the winners will be presented with plaques at the Business of Curling Symposium Banquet on Saturday, June 8, 2013.

The Curl BC Annual Awards are given out every year to deserving athletes, curling centres, businesses and volunteers across the province. Nominations are accepted up to April 30 of every year and the winners are selected by a committee.

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About Curl BC

Curl BC is the provincial sport governing body responsible for the development, promotion and organization of curling in British Columbia. Curl BC is also responsible for the championship system that declares provincial representation at National events. In cooperation with its Members, Curl BC provides services to both competitive and recreational curlers, including a variety of adaptive groups.

For media inquiries, please contact Rebecca Connop Price at 604-333-3617 or ac.cblrucnull@ecirpponnocr.

The move, which will lead to savings of more than $8,000 a year, is planned for the end of June.

The new offices will be located on Kensington Avenue near Sprott in Burnaby in the new Fortius Athlete Development Centre, located next to the Burnaby Lake Sports Complex.

As part of the plan, Curl BC will be sharing office space with another provincial sport organization, BC Athletics.

The Fortius Athlete Development Centre is a not-for-profit facility integrating world-class amenities with sport and health resources.

In addition to Curl BC and BC Athletics, it will house BC School Sports, the provincial governing body for inter-scholastic sport, Canoe-Kayak BC, BC Water Polo and Synchro BC. The centre will also be home to SportMedBC, a network of more than 600 sport medical practitioners and paramedical professionals in BC.

The centre will be run by Fortius Sport & Health, an organization made up of the Fortius Foundation, a registered charity, the Fortius Institute, a sport science and research team, as well as the Fortius Athlete Development Centre.

Scott Braley, Curl BC CEO, said: “We look forward to moving into the new building. One of the key reasons this building is a good fit for Curl BC is because it allows us to maintain the relationships, the collaboration and learning we have with our sports partners.  We will be able to continue to work closely with them and create even more opportunities for collaboration.”

Scott Cousens, founder and Chair of Fortius Sport & Health, said: “Our vision is to collaborate with like-minded individuals and organizations who believe in the power of sport to transform lives. That’s why it’s only natural for us to have provincial sport organizations dedicated to the development of athletes, coaches, officials and volunteers share in the canvas that is the Fortius Athlete Development Centre.”

The five centres, 100 Mile House, Barriere, Campbell River, Oliver and Peace Arch (White Rock), have been allocated a total of $41,500 in funding.

The CAP is intended to help grow the sport of curling through programs at the community level, as well as contribute to capital projects at curling clubs to keep them operating at a high level.

The grants are awarded in two categories: Business Development and Bricks & Mortar.

The Peace Arch Curling Centre in White Rock was awarded a Business Development grant of $4,000 for a marketing campaign to increase their membership, while the four other centres were awarded Bricks & Mortar funds. 100 Mile House was given $2,500 for new house rings and lounge renos, Barriere was given $6,000 for kitchen upgrades, Campbell River was given $14,000 for new siding and a new chiller and Oliver was successful in its bid for $15,000 for upgrading to geothermal.

Twenty-four clubs and two provincial member associations across the country were allocated $255,200 in funding.

“This is always one of the most rewarding announcements of the year,” said Canadian Curling Association Chief Executive Officer Greg Stremlaw. “The Curling Assistance Program is about building the sport at the grassroots level with our member facilities across the country. That’s where our world champions and Olympians come from, and keeping those facilities healthy is a priority.”

The CCA received 78 applications requesting $946,611 in funding. Of those 78 applications, there were seven applications for Business Development Grants requesting $66,643 and there were 71 applications for Bricks & Mortar Grants requesting $879,968.

Visit http://www.curling.ca/programs-and-services/curling-assistance-program/2012-2013-results/ for the list of successful applicants.

SOAR (Sharing Our Activities and Resources) is an initiative developed by Tennis BC, British Columbia Golf and Curl BC.

Kamloops residents who want to get involved with their community and promote active living should sign up for the training program being offered. People who successfully complete the training will become SOAR instructors.

The instructors will run:

1. The Capital One Rocks & Rings program, which is a gym-based curling game for 6 to 12-year-olds.
2. The Playground to Fairway (P2F) School Golf program, which introduces basic golf skills to school-age children with a focus on fun.
3. The Learn & Play program, a fun tennis program aimed at younger children which uses mini racquets and foam balls.

