KidSport NWT has appointed the first ambassador for the Northwest Territories.
Kerry Galusha a long time and well accomplished curler born and raised in the territory will be the face of the program in the NWT. As the face of the program Galusha said she will now help to promote the program on social media and at different events the organization holds.
“I feel very honoured that the organization asked me because there's some pretty big NWT athletes out there so for me to be picked as the first ambassador is special,” said Galusha.
Galusha is best known as being one of the NWT's finest curlers appearing in 15 Scotties Tournament of Hearts and five Canadian Junior Championships. She has reached as high as the 37th ranked team in the country. Galusha will now join the likes of Jarome Iginla, Hayley Wickenheiser and Farhan Lalji as ambassadors for the program.
“I think it'll be really good for the program itself and for me just to be the face of the program and promote it, I think it could do a good job promoting it, I don't think it's well known in the NWT,” said Galusha. “The program is basically about getting kids in sports, because it is very important that kids are active, but not all kids can afford to play sports because it is expensive.”
KidSport NWT helps to promote participation in sport among youth in the territory. The program provides grants both to individuals and organizations in order to purchase equipment and help with registration fees. According to the programs website 3,700 kids have received close to $400,000 in funding.
“With Kerry as an ambassador of KidSport NWT, we are hoping to raise awareness about the program across the territory,” stated Doug Rentmeister in a news release. “We want kids to see that, if a young girl from Yellowknife can play on the International stage and have her games aired on Sportsnet, that they too can dream big.”
Galusha already has experience both with the KidSport program and with promoting sport among youth. She encouraged her own daughter to find an activity she enjoyed, which turned out to include curling. She then volunteered with the local curling club and applied for funding through the program.
"I have a 9 year old daughter who I've encouraged to do something that she likes, that ended up being Basketball, Curling and Swimming. If I can promote my daughter to get involved, I can get others to,” said Galusha. “When I coached youth teams at the local curling club, we applied and got the community grant from KidSport. I have seen first hand the benefits this program can have on the kids.”
Galusha's two brothers, Kevin and Jamie Koe, are national and international level curlers, with Kevin representing Team Canada at the 2018 Winter Olympics.