MEMBER STORIES – MEET LUKE
Luke Samuels, hailing from Edinburgh with Scottish and Jamaican heritage, started curling with the aim to one day represent Jamaica. Since then, he joined a club, attended a coaching course, and indeed received a country call-up. He told us more about his story so far and where he is hoping to go from here, both for himself and for Curling Jamaica.
How did you first get into curling and what are some of the things you’ve done since to develop your game?
For a long time, I’ve really enjoyed watching curling on TV but It was the Olympics that really got my attention. When watching the Olympics I said to my wife: ‘I am going to represent Jamaica in curling one day!’ I had never curled in my life, I had only watched it, but I said to her, I would love to curl for Jamaica. After that conversation I attended Try Curling, joined 37 Club, which is based at Curl Edinburgh, had a few coaching lessons, and I’ve been playing with 37 Club since. I loved watching curling, and when I tried it, I thoroughly enjoyed it as well. That gave me more ideas and the opportunity to work on representing Jamaica.
I attended the Adult Curling Camp in Stranraer in South West Scotland which is a weekend coaching camp over two days. There was an individual from Alaska who made the journey to attend the camp which is highly commendable. There was a good mix of people with all levels of experience who attended the course. It was a really nice social event as well with some down time to get to know the other attendees. For anyone that wants to get into curling, I would highly recommend the curling camp. I had a conversation with Gail Munro when I was there who has won competitions and medals for Scotland. She approached me and said: ‘I think you’re very good,’ which I was very happy about. But what she also said to me was, ‘Just believe in yourself. Imagine the shot and imagine where the line is going,’ – that will forever stay in my mind. These were really encouraging words which was nice, especially when it comes from someone with a wealth of experience.
I also attended the Level 1 Coaching Course in Perth. When I got there, I sat down, put my name badge on, and then Bruce Mouat walked in. He sat down and I said to him: ‘You won’t be needing a name badge,’ and he laughed and said, ‘I’ll put one on anyway’. It was great to have him on the course and I thought to myself what’s the chances of that? It was a pleasure to meet Bruce and get a good chat with him. Bruce was very down-to-earth, easy to talk to and extremely humble. Again, Bruce has lots of experience, so it was great to have him on the course. I told him about my endeavours with Curling Jamaica and 37 Club and he seemed interested.
The coaching course itself was very informative. I took a lot from the course and gained more knowledge and experience. Individuals were there for many different reasons and there were a mix of ages and genders. The reason I attended the coaching course was to get more experience and information on curling and gain a coaching qualification.
I believe that attending and participating in the curling camp and coaching course was really beneficial for me. I also think it would be beneficial for any curler of any skill set to attend that particular course.
Other than playing for Jamaica, where are you hoping to go with your curling?
My ultimate goal is to coach people in Scotland, and Jamaicans living in Jamaica. I would like to expand and work on the team with Curling Jamaica. I’ve got dual nationality, holding both UK and Jamaican passports and citizenship. I think it’s great having the Jamaican heritage but also the Scottish heritage, because after all, curling was invented in Scotland so it’s nice to have the two intertwine.
Luke’s granddad who travelled to the UK in 1948.
Some people may be thinking, what’s the connection? Well, my dad’s side is Jamaican, my mum’s is Scottish. My granddad travelled from Jamaica to the UK on the Windrush and arrived on 21 June 1948. The journey was the first major influx of Caribbean peoples to arrive in the UK to help build up the country after World War 2. I think it’s important to communicate this because there could be people like me with mixed heritage within curling who could represent their country if they have dual nationality. With Jamaica, I’m not downplaying my skill, but it was a good time to get involved because Curling Jamaica was founded in 2020 and joined the World Curling Federation in 2022. I think if anyone has the passion and determination, they can achieve great things. Remember to also put in the hard work.
This is the start of my journey and there has been a lot of hard work and effort put in already. I’m taking things one step at a time and working with Curling Jamaica to achieve not only my hopes, ambitions, and aspirations but that of others. I would like to coach the Jamaican diaspora living in the UK and possibly have a Jamaican team here in Scotland. I am currently the only Jamaican curler in Europe that is part of Curling Jamaica in which I take great pride.
