Photo by Photo submitted
NATIONAL ACHIEVEMENT – Thomas Scoffin, left, holds the newly hung Youth Olympic Games banner alongside Mark Evans, president of the Whitehorse Curling Club. Photo courtesy of MATT BUSTIN
Photo by Photo submitted
NATIONAL ACHIEVEMENT – Thomas Scoffin, left, holds the newly hung Youth Olympic Games banner alongside Mark Evans, president of the Whitehorse Curling Club. Photo courtesy of MATT BUSTIN
Local curler Thomas Scoffin has another honour to add to his long list of achievements.
Local curler Thomas Scoffin has another honour to add to his long list of achievements.
The 17-year-old skip was honourd by the Whitehorse Curling Club last week when they unveiled a Winter Youth Olympic Games banner.
Scoffin competed in the inaugural Games in Innsbruck, Austria, this past July, where he and his teammates, B.C.'s Corryn Brown, Emily Gray of P.E.I., and Derek Oryniak of Manitoba, were awarded Canada's first ever medal at the Games.
After dropping their first match 6-5 to Austria in the preliminary round, Canada would accumulate only one more loss in the prelims en route to a bronze medal.
After defeating the Czech Republic in the quarterfinals, 7-6, Canada moved on to face an Italian team they dominated in the preliminary round, 7-0.
This time, the Italian team had the Canadians number, carrying early momentum to an 8-2 win.
Scoffin referred to the loss as heartbreaking in an interview with the Star after returning home.
The team went on to avenge the loss, defeating Sweden in the bronze final, 6-2, and solidifying their place in the Canadian history books.
Scoffin continued his impressive season at the M&M Meat Shops Canadian Junior Curling Championships just a week later.
Competing in Napanee, Ont. Scoffin led the Yukon Jr. Men's team to their best score in six years of national competition.
It was the second time Scoffin made history at the competition.
In 2007, at the age of 12, Scoffin became the youngest player ever to skip a team at the national championships.
Since then, Scoffin has skipped for the Yukon at every Canadian junior national event while also collecting two silver medals and one gold at the Arctic Winter Games in 2006, 2008 and 2010.
Scoffin also extended his experience and knowledge of the game to the Yukon Special Olympics team, where he served as a curling coach.
The Yukon contingent sent their first-ever curling team to the Special Olympics Canada Winter Games this past March where they won gold.
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