Volunteer travels from B.C. for the Brier in Regina

Carol Youngberg has blonde hair and a broad smile – like many of the volunteers at the Tim Horton’s Brier this week, but unlike those other volunteers, she travelled more than 1,300 kilometres to be here.

Youngberg lives in Osoyoos, B.C. and is in Regina for the first time ever for the event.

She’s not married to any of the competitors, and she doesn’t have family in the city. She said she’s curled for 40 years, and just wants to give back to the sport.

“I think that sport development is just so important for all ages of individuals, and any way that volunteers can help, I’m part of that.”

Youngberg retired in the fall and decided she was going to dedicate the winter season to CurlCanada.

“They are always looking for volunteers, so I just think it’s a great thing to travel around, learn about different areas, as well as help the sport out,” she explained.

It’s turning out to be a busy season for Youngberg. The Brier isn’t the only event she’s travelling to. She’s already volunteered at the Olympic curling trials in Ottawa, at the Scotties in Penticton, and in the next few weeks she’ll be heading to North Bay, Ontario for the Women’s World Curling Championship, and then to Las Vegas for the men’s.

She’s been around to a quite a few of these events, but Youngberg had a lot of kind words to describe the facilities in Regina.

“It’s a great facility to hold something like this in, because other areas we’ve had to drive from the actual curling event to the patch. They transport everybody by way of shuttles.”

And it seems people here have some nice things to say to Youngberg too — she praised the hospitality she’s received.

“As soon as anybody sees that you’ve got your volunteer coat on they’re all ‘oh, where are you staying? What are you doing?'” Youngberg laughed. “So it’s all great.”

It’s going to be a busy season of helping out for Youngberg, but she said she’s looking to be home in B.C. in time for the golf season to start.