INNISFAIL – Junior curlers stand to benefit from a recent EQUS grant.
The company recently provided the Innisfail junior curling program with a $3,000 grant through its Operation Round Up, a program that supports projects and initiatives for seniors, youth and children in rural communities.
“We like to keep curling affordable (for kids). The donation from EQUS really helps us to replenish the old equipment that we had,” said Nancy McInerney, junior program chair.
The funds will be used to purchase brooms, grippers and sliders, she noted. “First-time (curlers) use that equipment and also when the school groups come, it’s available to them,” said McInerney.
McInerney said this year there are close to 50 curlers in the junior curling program. She added there are 16 junior curlers known as "big rocks," ages 12 and over and 32 "little rocks," ages seven to 12.
“With our little rock kids, we’ve probably doubled (in size) since last year,” said McInerney.
The program also had a couple of bonspiels this season for junior curlers to participate in.
“We had a U18/U15 bonspiel and we had a couple of teams from here participate in that and then we had a rocker bonspiel, where the younger kids got to play with their parents,” she said.
The junior curling program will finish its season at the end of March.
Lowell Peterman, the manager of the Innisfail Curling Club, said members were thrilled to receive the grant from EQUS this year.
“We heard about it (Operation Round Up). We put in a bid for it and told them what we needed,” said Peterman. “Their focus is on rural communities and a lot of the kids that are in the junior curling program are (from rural areas).
“We applied for the grant and we were lucky enough to get $3,000,” he added, noting the donation came at the end of February.
He said this grant will go a long way to help support the youth and junior curling program in Innisfail.
“Our junior curlers are the future of our sport and we need to keep them coming back,” said Peterman.
