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Become a future star for the 2020 World Women's Curling Championship

Sydney Brilz recalls her experience as a future star, entering the ice surface along with Team Russia's Andrey Drozdov back at the 2013 World Men's Curling Championship in Victoria.

Sydney Brilz recalls her experience as a future star, entering the ice surface along with Team Russia's Andrey Drozdov back at the 2013 World Men's Curling Championship in Victoria.

"It was really cool to be in the environment that I had admired so much and watched on TV for so long," said Brilz, who at the time was a 15-year-old based out of the Esquimalt High School Curling Academy (which is now the Greater Victoria Curling Academy in the B.C. capital).

"It was really surreal because you see it on TV all the time and yet it still seemed that you were grounded in a small area, but there were so many people there. You see your family and all the fans and they're all excited for you, so it was cool to be a part of that atmosphere in that place," she added of the event, held at the Save On Foods Memorial Centre.

The Future Stars program runs at every event on the Curling Canada Seasons of Champions calendar and involves juniors between the ages of 9-16 affiliated with clubs in the region. Those juniors can currently apply to be Future Stars for the 2020 World Women's Curling Championship in Prince George.

Selected applicants become honorary members of one of the teams competing in the international event and receive:

* A commemorative Future Stars jacket;

* A ticket for you and three guests to one of the team's round-robin draws;

* An official photograph with the team; and

* Arena entrance and introduction with the team at a pre-game ceremony.

Brilz is now a 23-year-old in her third year of social work at the University of Victoria and in 2018 was a provincial junior women's champion, playing lead on skip Taylor Reese-Hansen's Victoria Curling Club foursome. Brilz is now competing in women's play, along with Reese-Hansen (third), skip Dailene Pewarchuk and second Ashley Sanderson.

Back at the 2013 world men's event in Victoria, Brilz received a Russia team jacket (which she still proudly displays), a flag with all the team's signatures and, of course, had the chance to be introduced on the ice prior to a round-robin game.

Brilz now sees the Future Stars on TV during national or international championships in Canada and can proudly say, she's been there and done that.

"When the Grand Slams or the Scotties or Briers are on, our TV is always on at home. I watch them all the time," said Brilz, who would love the opportunity to compete in a national women's championship and escort the Future Star onto the ice.

"Even when I'm competing now, you have the little kids from the local clubs who come out with us who are six- and seven-years-old and they're so cute and they're so excited to be there and it's just so nice to see," said Brilz. "Getting to a Scotties is the ultimate dream and I would love to be in that position to have a young star hang out with me."

Alberta's Chelsea Carey is the defending Scotties Tournament of Hearts champion and the two-time national champion echoes Brilz's excitement when it comes to the Future Stars program.

"It's a great opportunity for them and you could tell, lots of times they're excited and nervous, and quiet. They don't know what to say or do, but it's fun for us to see their excitement and enthusiasm and to be able to chat with them," said Carey.

"We were all them at one point, watching on TV and admiring all these people and looking up to them, so it's a pretty neat experience to be a part of that. Sometimes you have to pry words out of them because they're so nervous that they don't say anything, so you've got to work hard to get them to talk to you, but it's fun and so worthwhile."

That's why Carey loves to pay back to the youth of curling.

"We didn't have stuff like that when I was their age, so I didn't get to do anything like that, but it's pretty neat to even just be at ice level and see all the people in the stands and how big the arenas are and what it looks like from our perspective," offered Carey. "That's a unique experience in itself; never mind getting the chance to be around all these teams and athletes that you normally watch on TV.

"So any chance we get to give something back to juniors - to work with them or to share a little bit of wisdom or inspiration - we take. That's the future of our game, so anything that we can do to encourage that or develop that is obviously something we love to have the opportunity to do."

At the last Women's World Curling Championship in Canada, in 2018 in North Bay, Ont., Stacey Dobbin was the director in charge of the Future Stars program.

"I still see a lot of the kids and I've had a lot of them call me this year to see if they could be part of the Pinty's (Grand Slam of Curling Masters event, which was slated for late Oct. of 2019 in North Bay), in which we've incorporated a similar young stars program. It (the Future Stars program in 2018) was an incredible experience for me and the kids," said Dobbin, who is the office manager at the North Bay Curling Club.

At the 2018 Worlds, the Future Stars would meet an hour before to be shown around the arena and to take pictures with sponsors.

"As soon as teams came out to practice the kids were given the OK to stand where the teams were with the coaches and experience part of the practice," said Dobbin.

When the pre-game ceremonies began, all the teams walked out with a flag carrier.

"The kids always walked out with the teams, they would stop at centre ice and spread out underneath the display above them, and they would stand for the national anthems."

The kids were then walked off the ice and had front row seats with their parents to watch the draw. Future Stars also received the experience to tour the TV studios of the respective broadcasters.

"The people behind the cameras and in the production trailer treated these kids like royalty," said Dobbin. "And the athletes treated them like they were their own kids. One person who stood out was Jill Officer and that was her last event (as a regular member of Jennifer Jones' team).

"Even when it wasn't her team involved, if I had a group of juniors out there who weren't with Team Canada, she would come out and if the kids had a marker, she would sign their coats and shirts and anything they wanted signed. She would take the time to stop and talk to the kids."

Just who represents Canada at the World Women's Curling Championship in Prince George will be determined at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts in mid-February in 2020 in Moose Jaw, Sask.

Corryn Brown of Kamloops, a three-time B.C. junior women's champion and 2013 Canadian Junior champion, would love to don Canada's colours at the event.

At age 11, Brown had a similar experience as a young star, only at a provincial event.

"It wasn't at a national level, but I was a placard holder at provincials. There was never a Brier or Scotties close enough for us. But, it's funny, I ended up holding a placard for Allison MacInnes (who is now Brown's coach). It was pretty neat because I looked up to them as athletes and now Allison is my coach, so it's kind of funny how everything has come full circle."

Entry deadline for the one-of-a-kind experience for the 2020 World Women's Curling Championship is Jan. 15 and all it takes is to answer the question - in 50 words or less - why you would like to be an honorary team member.

Enter at www.curling.ca/2020worldwomen/future-stars/

Tickets for the event, slated for March 14-22 at CN Centre, are available on-line at: www.curling.ca/2020worldwomen/tickets/