This is the last week for curling in Banff for 18 months! The Recreation Centre is being rebuilt and curlers are both sad and happy. We are sad because our present rink was built in 1960 with 8 sheets and holds many memories. Our Club is over 100 years old. We look forward to four new sheets of ice in the fall of 2010. I noticed on the TV that there are about 1.7 million curlers in the world and 93% are in Canada.
Today I am giving a curling lesson for about 35 students from Grade 2 - which is a daunting experience. I had this same group last year as Grade 1 students and it was a wild, nerve racking experience. They arrive, all with protective helmets, oodles of energy all ready to go! This year I am prepared with the lessons I learned: be there first and set the ground rules, recruit teachers and parents and give them specific assignments, watch out for the boys who want to use their classmates as bowling pins and be sure to look confident!
I survived Grade 2! Note the signs of success and safety: everyone wearing helmets of some sort, all students sitting down waiting in line for their turn throwing the "junior rocks", teachers and proud parents helping out and taking photos of their loved ones. I turned my back at one point and discovered some children bouncing the rocks on the ice and enjoying the "pretty" shattered ice designs - oops sorry Mr. Ice Man! Some quotable quotes include "Why do you say "throw the rocks when we cannot pick them up?" and "When do we use the brooms? - my quick response was Grade 3". All the children had fun and many of them exhibited pin-point accuracy that many adults would envy. We do not have a Junior Members Club in Banff which is our next challenge. Clearly this is where we must start!
When all was over I brought our Thomas the Tractor to clean up!
