National champ teaches 80 students to curl

About 80 École Deer Meadow School grades 6-8 students came out to the Olds Curling Rink this past Thursday to learn how to curl from a former national and world junior curling champion – Heather Nedohin.

It was the fourth and likely last stop this season for the Learn To Curl program, sponsored by the Federation of Alberta Gas Co-ops, which includes Foothills Gas Co-op in Mountain View County. This was the third season for the program.

"It's just an opportunity for a past Canadian champion to get out into the community and let our youth experience the sport of curling live on ice," Nedohin told reporters.

"Coming from a rural community myself, I just know the importance of getting out and allowing kids to experience curling on ice and getting out of the gym and going and having that full experience."

She said several of the kids play hockey, soccer or school sports.

"At first I would say, most of them feel ‘ahh, it's just curling.' Then you hear once they experience it on ice, ‘that was a lot of fun. That was harder than I expected it to be,'" Nedohin said.

"So I think there's a huge learning curve and appreciation for the difficulty of the game and then more of an ‘oh, can I come and try it again?'"

She said teaching them about strategy is something that could come later. The main thing now was to let them see that the game is fun.

Nedohin said a lot of skills or talents from other sports are transferable to curling.

"You need strong core strength, you need endurance," she said. "I think a lot of the kids realized sweeping is extremely hard. And so I think there's a really huge appreciation for how easy we look on TV to what it feels like out on ice."

Grade 6 student Leyton Fazakas was one of the kids who gave curling a try.

He said he found the sweeping to be the most fun and challenging at the same time, especially if he was sweeping closest to the rock.

When asked why, Fazarkas said, "because you're trying not to touch the rock. It's much more complicated than the other side."

Fazarkas also tried his hand at throwing the rock and managed to get into the house (the coloured rings). He also found that to be fun. He said the challenge there was "knowing the right turn to do."

Until now, when he played sports, Fazarkas has mostly played golf or gone bowling. He said he found curling fun enough that he'd probably try it again – maybe even play in a league.

He said he'll have a better appreciation for watching curling in the Winter Olympics now on in PyeongChang, South Korea, now that he knows first-hand what it's like to do things like throw the rock or sweep.

Nedohin thanked the students for coming out and learning how to curl.

She pointed out it's a game people of all ages can play.

"That's the joy that we have in the sport of curling. Whether you're five, eight, 10 or in your 80s, it's a sport you can play for life," she said. "It's a sport that, if you're physically challenged, you can play in a wheelchair. If you need to, you can use a stick.

"Talk to your parents or your grandparents or your neighbours who curl. Come out and try it again."

Nedohin also urged them to cheer for Canadian teams in the Winter Olympics.

"So be loud, be proud and cheer for our Canadians at the upcoming Olympics. We need to hear your cheers because they can feel it all the way to Korea," she said.

Federation of Alberta Gas Co-ops manager of communications Kevin Crush said this marks the third year they've sponsored the Learn To Curl program.

"As a co-operative, one of the things that we do is we try to show concern for the community. So we want to make sure that youth across Alberta are involved in – something. It doesn't really matter what," he said.

"Curling is what we've chosen because it's a fantastic sport. It's a sport that can be done by all ages – from young to old. We just want our kids to be active out there."

Crush said Nedohin has been perfect for the program.

"She's been fantastic," he said. "She has a full-time job, she has a family, she has a lot on her plate, but she's always happy to come out and teach these rural kids how to curl.

"It's her passion, it's her life; and you can see it in how she instructs the kids and the enthusiasm that she's been able to give to the kids," he added.

"And I've got to say – these kids from Deer Meadow School today have been one of the most fantastic groups that we've had so far. They were just incredible out there. They got better really quick; it was fascinating to see. But also just the fact that they were so happy to be here."

Foothills Natural Gas Co-op manager John Armstrong was also pleased to see all the kids at the rink learning the game.

"I think it means a lot, just to be able to offer something to the local kids in the area to go out and have a good time, learn the game of curling from a (former) world champion and I think it's a great thing for the town of Olds," he said.