With 21 rinks across the country, there’s never been a better time to Try Curling
IF SCOTLAND bonds over one thing, it’s sport. And when we are successful, it unites us even more.
Consequently, some of our most euphoric nights in the past few decades have been spent cheering on our national curling teams.
So how can we be part of our great sporting tradition and take part in a sport that can drag us off our sofa through the winter?
It couldn’t be easier to have a go at curling. The 21 ice rinks across Scotland offer more than 500 Try Curling sessions designed to give anyone a taste of the sport and to teach the key skills to get into curling.
These Try Curling sessions are open to everyone and anyone. There’s a website that shows where and when the sessions are taking place – simply visit
www.trycurling.com, look for your nearest rink, and book a session.
The sessions happen at different times of day to accommodate the schedules of all ages, whether you’re in education, in work or retired and cost an average price of around £5, with some rinks even offering free sessions.
The cost includes all equipment, including brushes and sliders.
All you need is warm, loose-fitting or otherwise sporty clothing, and clean, flat, rubber-soled shoes – trainers are ideal.
Many rinks also offer dedicated Junior, Family, Wheelchair, and Disability Try Curling sessions.
What can you expect? Well, generally the Try Curling sessions last about an hour.
Like any sport, it starts with a warm-up to stretch the muscles and then it’s time to get on the ice. When you’ve become comfortable and confident moving around, it’s time to start learning curling delivery and sweeping, with opportunities to practice technique before starting to play games of curling.
As any sport, curling is great for your physical health and, often described as ‘chess on ice’ due to its tactical thinking and shot making, it gives your brain a workout too!
More than anything, curling is great fun, on the ice and off it. You will make friends for life and have the best time while playing and while socialising.
Try Curling is the perfect way to have a go at the sport. The next steps in curling will be beginner classes or joining a gateway club at your local rink.
It’s the accessibility and inclusivity of curling that makes it such an ideal Scottish sport – opportunities and variations are available to enable everyone, regardless of age and ability, to play on the same sheet of ice.
curling is also a game that requires thought and is often described as “chess on ice” due to its tactical thinking and shot-making.
More than anything, curling is great fun, on the ice and off it. You will make friends for life and have the best time while playing and while socialising – drinks on the winning team!
“First and foremost curling is a really social sport,” says Tom Brewster, manager of Curl Aberdeen. “Particularly during the winter, being an indoor sport, it’s something that can get people in and out of the rain. It really is a sport where you can come along and play alongside and against people of all different ages and abilities – I think that, and the great social aspect, is one of the reasons why people play.
“Here we’re set up as a club, which is a not-for-profit organisation. The rink is members owned and we’re a close-knit group and all our coaches are voluntary.
“During the day people will play a game and then sit in the bar and socialise. When you win a game on curling, you buy your opponent a drink. When we come off the ice we sit down with opponents, which is different from other sports.”
As Tom also points out Scotland has done well over the years in the sport. We’re among the countries that are always going to be knocking on the door for medals because we have not only the history and the knowledge, but also the facilities to keep the country at the forefront of the sport.
There are sessions throughout Scotland during the next couple of months. For example, at Dewar’s Ice Rink in Perth alone, there are Try Curling sessions on November 10 and 19 and December 2, 2 and 10 – sometimes two sessions a day – so there will be a time and location to suit.
A parent recently contacted Curl Aberdeen to say: “Thanks so much for fitting my daughter and her friends in for the come and try session on Sunday. They had a great time and you could really see their confidence growing the longer they spent on the ice. Malcolm (Watson, coach) was very good at explaining the basics of the sport and built us up to throwing the stones in manageable stages. It is a very attractive price for a taster too, so that was appreciated.”
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