Training will take place at the following locations:

• SUNDAY, May 12, 10am – 4pm: Tournament Capital Centre, Kamloops – gym theory training
• MONDAY, May 13, 8:30am – 2:30pm: AE Perry Elementary – in-school training for golf
• TUESDAY, May 14, 8:30am – 2:30pm: AE Perry Elementary – in-school training for tennis
• WEDNESDAY, May 15, 8:30am – 2:30pm: AE Perry Elementary – in-school training for curling

Participants must register in advance. Click on the SOAR Flyer-for trainees-Kamloops 2013 for more information.

Register here: http://www.britishcolumbiagolf.org/events-workshops/soar-training-kamloops/.

Team Cotter, from Vernon, and Team Scott, from Kelowna, are among the 24 teams looking to take a step closer to the Olympics when the 2013 Capital One Road to the Roar Pre-Trials get underway on Nov. 5 at the Memorial Auditorium Complex in Kitchener, Ont.

Jim Cotter’s team will be boosted by the addition of an Olympic champion. It was announced that John Morris, who has recently left Alberta’s Team Martin, will be joining the BC team.

Twelve teams of each gender will play off for two berths into the Tim Hortons Roar of the Rings Canadian Curling Trials, presented by Monsanto, Dec. 1 to 8 at the MTS Centre in Winnipeg. The Trials will decide Canada’s teams to compete for Olympic gold in Sochi, Russia.

Two-times Scotties Tournament of Hearts champion Kelly Scott will be joined by teammates Jeanna Schraeder, Sasha Carter and Sarah Wazney.

The addition of Morris to Team Cotter was a “super exciting” development and will not mean that the team is losing one of their current members, according to a statement on the Team Cotter Facebook page.

“He approached us with a five-man team option, not with the intent to replace anyone on the team.  Not every day an opportunity of this magnitude presents itself, ALL of us agreed it’s a great opportunity.  No one is out, everyone is 100% in.  Obviously, there are a lot of questions to still answer so we are planning a team get-together on May Long Weekend so will provide updates as we learn more.  Just know we are super excited with the addition of John Morris,” the statement read.

The team positions are not yet known but the team will consist of Cotter, Morris, Jason Gunnlaugson, Tyrel Griffith and Rick Sawatsky.

Here is the full list of the teams competing at the pre-trials:

Men

• Brad Jacobs, Sault Ste. Marie, Ont.
• Brad Gushue, St. John’s, Nfld.
• Mark Kean, Toronto
• Jim Cotter, Kelowna, B.C.
• Steve Laycock, Saskatoon
• Joe Frans, Bradford, Ont.
• Jean-Michel Ménard, St-Romuald, Que.
• Greg Balsdon, Toronto
• Rob Fowler, Brandon, Man.
• Bryan Cochrane, Ottawa
• Jake Higgs, Harriston, Ont.
• Rob Rumfeldt, Guelph, Ont.

Women

•  Shannon Kleibrink, Calgary
• Laura Crocker, Edmonton
• Renee Sonnenberg, Grande Prairie, Alta. (Note: This berth was originally won by Kim Schneider, but the team declined it)
• Cheryl Bernard, Calgary
• Crystal Webster, Calgary
• Amber Holland, Regina
• Val Sweeting, Edmonton
• Kelly Scott, Kelowna, B.C.
• Cathy Auld, Mississauga, Ont.
• Tracy Horgan, Sudbury, Ont.
• Barb Spencer, Winnipeg
• Krista McCarville, Thunder Bay, Ont. (Note: This berth was originally won by Cathy Overton-Clapham, but the team declined it)

The format for the Pre-Trials will see teams play a modified triple-knockout draw leading to a four-team playoff. One playoff qualifier will come out of the A-event, one from the B-event and two from the C-event. The A- and B-event qualifiers will meet in the playoffs, with the winner advancing to the Tim Hortons Roar of the Rings.

The two C-event qualifiers, meanwhile, will meet in the playoffs, with the winner advancing to play against the loser of the A-B game. The winner earns the other Tim Hortons Roar of the Rings berth.

For more information on the 2013 Capital One Road to the Roar Pre-Trials, go to: www.curling.ca/roadtotheroar/.

The Kelowna skip is among six athletes from all over the world to be selected for the commission. One of their first tasks will be to finalise the remit of their commission and also recommend to the WCF Executive Board the selection process for future members of the commission.

Scott said: “I am honoured to represent Canada on this committee and excited about being able to give back to a sport which has brought me so much happiness in my career so far.  I will always have a passion for this sport and look forward to this new opportunity!”

Meanwhile, Canadian Curling Association Director Danny Lamoureux has been selected to the first WCF Competitions and Rules Commission.

