IT'S HAMMERTIME: A Little Rock, under the watchful eye of his coach, sends his stone down the ice. Unlike hockey, the ice surface for curling is beveled, due to the water droplets that freeze on top. (Brian Baker/Vaughan Today)
Seven-year-old Theo Ferreira is at a loss for words as to why he likes curling, but he knows it definitely rocks.
Under the bright lights of the High Park Club, Theo hits the ice with his peers, the Little Rocks, all dressed in toques, winter coats and big smiles, while Theo’s parents sit snug watching in the lounge.
“I think for a kid it’s very attractive on television, the way it’s broadcast — the bright colours, the circles and the ice. It looks enticing for a kid,” says Theo’s father, Nelson.
Though Theo has only been curling for a week, he has skipped out of the hack right from the get-go.
“We went to the open house … and he loved it,” says his father. “(Theo) was watching TV when we were at our other son’s hockey game and I noticed he was transfixed on the screen, and he asked me, ‘Daddy what is this game?’ I said: ‘It’s curling,’ and he said, ‘Can you sign me up?’ ”
It’s the perfect sport for kids who aren’t interested in hockey, says Toronto Curling Association president Beth Woolnough, who compares it to chess on ice.
“It’s a good alternative for kids because it’s a non-contact sport, and while it does have good exercise, it’s a strategic sport,” she says. “So it would appeal to the children that are more into thinking and planning, rather than those (who) just like to have full-on physical activity … it combines the best of both worlds.”
And the benefit for parents is the sport’s low cost.
“They don’t need to buy hundreds of dollars worth of equipment,” Woolnough says. “All you need is a clean pair of running shoes and away you go.”
If kids continue on with curling, parents will have to eventually pay for a pair of shoes, $250 at most, and a broom, $100.
But in the early stages, clubs will provide equipment for the young skips-to-be.
And for those who think curling is a boring sport, Trudi Plummer, manager of Leaside Curling Club, has news for them.
“It’s highly addictive — it is social, you’re getting physical activity, you’re getting a good cardio workout when you’re sweeping,” she says. “You’ve got four on a team. Every week you’re going to be playing four new people. It’s just a very friendly sport.”
And it’s also becoming popular with newcomers to Canada, says Plummer.
Abbie Darnley, manager of the High Park Club, is equally as enthusiastic.
“It’s definitely something obviously different that not a lot of people have played before,” she says. “Even in the U.S. it’s not something you find. A lot of different states have not picked (it) up yet. But it’s definitely a sport that’s growing.”
This February, the High Park Club will host the Ontario High School championship on their five curling sheets.
Those bonspiels, or tournaments, are what has kept Darnley, who started when she was six, curling for the past 20 years.
“What I can say is, the reason why I’m still in the sport, is they offer a lot of provincial championships: the OFSSA championships, the high school championships, the Gore. Those events that the kids will do in high school … those events are the reason why I stay in curling,” she says. “They’re so much fun, you meet so many people, you go off for a weekend or a week depending on what’s going on.
“You meet kids your age from all over Ontario and you basically compete on the ice.”
And the best part of all, according Plummer, is the sportsmanship instilled in all who participate.
“You shake hands when you start the game, you shake hands when you finish the game, of course you buy the losers a drink, but the losers must reciprocate. And what you’re doing is getting them to sit down and chat,” she says. “There’s a lot of networking happening when you sit down and you get to see each other week upon week, which is extremely social.”
