Local curler Thomas Scoffin is featured in the 2024 Men of Curling calendar.

Scoffin is one of 18 top male curling athletes featured in the calendar, which supports youth curling programs and initiatives through 12 charities.

Scoffin told the Star how the opportunity came about.

"It came out of the blue, honestly. It came back in the spring I guess. (I) got an email from Curling Canada, the administrators of the fund that I'm raising money for, and they asked if I wanted to be a part of it.

"The calendar itself has a pretty long history and obviously it's had a lot of success raising money and it's had a lot of great athletes on the pages over the years, so it's definitely something I jumped at without really thinking about it. After I started thinking about it, I realized that I probably needed to get myself in the gym and try to get in some shape for the summertime."

Of the opportunity, Scoffin said it's "not something that I've ever really thought about. I've seen, obviously, the calendars over the years and I think it's a great initiative. I was definitely surprised. I feel lucky to be part of it, for sure."

When asked if he'd ever done anything like this before, Scoffin replied, "Absolutely not." Scoffin said the photo shoot was "fun. I got to team up with Cathie Archbould, who's a great local photographer. She does awesome work. So luckily, she had some time for me and we got together and found a shot that worked out pretty good."

Scoffin liked the final product.

"I'm happy with it. I got to incorporate curling into the shot and friends of mine recently opened up a gym in town (Balance Health and Fitness) so they were gracious enough to let me use this space and we figured something out from there.

"Hopefully, it's something that people enjoy."

Of the program itself, Scoffin said, "It's a great program; raises a lot of money. And I'm excited to be raising money for the Love of Curling scholarship. It's something that I was a recipient of back in my student athlete days, so definitely an important cause to me.

“Curling was a huge part of who I was growing up and who I am now. The opportunities that I've had because of curling mean everything to me. So any chance I have to try to help the next generation to succeed at sport, but also in life, that's what it's really about. And that's what this scholarship is really about. It's helping well-rounded people develop and thrive. So it's not just about sport or curling – it's kind of the whole picture. It's a really cool initiative and I'm pretty excited to raise some funds for it and hopefully it's a success."

As far as the curling itself goes, Scoffin said he has the same team as last year.

"I guess this is our third year together, so we're gonna give it another run. We're excited to make that push for the Briar again. We've got one competition coming up in about a month's time in Red Deer. It's a world curling tour event. So lots of top teams there. It'll be a strong field, a good test for us and a chance to get together because we're not all located in Whitehorse right now.

"So I'm excited about the season here. We're just getting started but definitely feeling good."

Skip Scoffin's teammates are second Joe Wallingham, third Trygg Jensen, who's currently living in Red Deer, and lead Evan Latos, who is working in Saskatoon.

Scoffin related, "We've all got pretty busy lives away from curling and that's important to us as well, whether it's career or family, so we don't necessarily travel and compete as much as we used to. So this is a big one for us."

Speaking of family, Scoffin has also had a major change in his personal life.

He and his wife Kim now have a baby girl, Malia.

"It's been fantastic," exclaimed Scoffin. "We're just coming up to a year old in early November here. So yeah, it's been amazing. Definitely lots of changes and new things to get used to but I wouldn't trade it for the world."

Scoffin was asked what effect the new addition to his family has had on his curling career.

"I wouldn't say it's had a direct impact on the career itself," he replied. "Last year, we were still able to represent the Yukon at the Brier and we had a great week. Joe's got a little one as well. So we're kind of used to everyone coming in and balancing a whole bunch of things, not just curling, so definitely I think the biggest change is, while it might be a little bit less time spent practicing, you also get a massive shift in perspective, really recognizing what's important.

Sometimes the losses don't sting as much.

"The grind can definitely wear you down over time. And it's not an easy game by any means. And there's a lot of good teams out there obviously. So we're always kind of up against it and it's nice to have those other things in life to keep you going that are important."

The Scoffin rink experienced some success at the 2023 Brier in London, finishing with a 2-6 record.

"It was a great showing. We had a lot of really great games. We definitely achieved our goals that we had set out at the beginning of the week. And also, we know that we left a little bit on the table so we're hungry for a little bit more and looking forward to getting back there."

The 2024 Brier takes place in early March in Regina. Scoffin hopes to be there.

"Nothing's guaranteed and we certainly don't take it for granted. But we're definitely working hard towards it. And I'm really looking forward to the opportunity to have a chance of representing the Yukon again."

The territorial play-down for the right to compete in the Brier takes place in January.

Scoffin added anyone wanting to purchase a calendar can do so online at https://www.thecommunityfundraiser.com/curlingcares and use promo code FTLOC for a $5 discount. The proceeds will be directed to the Love of Curling cause Scoffin is supporting.

Calendar sales and targeted athlete model efforts in support of Curling Canada’s For the Love of Curling program have raised more than $140,055 since 2015.

Since 2014, the Curling Cares fundraising project has raised over CDN $800,000 for multiple charities in 10 different countries.