The Athlete Commission will be chaired by 2002 Olympic gold medallist and WCF Vice-President Bent Ramsfjell of Norway. It features athletes nominated by WCF Member Associations. Other members named on Tuesday are two-time Olympic and two-time world champion Cathrine Lindahl of Sweden, former world champions Bingyu Wang of China and Ann Swisshelm of the U.S., two-time world wheelchair champion Michael McCreadie of Scotland and 2006 European champion Andreas Schwaller of Switzerland

The Competition and Rules Commission, meanwhile, will be co-chaired by WCF President Kate Caithness and WCF Director of Competitions and Development, Keith Wendorf.Joining Lamoureux on the commission, which will make recommendations to the WCF executive board on rules and competitions, will be Paul Alghren of Sweden, John Brown of England, Hew Chalmers of Scotland, Karel Kubeska of the Czech Republic and Mark Swandby of the U.S.

“We are delighted to have received such a high calibre of nominations from around the world for our first ever Athlete Commission and Competition and Rules Commission,” said Caithness. “The candidates selected for the two Commissions bring with them a wealth of experience and have already proved themselves to be great ambassadors for curling. We look forward to working with them to help shape and develop the future of our great sport.”

The two commissions will be on hand for the WCF’s Annual Congress, beginning August 30 in Copenhagen, Denmark.

From April 17 to 21, 32 teams of curlers from as far as Australia, the United States and the Yukon gathered at the Richmond Curling Club for the 14th annual Pacific International Cup (PIC).

For Spinal Cord Injury BC (SCI BC), the organizers of the PIC, the curlers and all our lovely volunteers, this certainly was a historic event.

It was SCI BC’s fifth year as the PIC’s official charity, and this year the PIC organizing committee met one of their ultimate goals: they raised a grand total of $100,000 for Spinal Cord Injury BC, over the course of five years!

Chris McBride, SCI BC’s executive director, and the whole staff were elated when they heard the news:

“Spinal Cord Injury BC is eternally grateful to the members of the PIC organizing committee, who, year after year, demonstrate their generosity and support for our programs. It is rare to have such a dedicated and welcoming group of individuals support us at such a consistently high level over such a long period of time. Their support and enthusiasm also spills over to the volunteers and curlers who help make the PIC such a success. We are so pleased to have this unique relationship with the PIC Organizing Committee,” says Chris.

To read the full story, visit http://sci-bc.ca/news/the-pacific-international-curling-cup-raises-100000-for-spinal-cord-injury-bc/.

To find a full list of the PIC and The Dominion Curling Cup standings click here: http://www.picup.ca/standings.php

The event at Richmond Curling Club from April 17-21 was once again a huge success, attracting teams from across B.C., the Yukon, the Western United States and even Australia.

Team Gibson from Vancouver Curling Club, made up of Amy Gibson, Rebecca Turley, Carman Cheng and Michelle Dunn, took the top spot in both the women’s BC Club Challenge and the PIC.

On the men’s side, Team Black from Penticton Curling Club took first in the BC Club Challenge and the PIC. The team is made up of Blaine Black, Shaun Everest, Doug McCrae and Kim Dixon.

Both teams will head to Thunder Bay, Ontario, in the fall for the Dominion Curling Club Championship.

Wayne Braun, the Operations Director of the event, said it had been a great competition. He said: “The Vancouver ladies fought hard for every game they won and they had to come all the way back from a few losses in the beginning to win six games in a row to take first place and become Team BC. They then went on to beat Team Washington.”

The Penticton men, meanwhile, dominated the men’s club challenge.

They played seven games unbeaten to take the title in both events.

Braun said the icemakers, volunteers, and Richmond staff and helpers had made his job easy. “The ice-makers did a great job, everybody commented on the fantastic ice,” he said. “The whole organization was first class. We had all done this 13 times before, so this time I was just walking around not having to worry about anything.”

The Pacific International Cup features a BC pool and an international pool of each gender, made up of eight teams each.

The winners of the BC pool then face off against the winners of the international pool for the title. The winners of the BC pool also become British Columbia’s Dominion Curling Club Champions and represent BC at the Dominion Curling Club Championship.

In addition to giving club curlers the chance to take part in a prestigious provincial and international event, the Pacific International Cup has become an important fundraiser for Spinal Cord Injury BC.

Over the five years that the Pacific International Cup has teamed up with SCI BC, curlers and volunteers have raised over $100,000.

Chris McBride, executive director of SCI BC, said: “We are delighted that the PIC continues to support SCI BC to help us support people with spinal cord injuries and their families.”