Curling and Education

Floor Curling

Floor Curling is a team sport adapted from the more traditional game of curling and is fully inclusive. It is a great preparation prior to experiencing the first session on ice.

Floor Curling is an ideal activity for a wide variety of groups (both adults and children). It is already well used within many schools, disability groups and groups focusing on getting inactive people active.

The object of the game is to deliver as many of your stones closer to the center of the tarfet – ‘house’ (a vinyl mat) – than your opponents.

Floor Curling resources can be found here.

Information about Floor Curling equipment can be found here.

Curling Resource Pack for Primary Schools

The Curling Resource Pack for Primary Schools has a number of curling activities for both the classroom and PE hall, with an exciting and education introduction to the sport for primary pupils. Included within the resource are a number of sessions plans for Floor Curling, which can be incorporated into curriculum PE lessons or used to structure extracurricular clubs.

The Curling Resource Pack is designed as a precursor for the Curling’s Cool programme which see pupils in P7 attend a 4 week block of sessions at their local ice rink.

Schools can register for the resource here

Curling’s Cool

Curling is a highly inclusive sport that caters for all ability levels, incorporates educational elements and is great fun for pupils. Curling’s Cool is a Scottish Curling development programme delivered at ice rinks throughout Scotland to primary 6 & 7 school pupils.

Benefits of participation in Curling’s Cool include:

• Health & Fitness
• Leadership development
• Transferable skills; team work and communication
• Lessons of endeavour, of winning and losing
• Individual challenge
• Building confidence
• Improvement in social well-being
• Sense of achievement

Curling’s Cool provides pupils with an introduction to curling through on ice sessions at a local rink. All sessions are led by qualified Scottish Curling coaches who aim to provide all participants with a positive learning experience.

Coaches provide instruction and a variety of fun drills to teach pupils the basics of the game including:

• Safety awareness
• Delivery technique
• Sweeping technique
• Team communication skills
• Tactics and basic shot signals
• Game rules

On completion of the programme, each pupil receives a Curling’s Cool certificate.

Many ice rinks also host an inter-school curling competition for each class that has participated in the Curling’s Cool programme during the season.

Over 4000 pupils took part in the Curling’s Cool programme in 2019-20.

The photos were taken as schools across South Ayrshire enjoyed a Curling’s Cool session.

Coaching Resources and session plans can be found here.

 

If your school wants to get involved contact your local Development Manager

 

Secondary School

Focus on Fife – Partnering with local college sports students and Active Schools to deliver a pilot Secondary Schools Curling’s Cool initiative in Kirkcaldy

Rationale:
With Junior Club numbers under strain despite a comprehensive Primary aged Curling’s Cool programme, an intervention was sought to inject new impetus in the teenage years. Learning was taken from Dumfries where the local sports students where trained as a daytime workforce to expand upon existing, and time poor in many cases, Curling coaching volunteers. With a workforce and a largely untapped market the programme had a firm rationale for commencing.

Methods:

• Scottish Curling Development Manager facilitating initial meetings between Fife College staff and Kirkcaldy Curling’s School (de facto Development Group) and local authority Active Schools Coordinators.
• Scottish Curling Workforce Development manager liaising with local development lead volunteer to deliver a ‘Ready, Steady, Curl’ level 0 coaching course for students on and off ice ahead of programme commencing
• Delivery by students, supported by some KCS volunteers, to two local Secondary Schools who were within walking distance

Results:
The Ready, Steady, Curl had 32 student attendees. Fife Active Schools secured commitment from four local Secondary Schools, however it was the two who could walk to the rink Balwearie High School and Kirkcaldy HS, that attended before the COVI19 outbreak saw the programme halted.

64 pupils attended sessions (limited to 16 pupils per visit due to ice cost and capacity) before the COVID-19 crisis put paid to the initiative for the season. The consensus is the programme will return in 2020/21, or as soon as government restrictions permit so we can see impact on Junior Club membership.

Discussion:
The partnership has been successful in syncing together Scottish Curling, Kirkcaldy Curling’s School, Fife College, Fife Active Schools and local schools to deliver a programme of much promise. The aims are to enthuse more young people to take up Curling and join the Junior Club from the local Secondary Schools, with many having tried Curling several years before during the Primary programme run by Kirkcaldy Curling’s School

The main limitation of the project in its pilot year was largely the uncontrollable of COVID19 curtailing the running of sessions by the college students to the local High School pupils. This in turn means we do not have an indication of the impact on the membership of the Junior Club. This frustrating but necessary curtailment of the initiative adds further momentum to the drive to get a foot hold in the schools to see an increase in young curlers and also, see interest in school teams for the Scottish Schools Championship. St Andrews HS and Viewforth High School where unable to attend due to the COVID19 outbreak.

A by product of the enjoyment of the college students studying their HND courses has been moves, understandably on pause due to the COVI19  situation, led by them, the Fife College Students Association, Scottish Student Sport and with the support of KCS and Scottish Curling, to establish a college club/team that would be part of the Virtual Club membership but work towards competing in the SSS (Scottish Student Sport) League or end of season tournament. When outside factors allow and the initiative can be reinstated, then its value to curling can be more accurately assessed.

Some reflections:
“We encouraged the students to be pro-active and asked them to produce session plans, take the warm-up sessions and coach the kids under the supervision of our Curling School coaches.

During the season all the Students developed their communication, technical and people skills which will stand them in good stead irrespective of what career they progress to.”

Bill Creevy, Chair Kirkcaldy Curling’s Cool/Fife Curling Development Group

“I was delighted the Secondary Schools partnership led to us being able to offer tickets to the schools for the World Men’s Curling Championships”

Robert Fraser, Fife Active Schools Co-ordinator (Kirkcaldy HS Cluster)

“We really like the offer from Curling as it helps our students be less of a ‘carbon copy’ and get coaching experience in a sport out with the usual suspects many choose to focus on and for which competition for jobs is fierce.”

Greg Stewart, Fife College – Academic and Quality Lead – Media and Sport

Schools Championships

Scottish Curling host an annual Schools Championship, for children in Secondary Schools.

 

Student Curling

Scottish Curling and Scottish Student Sport (SSS) jointly support the development of curling in universities and colleges across Scotland.

Find out more about Student curling here.