16-year-old Aryn Thibault has been named one of this year's recipients of Curling Canada's Fran Todd All Heart Junior Curler Award.
The purpose of the award is to honour young curlers who embody the spirit and values of the sport and encourage them to be role models for the next generation. Eight young athletes across Canada every year are honoured with the award, which comes with a $2500 cash prize.
“One of the people on the selection board had called me when I was off curling at a spiel, there was a lot of crying, I’ll just say that,” said Thibault. “It didn't really set in at that moment, but later on that night, I was like ‘holy man’. That actually just happened. It was unbelievable.”
Thibault both coaches and participates in curling in Swift Current and tries to make it to the rink as much as possible, often volunteering at clinics.
“I think it's just going to show how much I want to push junior curling to be more of an important thing and bring more people into sports,” explained Thibault. “That's nice for everyone, not just me. I love coaching them and I love watching people that I've coached. As kids grow up and see how much they've improved the impact I can make on other people's curling abilities and their confidence on the ice it's really cool to see.”
When asked her favourite part of the sport, Thibault responded:
“Probably meeting all the new people that I curl against or with or coach with. I've met a lot of people in it. There are some friendships that have lasted for a long time because of it.”
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