The Strathmore and District Curling Club hosted a Ready to Rock Try it Day this week, which was a free event to get kids involved in curling. 26 kids attended the free event, where they got the chance to try curling to see if it's something they'd want to continue doing. 

Junior curling coach and volunteer coordinator of the Ready to Rock event Jana Robertson said the event was especially great since it got kids involved that otherwise may not have the opportunity. Robertson explained most people get into curling through a contact, but she hopes events like this opens it up to more people and makes it more accessible.

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"We need to reach out to different members of the community who have never really stepped in the rink before, or maybe have only done it in gym class once or twice and never really got a chance to play the game. We're trying to stress the importance of bringing in new people, more diverse people, anybody into the sport," she said.

As for the day itself, Robertson said it was a huge success. The kids had fun, the parents were impressed with instructor Tyler Powell from Curling Alberta, and many of the kids signed up for the upcoming 8-week program that gets them further involved with curling. This program starts on January 12 and is only $20 to join, as Robertson said Curling Alberta is sponsoring this program and hopes to make it as accessible as possible.

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If you're on the fence about whether or not you should curl, Robertson said there are plenty of benefits beyond just having fun.

"There's teamwork, leadership, listening skills, it's very important to have good communication skills amongst the team of four. Every person on the team is involved in every shot, which is a bit different from maybe some other team sport where there are maybe five or six people playing and the rest are sitting on the bench. So curling is a sport where everybody's involved the whole time."

Robertson added the junior teams will be having their bonspiel on February 24-26 and hopes to see the community come out to the event.

For more details on how to join the club or future events, visit the club's Facebook page or its website.

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