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www.oakvillebeaver.com The Oakville Beaver Weekend, Saturday December 20, 2008 - 33 Students say recreational curling league rocks Less competitive atmosphere helps introduce high schoolers to the sport, learn fundamentals By Herb Garbutt OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF The curler settles into the hack and carefully studies the collection of rocks at the far end of the sheet of ice. He processes the instructions from his teammate -- half turn, in turn, draw weight. He draws the rock back and begins carefully begins to execute the shot. He slides across the ice and slowly lifts his hand off the rock. Then he tumbles to the ice with a thud and bursts into laughter. So do his teammates, who momentarily forget they are supposed to be sweeping his rock. It's a Wednesday afternoon, the second of two days for Halton's high school curling league. Every sheet at the Oakville Curling Club is filled. Four years ago, there were five schools participating in the recreational league. There are now nine schools fielding 28 teams -- not to mention 16 more from 13 schools in the competitive league. Every school but one in the recreational league has multiple teams, with Oakville Trafalgar and T.A. Blakelock leading the way with five each. T.A. Blakelock teacher Jason Murray, who served as the league's convenor for three years, says the reason for growth of the league is that curling appeals to students who might otherwise not get involved in sports. "You get a different type of kid, the ones that are not typically going to try out for basketball or football," Murray said. Corinne Burton, who took over as convenor from Murray this year, said it also provides an outlet for students who want to be active but may not be able to make another team. "At our school (OT), you have 40 kids going out for 10 spots on the volleyball team," she said. "(With curling) there's no pressure. They can have fun with it." At OT alone, the number of curlers jumped from 15 to 27 this year. Burton said they couldn't offer a boys program because they didn't have enough coaches but in terms of the girls, they took "anyone who came out. You want to curl, you're in." "It's not intimidating," said Charlotte McCurry, a Grade 11 student at OT who had not played before. "In basketball you're so scared to mess up. This is fun." "It's a fun game and it's not super competitive," said Blakelock's James Dean. "I guess a lot of people don't know about it." Teams play four-end games -- games in the competitive division are two hours or eight ends. Murray said the Oakville Curling Club has also played a key role in the growth of the league. It donates three hours of ice time on Mondays and Wednesdays. "They really get it," he said. "They understand how important it is introducing kids to the sport." While the most curlers in the competitive league are already members of a club, Murray said many first-time high school curlers have since joined youth leagues. Murray believes high school kids might discount curling because they don't see it as a challenging sport. "It's good to see them struggle at the beginning because they realize it's tougher than they originally thought," he said. Murray was "forced" into curling at the age of 12 by his grandfather, who was looking to occupy his grandson's time after school. Murray would be picked up after school and taken to the local curling rink. He continues to curl today at the Burlington Curling Club. In addition to introducing kids to the sport, what Murray enjoys most is watching them improve. "You see an exponential growth in their ability. Some have never curled and they struggle just to not fall over. Now five or six games in, you see them sliding to the hog line, getting their draw weight down. It's exciting to see the progression." "It's something new, something to improve on," said Grade 10 Blakelock student Nick Strachan. "We love it," said OT curler Kelley Hadfield. "It's the highlight of the week." HOUSELEAGUE BOYS AND GIRLS Monday Dec 29th Novice · Tyke th Tuesday Dec 30 Minor Atom · Atom Wednesday D W d d Dec 31st Minor Bantam (to 12 noon) r PeeWee · Pee Wee RON KUZYK / OAKVILLE BEAVER SKIP, SLIDE AND AWAY: Loyola skip Carli Bee delivers a shot in a recent game against Lester B. Pearson. Halton's recreational curling league has more than doubled in size in the last four years as students try their hand at a new sport. Games · 4 Games Guaranteed d Kessler named to Canadian U-22 team Oakville's Christina Kessler has been named to the Canadian women's under-22 team that will compete at the MLP Cup in January. The 20-year-old netminder is a junior at Harvard where she won the East Coast Athletic Conference goaltender of the year last season. She set a single season NCAA record with 12 shutouts while posting a 1.06 average and .952 save percentage in 32 games. Canada will be after its seventh straight gold medal at the MLP Cup (formerly known as the Air Canada Cup) when the tournament begins January 2 in Ravensburg, Germany. Canada, Finland, Russia, Germany, Sweden and Switzerland will take part in the tournament. Blade sparks Team East win Lindsay Sparks had a goal and two assists to lead Team East to a 6-3 win over Team West at the Canadian Junior Hockey League Prospects Game. The fourth annual game, played Wednesday in Summerside, P.E.I., showcases the top 40 draft eligible junior A players in Canada. Tavares named to Top Prospects team Oakville's John Tavares will have another chance to showcase his skills when he returns from the World Junior Hockey Championships. Tavares has been named to the Canadian Hockey League Top Prospects Game, which will be played Jan. 14 in Oshawa. NHL general managers and NHL Central Scouting select the teams. NHL Central Scouting rates Tavares as the top North American skater for the NHL draft, though the top pick is expected to come down to him and Swedish defenceman Victor Hedman. Team Entries R Welcome REGISTE ED LIMIT NSOAWS! P CE e2ice.ca For more info or to register contact Gil Nieuwendyk Tel: 905-842-2423 Ext. 1002 or Email: gnieuwendyk@ice2ice.ca 1111 Speers Road, Oakville, ON L6L 2X5