A good friend and former skip of mine once told me, “You’ll always find good people at the curling club.” I never truly appreciated the meaning behind those words until I needed those ‘good people’ the most.
Three years ago, I relocated from Calgary to the Lower Mainland to start a new chapter in my life. The move was one of the biggest challenges and disruptions I had faced. Although I was attempting to redefine myself in a new city, I was completely alone. No friends, no family, no support. Realizing how much the relocation and loneliness was impacting my mental wellness, I turned to curling for solace.
Back in Calgary, I had curled with the same team for years at a variety of clubs across the city. Now I faced the challenge of finding a new club and a team that would accept someone new and unknown. After a bit of research, I discovered that the Port Moody Curling Club was relatively close to where I lived (since I didn’t have a car) and featured a league where they set the teams at the beginning of the season. That format was perfect for me: Sign up and the league would simply welcome me in. I joined and, slowly, I started to get to know my new teammates and the other curlers in that league. The experience was so rewarding I signed up to be a spare for another night despite not knowing anyone in that league.
After a season of travelling to the club once if not twice a week via transit, I decided to move into Port Moody to be part of that community, Being able to now walk to the club (in spite of the West Coast rain), I joined three leagues in my second season and discovered a whole club full of ‘good people’. I truly experienced firsthand how community is built into the fabric of the game. Here I am now, in my third season with the PMCC, playing in four leagues and volunteering on the board of directors. Clearly, I enjoy the sport, but more importantly, I found community and friends in the ‘good people’ at the Port Moody Curling Club.
Starting a new chapter in my life and relocating somewhere new was stressful and challenging. Thankfully, curling became a social lifeline that helped me thrive.
