The Maple Ridge curling team skipped by Thomas Reed will represent Zone 3 at the Games. (Contributed)

Six Maple Ridge youth from the Golden Ears Winter Club (GEWC) are off to compete in curling at the 2018 BC Winter Games, being held in Kamloops from Feb. 23-26.

Kaelen Coles-Lyster, 15, has been curling since the age of nine as part of the Golden Ears Winter Club’s junior program, and recently qualified for the games with her team, comprised of girls from the Fraser Valley.

In the last few years, Coles-Lyster has developed into one of B.C.’s talented young curlers, possessing strong sweeping skills and a sound tactical, strategic sense of the game.

This past year, she formed a team with these girls with a goal of qualifying for the Winter Games. This preparation included joining the Fraser Valley Optimist League to compete in regularly scheduled games. Her strong curling skills, along with her ability to play all the positions, has made her a valuable asset to the team.

At the BC Winter Games qualifiers held in Coquitlam on Jan. 14 and 15, her team advanced to the Games after winning a hard-fought play-down against another Maple Ridge Team 2–1.

In addition to training and playing with this new team, Coles-Lyster continues to curl with the Juniors at GEWC, making her commitment to the sport four days per week.

She sees a future in her sport, and while she continues to develop and compete in the traditional game of curling, she will also try her hand in the new, up-tempo game of Mixed Doubles, which has made its Olympic debut in PyeongChang, South Korea.

Coles-Lyster has dreams of competing in national and world championships, with the ultimate goal of one day representing Canada at the Olympic Games.

The team of five boys from Maple Ridge, who will represent the Fraser Valley (Zone 3) at the games, consists of skip Thomas Reed, third Brendan Nichols, second Matthew White, lead Miles Reed and spare Spencer Faulkner.

Thomas, 13, has been with GEWC Juniors for four years and has taken well to the leadership role of skip. His memory of winning his first bonspiel in 2016 and seeing his name on the banner gave him the taste for success that he hopes will one day take him to the Olympics.

Thomas’ 11-year-old brother Miles, who has also played with GEWC for four years, is the youngest member of the team. He also dreams big.

“I hope to continue to will play with my brother and he will hold the team up and one day get us all the way to the Olympics!”

Brendan Nichols, 14, has been a member of GEWC for eight years and has enjoyed watching curling on television since the age of five. Nichols has a big passion for the sport, and hopes to one day become a professional curler, but for now is focused on mastering the skills and looks forward to the BCWG with his friends.

White, 15, has curled with GEWC for four years, and knows curling will be a life-long activity for him.

At 15 years old and with only two years of curling experience, Faulkner has come up to speed quickly and plans to continue refining his skills and having fun.

All the boys agree that they have benefited from the additional coaching of Rob Smith, long-time Golden Ears Winter Club member and competitive coach, who will support them at the BC Winter Games.

For those interested in curling, Golden Ears Winter Club hosts learn to curl clinics and for the first time will be offering a Mixed Doubles Spiel on March 3.