Since the age of 12, Austin Synder has built a successful resume in curling, winning multiple national titles with a long-term aim to qualify for the 2030 French Alps Olympics.
The Brantford native however initially grew up playing a variety of sports competitively, including hockey and tennis until he was bitten by the curling bug.
“I found out about curling when I was about 12 years old [when there] was a professional curling event being held at the Wayne Gretzky Center…I was really curious [and] just went to watch them play. There was something about the sport that really caught my eye, something that really spoke to me,” recalled Snyder. “At the time, I found out that I had two classmates who had curled since they were about six years old [and] they took me down to the Brant Curling Club to throw my first rocks.”
Despite his dedication for the sport, it was a tough first few years for Snyder, yet as he was part of the Little Rock junior program at the Brant Curling Club, which helped him grow his skills.
“From basically the age of 16 until the age of 20…I was arguably one of the more dedicated curlers [but] didn’t see much success during that time…but, I just stuck with it and knew this was the path I needed to be on,” he said. “Before winning those two national championships, I really didn’t know where curling was going to take me, but I just kept at it. I kept training hard.”
Snyder was steered in the right path by several veteran curlers from the area.
“Jay and Chad Allen who were well known in the Ontario curling scene took me under their wings. Jay Allen was the first one who gave me my first-ever curling broom as a junior. And then there was also a gentleman by the name of Terry Corbin, who was also well known on the competitive curling scene. These three men were really instrumental in my interest in pursuing curling on a high level early on,” he recalled.
However, success would eventually knock on Snyder’s door as all the training and hard work paid off; where he and his team captured the Under-21 National Curling Championship in 2022.
“2022 was significant for me [as] it was my last year of under-21 curling. Midway through the season, I got a call from a couple of guys who were well established in the junior ranks in Ontario [and] they asked me to be on the team. It was a no brainer for me, because of their experience and what they had already accomplished…being Ontario champions,” said Snyder. “We entered the provincial championship under 21 which we won. With that win, that granted us access to represent Ontario at the Canadian Junior Nationals in 2022 which we also won. As a result, we got the right to represent Canada the following year at the U21 World Junior Championships in Germany. So that was a big turning moment in curling for me.”
In that same season, Snyder would win gold at the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) championships as a member of the Humber College Hawks curling team. However, since those victories, Snyder has had to adjust to a more competitive level of play.
“After winning those two nationals the natural progression has been to go to the men’s circuit, which is where I’ve been at the last season and this season, which is quite the step up. So as soon as you age out of all the junior level, you’re up against some serious competition,” noted Snyder. “Now, it’s all about gaining experience on a tier two level [and] it’s quite the gap in terms of skill level…I’ve learned over the last few years, that it’s going to take some serious time, a lot of training, money and resources just to be able to put myself in a position to [win].”
However, Snyder has had to sacrifice some other long-term professional goals to dedicate more time in competing in curling at a high level.
“I graduated with an advanced diploma in professional golf management. Golf is a big passion of mine, and I’ve chosen it as my career path, which lends itself nicely with curling, because the two prime seasons are offsetting…I have definitely sacrificed the pursuit of my professional career a little bit, and have totally dedicated myself to curling, when possible,” he stated. “The hardest thing is that there’s not a whole lot of money that comes with curling. Last season was the first season that I ever made money from it…and that means I have had to get creative in other ways.”
Recently, Snyder started his own business offering people curling lessons at the Brant Curling Club, while doing some maintenance work there as well.
“The club has worked closely with me and has allowed me to teach these lessons to people. In return the club gets members that are feeling more confident on the ice. My goals and intentions are to help those people progress and get better and help those who ultimately want to improve. And if these members see they are progressing because of my training I think they’ll want to come to the club more,” he stated.
Nevertheless, for Snyder and his team, the focus is to continue to compete consistently on the provincial, national and ultimately international levels.
“The next level for us is essentially getting to the Grand Slam of curling event, which is tier two first, and then into tier one, which is to win the Ontario Men Tankard…this is every team’s goal which is to win the tankard and represent Ontario at the Brier. So that’s the yearly goal. And then on a four-year cycle, the goal would be qualifying for the Olympic trials and getting a shot to represent Canada at the Olympics,” stated Snyder.
