Celebrating its 12^th year, the Community Sport Hero Awards, partnered with Teck Resources Ltd presented Ray Olsen with a Community Sport Hero Award on May 30, 2013 at a wonderful reception at the Coast Hotel in Kamloops.

The program recognizes coaches, officials, mentors and administrators who have dedicated themselves to amateur sport at the community level.

Ray Olsen

With the distinction of coaching a curling team to the Provincial level 11 years in a row and 30 years of competitive coaching under his belt, Ray Olsen has turned his attention to something he feels has been neglected.  The club curler.

For the past 4 years Ray has offered his knowledge, experience and love of the game to anyone who wanted extra help. Ray volunteered his time to help improve curlers skills. With the demand growing and rushing to rink after work to accommodate all who asked, he soon decided a more complex plan was needed.

Ray organized a team of trained instructors and helped implement a “Learn to Curl” program at McArthur Island Curling Club.  After only two 8-week sessions, the Club now has a new “Open League with 56 new curlers! The league allows participants to compete with teams of similar calibre which helps them gain confidence and a passion for the game.  With Ray’s guidance, the programs fourth session will start this fall.

Whether it is coaching competitive curlers or working with the grassroots curlers, Ray’s dedication to growing the sport of curling shines through.  Ray Olsen is a true “Community Sports Hero”.

Congratulations Ray!