Each week during the summer, we’re featuring one of our recipients from the 2024 Curl BC Annual Awards so we can learn more about our well-deserved award winners!

This week we say hi to the 2024 Elsie Mackenzie Youth and Junior Curling Program Volunteer of the Year recipient, Melanie Kopytko (Kamloops).

Q1: Where and when did you start curling?
A1: Funny story, I don’t come from a curling background. I became involved with the Kamloops Curling Club when my children started curling.

Q2: How did you get involved in curling?
A2: When my son was young, we were looking for a winter sport that he could participate in. We attended a registration Open House the fall of 2011. Not having previous curling experience or an understanding of how curling clubs work, I was surprised when I learned that all the instructors running the program were volunteers. Because I didn’t have any expertise to help on ice, I volunteered for the off-ice things, first – making hot chocolate, taking attendance, then working closely with the registration side of things. Soon a group of us started up a junior spiel -from there, as my children continued to thrive in curling I became involved with the Thompson Okanagan Inter City, then high school curling, and so on.

Q3: Do you have a favourite curling memory or two?
Q3: Some of my favorite memories are running the Christmas junior bonspiel the first weekend of December, it was a one day, 3 division event it was SO MUCH FUN. In general I LOVE running events, the U15 RockFest in 2019 and the Special Worlds Qualifier in 2021 were great experiences as well.

Q4: What does it mean for you to win the Curl BC’s Elsie Mackenzie Youth and Junior Curling Program Volunteer of the Year award?
A4: I was so surprised, and honored. Many people gave their time and expertise and supported my children when they started curling. I wanted to get involved not only to give back to the community, but also to create a junior curling program that would continue to grow the sport.

Q5: What do you consider your biggest curling accomplishment? (either as an athlete, coach, official…etc).
A5: I was just one of the many people who run our junior program, I am proud of the program that we run out of our club and watching our junior numbers come back after Covid speaks volumes of the work that our volunteers put into making sure curling continues to grow in Kamloops.

Q6: You’re a member of the Kamloops Curling Club, how excited are you to be celebrating 75 years and what are some of the events the club has done so far and is there anything else happening at the club?
A6: Celebrating 75 years is VERY exciting and we have LOTS of plans! We are planning to add touches of the 75th celebration to a junior open house, a media and VIP luncheon at the club, a special Curing Day in BC, and capping it off with a 75th Anniversary Gala in November. We are very proud of our history of curling in Kamloops.

Visit the Kamloops Curling Club website and follow them on Instagram to stay up to date with their 75th anniversary events.