Strathmore Curling Club adding two new leagues!

The Strathmore and District Curling Club are preparing for another great season, and this time they'll be introducing two new leagues into the mix.

On top of the already existing men's, ladies', junior, mixed, and afternoon leagues, the club is now introducing a beginner league and a sturling league.

Past President and current board member Dick Frayn is excited to bring in these new leagues and is looking forward to introducing turling to Strathmore. Frayn explained sturling is different than regular curling, as there are only two-person teams, and you can't sweep from outside the hog line.

"It's fast, it's exciting. The game only takes about an hour and 10 minutes instead of being up there for over 2 hours on a normal curling game. Sturling is taking off tremendously in Airdrie, Chestermere, and Carstairs, so we thought that we would get on the ball and get that started and go from there," he said 

If you've never curled, that won't be a problem, as the club is holding their Learn to Curl clinic from October 17-21 and the league starts on October 24. If you're worried that you don't have enough experience, that also won't be an issue, as the new Beginner League is welcoming of anybody with less than three years of experience. It will also have instructors to teach you the sport.

Frayn emphasized the inclusiveness of curling; he said the sport is open to all ages and all abilities! As long as you're eight years old or older, there will be a league for you.

"It's fun, it's family orientated. If you want to get your kids into curling, they can start out in the Junior League and go on, the sky's the limit. If you look at the people that are curling in the Brier for instance, we've had people curling in the Alberta playdowns from Strathmore."

The club is also happy to bring in older people as well, and if you think it might be a problem to throw the rock, Frayn explained you can still play even if the traditional throwing stance isn't for you.

"You can curl till you're 90 if you can. You can throw with a stick and we'll instruct with that as well. You can throw either sliding, a normal throw, or you can throw with a curling stick. Basically, you push the rock out to the hog line and let it go before the hog line just like any other delivery." 

On top of this, the club also builds a community outside of curling itself, so it's a great way to meet new people and have fun doing it.

"For adults, we have a very good lounge for after your game you can sit and have a drink. We have a kitchen so you can have a bite to eat, have a drink, and then go home."

The Strathmore Curling Club will have their Opening Meeting this Wednesday, September 28, at 6:30, with wine and cheese to start the evening followed by the annual meeting.

The teams are ready to get back on the ice in full force this season and encourage those who may be new to the sport or just want to come down and watch to stop by the curling rink. More details for the upcoming leagues, events, the October 50/50 raffle, and tournaments can be found strathmorecurling.ca

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