Curtis and Stephanie Dracz, two Canadian expats who met in Beijing in 2013 during a hockey event, wrote their first children’s book last year, Tarps Off! Dominated by hockey lingo and silly illustrations of warm father-son bonding moments, the book is perfect for a fun family read.
As two exceptional sports enthusiasts, Stephanie took her swimming career to the highest level and swam for Team USA in the 2004 Olympics, while Curt built his own career around hockey, Can Life Sports, through self-devised marketing and promotion.
We had the opportunity to chat with Curt and hear about his intent to create the book and his unfathomable love for ice hockey.
Who or what did you and your wife draw your biggest inspiration from when writing this storybook?
Our daughter Avery for sure. The thought was always to give her a story – literally and figuratively. Although the book is about a father and son, it does relate to young children in general. In the early years, shirtless children become quite a natural occurrence. We hope the term “Tarps Off” can live on within the household.
What personal experience sparked the massive use of hockey language in your book Tarps Off?
I found myself reading books to my daughter, pretending to enjoy the books, but never really had a connection to them, so we wrote our own. Stephanie is an educator, so she brought in the academic side, making sure the book made sense and [is]applicable to children’s education. I used inspiration from my life as a hockey player, drawing back on experiences where tarps came off, and together, we softened the term to make it suitable for young children.
Many of us here in China are not entirely familiar with ice hockey. Could you briefly tell us about your experience with it and what it means to you?
Obviously, it would be a personal bias to say that hockey is the best sport in the world, but that’s how I feel about it. It’s a sport that allows me to continue to play in my adult life, gives me the ability to travel around the world, and most importantly, belong to a community.
We learned that you are one of the founders of Can Life Sports Beijing. Could you tell us a bit more about the kind of work you do there and what drove you to your mission?
Can Life Sports has always been about building a culture and lifestyle around the game of hockey. The sport gives us a lot more than just competition, so that’s the part we’re dedicated to. We continue to educate our domestic partners about worldwide sports culture while bridging relationships with our foreign partners on the Chinese way with sport and business.
From writing and editing to illustrating, manufacturing, and eventually publishing, the book took nine months to produce, all of which was done during the pandemic. “It’s easy to let an idea fade away,” says Curt, “but at the end of the day, you’ll learn a ton about the process of telling your own story.”
It’s definitely a fun bedtime read with your kids, especially for those with an immense passion for sports and who enjoy silly goofy family bonding moments!
Support Curt and Stephanie’s storybook Tarps Off!, now available for purchase on Amazon or with the QR code below.
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Images: courtesy of Curtis and Stephanie Dracz
