Rox Stars

(Page 4)

By Todd Curran
Turner Valley School students got a chance to experience the sport of curling on January 26th, when volunteers from the Southern Alberta Curling Association (SACA) arrived to present their Curling Rox program.
“We're bringing the sport to schools in rural areas to get the kids involved,” says SACA board member Shannon Gross. With some undersized curling rocks on wheels, the volunteers engage children with games that develop accuracy, scoring, technique and brushing. “These are coaching drills that give the kids hands-on experience,” Shannon says.
The program was conceived when the association discovered that the number of senior curlers was dwindling and few young people were taking up the sport. “We need to get them interested or risk losing our clubs,” says Shannon, a curler for 30 years. “The schools have been phenomenal about bringing the program in and we've received a good response from all age groups.”
The program is inexpensive to run and comes at no cost to the schools, keeping the fun in the sport and perhaps discovering the next generation of curling's rock stars. “We just want to give back to the kids and the sport we love,” Shannon says.
For more information call the Southern Alberta Curling Association at 403-246-9300 or visit www.saca.ca.