They're three athletes who have enjoyed great success at an early age.

So who better to represent Kamloops at the first Winter Youth Olympic Games?

Corryn Brown, a curler, and hockey players Ryan Gropp and Joe Hicketts are scheduled to head to Innsbruck, Austria, in the new year for the multisport event, geared toward the world's best athletes between the ages of 14 and 18. The competition runs Jan. 13-22, but the Kamloopsians and their Canadian teammates will head overseas on Jan. 9.

Brown learned of her inclusion on the Canadian team in March, and has since bounced around the country with rinkmates Emily Gray of O'Leary, P.E.I., Derek Oryniak of Winnipeg and Thomas Scoffin of Whitehorse.

Hicketts and Gropp, long-time teammates on Kamloops Minor Hockey rep teams and now at Penticton's Okanagan Hockey Academy, got the call in October.

And they're in agreement - it's going to be an awesome experience.

"I've been thinking about it and I'm excited for it," says Gropp, a 15-year-old forward. "Putting on that jersey and seeing the Canadian flag is going to bring some pretty cool emotions and I'm really looking forward to it."

The Canadian boys hockey team will feature 17 players from all over Canada; Hicketts and Gropp are the only players from B.C.

They're close friends, and also know a handful of their teammates from an NHLPA mentorship camp in Mississauga in August. They'll also have some fans in the crowd.

"My mom and dad are going over there," says Hicketts, a defenceman who also is 15. "It's good to have family over there to support you and cheer you on, but if they weren't there, I don't think I would play any differently.

"But their support means a lot to me."

Brown, 16, has had nine months to prepare for the Youth Olympics, but didn't know her teammates when she got the news.

Since word got out - the team was announced to the public during a playoff game at the world men's curling championship in Regina in April - the rinkmates have met up in Vancouver, Edmonton, Brandon, Ottawa and Halifax.

Brown has used the time to get used to a new position - she is used to skipping her own rink, but she will be throwing third stones in Innsbruck, with Scoffin skipping.

"Thomas and I have been getting along really well," Brown says. "We have really similar strategies, so I really haven't been questioning anything he's done."

Brown is used to playing with and against women, but being part of a mixed team isn't a concern for her.

"My (regular) team, we're able to throw the big weight, like the men," she says. "I've been coached by my dad (Ken) my whole life, so I kind of have the men's mentality on the ice. I'm used to playing big weight . . . so it hasn't been a big change."

Although the Youth Olympics aren't as big as a regular Olympic event, organizers are expecting 1,100 athletes from 60 countries for the 10-day spectacle. In many ways, it is run the same way as the regular Olympics, and all three athletes will be staying in the athletes' village.

The hockey competition will feature a five-team round-robin. Joining the Canadians are squads from the U.S., Finland, Russia and, of course, Austria.

Hockey . . . Canada . . . There undoubtedly will be some pride at stake.

"I think so," Gropp says. "Canada's always had the reputation of being a hockey country and hopefully we live up to that when we get there."

If Gropp and Hicketts have one thing going for them, it's that they have plenty of experience against tough competition this season.

They helped Team B.C. win a bronze medal at the Western Canada Under-16 Challenge Cup in Moose Jaw, and have played 18 games with OHA's prep team this season.

In fact, after Christmas, the boys and their OHA teammates will take part in a Calgary tournament featuring Canadian teams and others from Slovakia and Russia. They also will compete in a Kelowna tournament in the new year.

Hicketts, who has played at summer tournaments in Sweden and Russia, is getting to be an old hand at international competition.

"It shouldn't be that hard to adjust, I've played other countries before," Hicketts says. "Just me and Ryan, getting the opportunity to play the Finnish and Slovakian under-17 teams in Calgary will give us a taste of what it looks like over there in Austria."

That's not to say that Brown doesn't also have a full schedule ahead.

She and her full-time rink are off to Victoria for the provincial junior women's championship, which starts Monday, and she also will take part in a juvenile zone qualifier from Jan. 6-8, right before she is scheduled to depart for Austria.

And the Youth Olympics curling event actually will feature two competitions. After the Canadians play in the regular 16-team mixed tournament, they will be divided up and paired with a curler from another team for a round of mixed doubles.

"I think that's cool," Brown says. "There might be a language barrier, so I'm interested in seeing how we adjust to it.

"We'll see how it goes, but I think it will be cool to play with someone other than your team."

mhunter@kamloopsnews.ca