Briarcliff Teen Selected to Join U.S. National Junior Men's Curling Team

When Briarcliff Manor resident Andrew Stopera was just 8, his father Bill introduced him to the sport of curling. Bill curled as a child and was the U.S. Men’s Curling National Champion in 2012. Andrew began curling competitively in junior events five years ago.

Andrew, now 16, is following in his father’s footsteps and was recently selected to join the U.S. National Junior Men’s High Performance Curling team. He beat out nine males from around the country and was chosen to fill one of the five spots on the team.

According to the Team USA website, players “were assessed on technical, tactical, physical and mental skills both on and off the ice at the Athlete Combine held July 19-23 at the Four Seasons Curling Club. Those invited into the HPP will have a clear understanding of expectations, commitments, competition and training schedules as well as funding. Performance goals, targets and measurements will be set and these will be reviewed throughout the year.”

Andrew and his team won a silver medal recently in the 2014 Junior National Championships. In 2013, the same team took the bronze medal. Andrew will go to the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs at the end of August to begin training with his team for the upcoming season.

He will then travel to Blaine, MN for training to compete in tournaments in the fall and winter. The highlight of the competitions will be the 2015 U.S. Junior Men’s Nationals, which will be held in January in Devil’s Lake, North Dakota.

Photo: Andrew (second from left) and his team just after they won the silver medal earlier this year. Photo credit: Perri Stopera.