Curling Jamaica has a Grassroots Programme in which they will select eight young people under the age of 18 from Jamaica and coach them and this would also include education. This could be another opportunity for me to teach others once I have fully completed the coaching qualification. Imagine giving the youth of Scotland and Jamaica the chance to represent their country at the Olympics and how fulfilling that would be?
Support Luke and his curling aims via his GoFundMe page here.
What are your thoughts on the current state of curling in Jamaica?
Currently, there is no curling as such in Jamaica itself. Curling Jamaica is made up of the Jamaican diaspora, people who were born in Jamaica and moved to Canada/USA or who are in Canada/USA and Scotland and have Jamaican heritage. Currently, there is no ice in Jamaica for curling. That’s something I think would be beneficial for the future of Curling Jamaica as things progress. Curling Jamaica was founded in 2020, so it’s still very new and in its infancy. There’s some work to be done, but there’s plans put in place. In the very near future, I would like to be in Jamaica six months and in Scotland six months. That way I can live and teach in both countries.
I’m in contact with Cristiene Hall-Teravainen, the skip of the Jamaican silver-winning women’s team at the 2023 Pan Continental Curling B Championships. I also recently travelled to Dumfries and witnessed Jamaica play in the World Mixed Doubles qualifiers. The Curling Jamaica duo was the President of Curling Jamaica, Ian Robertson, and Madeleine Spurgeon that competed. They did very well and it was really good to see.
The Jamaican curling team is made up of Jamaicans, Americans, Canadians, and then me, the ‘Scottish Jamaican’. We would like to expand and get other people involved, this also includes sponsors and sponsorship deals. There’s a Caribbean diaspora in Edinburgh and I am actively involved in the Edinburgh Caribbean Association with founder Lisa Williams. I would like to see if anyone is interested in getting involved and that doesn’t have to be on a competitive level. Curling is fun and I think that’s the most important aspect of it. If you get the fun element, anything after that is a bonus. You will never know unless you give it a try.
What has been your biggest achievement in the sport so far and what would be your dream achievement?
My biggest achievement to date is being selected to represent Jamaica in the play-downs in Canada in February 2024. The play-downs are for the 2024 Pan Continentals and it’s been said these could be hosted in Asia or North America. The games are on 24 and 25 February 2024 which also include an international friendly. Participating in these events would be the first official competitive game that I’ll be playing for Jamaica, so I’m really looking forward to that.
The Olympics would be something else but I know that’s a different story – but that’s the dream. If you think big and put the hard work in, it could happen, so the Olympics would be great, eventually. This is the start of my curling journey, and I’ve been fortunate enough to be selected by Jamaica. I’m happy to put on the shirt and represent my country and it’s fantastic just having this opportunity.
I think sport can give people the potential of having a purpose, meaning, and belonging as well as the social aspect, and I really like that with curling. It’s just an amazing sport to be in and I’m glad that I’ve got into it and that I’m in the position that I’m in.
What do you love most about curling?
Curling is fun and very tactical, like chess on ice. In particular, I like the inclusiveness. One of the reasons why I joined 37 Club was what they had written up about their team online and how inclusive they are; anyone was welcome. They made me feel welcome and continue to do so. The members have given me lots of advice and support which I’m grateful of. I really enjoy competing and taking part and I like to win but having fun is the most important thing of all when curling.
Curling Jamaica was founded in 2020 and became the 67th country to be accepted onto the World Curling Federation in 2022. Ben Kong, born in Jamaica with Chinese heritage and later connections to Canada, served as the governing body’s first President and was crucial in its development, bringing onboard Cristiene Hall-Teravainen, who is now serving as vice president as well as leading development, and Andrew Walker who took up the role of Secretary General. They were later joined by the now President Ian Robertson (who also has some Scottish heritage!). Born and raised in Canada, he brought his Jamaican roots onto the ice when he started curling 40-odd years ago. He says that he enjoyed the idea of a Jamaican curling team since then. Fast forward to October 2023 and Jamaica taking on their first ever international competition in the Pan Continental Women’s Championship in Kelowna, Canada. The team around Hall-Teravainen went on to claim silver in the B-Division at their debut. World Curling sat down with the team to speak about their journey at the time.
