Landmark Season for Future Leaders
The 2024/25 season has been a busy one for the Future Leaders programme, with young people from across the country coming together to learn, network and share ideas with each other. The programme has again been delivered in partnership with the Scottish Curling Trust. Without their investment and support the programme would not have been possible.
The young people started the season with a visit to the Scottish Curling Trust museum based in Stirling, where they were able to see curling artefacts, photographs and equipment from throughout the history of the sport.
During this season the group has come together five times across different venues. The programme has seen formal training delivered by Scottish Sports Future on the topics of Planning Effective Delivery Programmes, Working with Young People in Sport, Human Connection and Conflict Resolution. Each of the young people gained SQA credits for the modules.
A selection of information training and workshops has also been delivered on floor curling, safe sport and public speaking, all of which have allowed young people to get creative and build their skills and confidence.
We have also welcomed guest speakers from the Scottish Curling team, Vincent Bryson and Peter Joyce, with the future leaders hearing about how Scottish Curling operates as well as an insight into the digital side of the sport – which for many is an area they are keen to see progress. Erin Gillen also spoke to the young leaders about her journey through leadership programmes, her learning and how it led to current role at Scottish Athletics.
In March, the Future Leaders visited the World Wheelchair Curling Championships at Auchenharvie in North Ayrshire. For some this was their first experience of a major event, where they got involved in social media content creation as well as hearing from Kate Wallace from UK Sport on how funding partners work together to deliver such an event, all while getting to see some world class curling.
This season, Future Leaders were also tasked with thinking about how they could make an impact within their own curling community, either at club or ice rink level. There were also opportunities for them to input into the sport at a national level, with opinions and ideas on a number of topics being shared. The group also helped with the creation of the new Junior Member Survey which launched this season.
The final session of the programme was held on the 1st June at the Emirates Arena in Glasgow, where alongside a busy day of training, leaders were also able to visit the world class indoor athletics area and get a track side visit to the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome during the Junior & Youth Track Championships.
Planning is now underway for the 25/26 season, with a number of exciting opportunities on the horizon. Applications for the next intake of young people will open during the summer – more information will be posted here.
