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Reid Carruthers can recall the struggles of being a junior curler looking to move up the ranks to the pro tour circuit and quickly learned it’s more than just the game on the ice.

Carruthers had to learn on his own how to properly market himself in order to attract sponsors and help achieve his dream.

Now skipping one of the top-ranked teams in the world, Carruthers saw an opportunity to fill that void by creating his own junior curling camp in his hometown of Winnipeg to better prepare the next generation of curlers for the elite level and cover all the bases from on-ice skills to off-ice fitness training and building one’s own brand.

“I’ve always wanted to run my own junior camp because it’s been a few years since we’ve had a curling camp in Winnipeg or even Manitoba for that matter, especially one that’s over the summer,” said Carruthers, who won the 2011 Brier and world championships while playing with Jeff Stoughton. “The past four years I’ve been going out to Ontario to the Trillium camp, which is under the direction of Jim Waite. Being a teacher and having the summers off I figured what goes better than having another teaching job in the summer.”

“There’s a whole bunch of curlers who are giving back and I just saw an opening in Manitoba for this to happen,” he added. “We have the high-profile curlers and we have the ice so why don’t we make this happen.”

Camp Carruthers will run two separate weekend sessions at the St. Vital Curling Club: Aug. 22-26 and Aug. 29-Sept. 2. Junior curlers between the ages of 12-18 at all skill levels are encouraged to sign up for either week with specialized groups designed for beginner-to-intermediate curlers as well as high-profile juniors looking for that extra edge.

Team Jennifer Jones third Kaitlyn Lawes has taught alongside Carruthers during a travelling roadshow through rural Manitoba and at the Trillium Curling Camp. The two-time Canadian junior champion and 2014 Olympic gold medallist said it was a “no-brainer” when she was asked to teach at Camp Carruthers.

“Curling has given me so much over the years,” Lawes said. “Any chance I can give back to our next generation I jump all over that opportunity.”

Lawes also lamented how a junior curling camp of this calibre has been lacking for some time in Winnipeg.

“There used to be a curling camp in Manitoba but there hasn’t been one for I want to say almost 15 years,” she said. “I’m really excited there’s a potential to grow this camp and get more kids involved.”

Other instructors lined up include Lawes’ teammate Jill Officer, skip Mike McEwen, Team Carruthers lead Colin Hodgson, and more. Having a roster of current elite-level curlers and coaches is key to providing the best possible learning experience for the juniors.

“When I teach I try to really give the most up-to-date knowledge to the younger generation because we ourselves get to work with some of the best national coaches across the country,” Lawes said. “Those young athletes are watching us on TV and are always curious about every little aspect. It always surprises me how many details they pick up on just from watching. Anything we can share our knowledge with them on to hopefully help better their game is pretty exciting.”

The camp will not only include on-ice training but also off-ice classes focusing on fitness, nutrition, seasonal planning, how to get sponsorship, marketing, team dynamics and more.

“To be able to actually market yourself in a way that’s fair and attract a company to want to partner with you is not something that’s necessarily easy,” Carruthers said. “I know it’s taken a lot of the curlers a lot of years perfecting that skill. I remember being a young junior trying to get to the next level and no one really taught me how to properly get sponsored. I think it’s one of those neat things that kids really do enjoy learning about. It helps them.”

“The off-ice sessions are just as important as the on-ice sessions,” Lawes added. “We’ll teach them about strategy, communication, team dynamics. Those are the sorts of things you can’t learn when you’re trying to work on your technical skills on ice. There’s so much more to the game than just throwing shots. You’re a team and you have to set goals so we’re going to try and give them the fundamentals to help try and do that.”

Carruthers said the level of competitiveness in junior curling has risen significantly since his time among those ranks. Look no further than his own province with Manitoba having won the Canadian junior men’s curling championship in the past four consecutive years thanks to the likes of curling prodigies Matt Dunstone and Braden Calvert. Dunstone in particular has already made a splash at the men’s level reaching the final at provincials this season.

According to Carruthers it’s like that from coast-to-coast across the country.

“With the evolution of our sport going towards the Olympic level, I think all tiers of the sport are going up in their preparation, the off-ice preparation,” he said. “The amount of time people are investing in the sport has gone up especially if you want to be at the highest level. I see this as one of those little things that can help the juniors in my home province.”