Member Association Spotlight: September 2018

Canada’s elementary school curling programme is excited to announce that Canadian egg farmers are extending their support of the Rocks & Rings programme through to 2022. This announcement comes as Egg Farmers Rocks & Rings presented by Curling Canada prepares to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the programme in January 2019.

Since its inception in 2009, Egg Farmers Rocks & Rings presented by Curling Canada has reached close to 1.5 million students, bringing curling education and activities to students in their own school gym.

Canadian egg farmers have been a proud sponsor of Rocks & Rings for two years and their continued support through the next Olympic quadrennial ensures egg farmers will continue to play a vital role in keeping students across Canada active and healthy.

In the first ten years of the programme, Rocks & Rings reached students from coast to coast. With the continued support of Curling Canada and Canadian egg farmers, Rocks & Rings is pleased to share the sport with more Canadian children, including the introduction of Rocks & Rings Tournaments nationwide this season.

News and other information can also be found on the program website rocksandrings.com.

63 campers, 19 Member Associations and one guest country, six Olympians and eight instructors made up the 12th edition of the WCF Prague Adult Curling Camp.

From registration on Sunday evening through to the final class and ice sessions on Thursday afternoon, everyone was busy. Monday evening saw Olympian instructors sit down for a panel discussion about their experiences at the Olympic Winter Games:

1992 Albertville Bronze medallist, Karri Willms, CAN (curling was a demonstration sport)

2014 Sochi Silver medallist, Greg Drummond, GBR

2018 PyeongChang Olympian, Oliver Dupont, DEN

2018 PyeongChang Olympian, Victoria Moiseeva, OAR

In addition, two more Olympians were trying curling for the first time: Alberto Michan, MEX (2008 Beijing team and individual horse jumping) and Elizabeth Swaney, HUN (2018 PyeongChang Freestyle skiing Half-pipe).

There was also a big welcome to Mexico and India, with both countries sending athletes to the camp for the first time.

For more information about all WCF Camps and Courses please follow this link: http://www.worldcurling.org/camps-and-courses

The Flower Bowl Entertainment Centre at Brock in Lancashire, North West England, opened its doors on the Monday 6 August with England’s second curling rink as its centrepiece. The rink has quickly been adopted by Preston Curling Club, England’s oldest Club, who are playing twice a week at the Flower Bowl; this has led to a doubling in membership in just six weeks.

Guy Topping, Managing Director, said, “We are delighted with the response we have had already and have no qualms that curling will become a massive attraction of the venue. Our coffee bar overlooks the rink and people have been fascinated to watch curling in the flesh.”

The Flower Bowl will host its first Bonspiel in October with the Welsh Mixed Bonspiel and The Four Nations will be played there in January. The Flower Bowl is a unique place to hold a Bonspiel with all its other attractions and is well located for days out to Manchester, Liverpool, North Wales and the Lake District.

The World Curling Federation’s most recent development programme - Stepping Stones – found its way to Riga, Latvia in August and was attended by both wheelchair and able-bodied curlers.

Run by the new Head of Development, Scott Arnold, the programme is for Member Associations’ international athletes. Stepping Stones introduces them to tools that will help them with performance and mental analysis. The course also goes into detail about how best to plan out the season so that the athletes can aim to reach their peaks at the right moments.

Discussing the programme, Artis Zentelis, Secretary General of the Latvian Curling Association said, “Curling success does not happen quickly. The technical aspects of the sport can be learned in a relatively short time but perfecting it takes a lot longer. Strategy is ever evolving as are teams. Success can seem to be difficult to achieve.

“I believe that the teams we worked with during the Stepping Stones Programme have the potential to reach their goals, but they must understand that they are now starting the journey and that it will take time. If they believe in the process and themselves, their future is very exciting as international curling athletes representing Latvia.”

Although the summer in Luxembourg showed no signs of relenting in mid-September, the curling season began regardless. Thanks to hard work by club volunteers, the twin ice sheets in the Kokelscheuer complex were ready for the beginning of the 2018-2019 season.

A packed events schedule awaits Luxembourg curlers in the coming weeks and months. First on the calendar will be the annual Coupe de Luxembourg, a competition that serves as an early test of club members' curling prowess.

Results of Coupe de Luxembourg will also give a clearer picture of expectations for the first international event of the season held in Luxembourg, the Four Nations Cup, which brings together teams from Belgium, France, Germany, Luxembourg and one other country nearby.

2018-2019 is shaping up to be a big season for our small curling association.

Curling was chosen as a sporting activity during the 2018 FISU Forum being held in Krasnoyarsk, Russia.

24 teams from 47 countries had the opportunity to try curling for the first time while competing in the Platinum Arena which is the venue for the Universiade 2019 opening and closing ceremonies.

The competitions consisted of one end of curling and two ends of floor curling. First place was awarded to the team from Australia and Italy. The second placed team included players from Costa Rica, Mexico, Malta and Sri Lanka, while Cyprus took third place.

As well as a fun and positive experience on the ice for the participants, they were given further education about curling during a presentation by FISU Technical Delegate, Jeanette Johnston.

Thanks to all those who submitted articles for the September 2018 newsletter.

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