Statement in the Legislature
November 22, 2011

The Golden Ears Winter Club

Canadians love to curl. There are an estimated 1.5 million curlers worldwide, and more than a million come from or reside in Canada. B.C. itself has nearly 100 clubs. Although hockey is our official winter sport, thanks to the 2010 Olympic Winter Games, curling's popularity is sweeping the nation even more.
 
My hometown of Maple Ridge is also the childhood home of Canadian Olympian and medallist Kelley Law. Law is a world champion and won the bronze medal in the 2002 Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City. Local residents Diane Dezura and Terry Becker enjoyed competing with her as teammates.

Maple Ridge is also the home to the Golden Ears Winter Club, which has a reputation for the best ice in the Lower Mainland. The club has 400 avid members. Every winter high school and elementary students come to use the club's facility for PE classes. Guy Scholz is the manager and the author of a best-selling curling book. Bill Fowle is the club president.
 
The club has six regulation-sized curling sheets and three practice sheets, and they work hard to debunk the myth that the sport is only for seasoned athletes. Golden Ears Winter Club holds programs and classes for people of all ages. It has members as young as eight and as experienced as 94 years old.
 
With the recent introduction of wheelchair curling, their club is helping to make curling an inclusive, welcoming sport where anybody can play, regardless of ability, age or handicap. So if you're stuck between a rock and a hard place this winter, looking for a fun activity for the whole family, hurry hard to the Golden Ears Winter Club. It's only a stone's throw away.

-30-