LIVING

Why you should try curling

We all know hockey is Canada’s national winter sport, but it’s not the only one newcomers can try

By Lisa Evans

Newcomers are often fascinated by Canadian sports, especially those played on snow or ice. With a long history in Canada and an easy learning curve, curling can be a great one for newcomers to try. In this sport, at, round stones are slid across the ice toward a target. While one team member slides the stone, the others use brooms to sweep the ice to control the stone’s speed and direction.

Richard Dobbs had been in Canada for a couple of years when he was invited to curl at a work team-building event. Dobbs had been physically active in his native country of England and was looking for a sport to participate in now that he was in Canada, but none of the sports he did in the past seemed to suit in his new country. “I used to play recreational soccer, but, in Canada, it appeared soccer was mainly organized as a kids sport and it was played in the summer. In the U.K., soccer is a winter sport,” he says. Dobbs also enjoyed playing cricket, but the sport wasn’t available in his area of Acton, Ontario. Other winter sports like hockey didn’t appeal to Dobbs, who had never learned to skate, and skiing was simply too expensive to do on a regular basis.

Curling is for everyone

Curling immediately appealed to Dobbs because it is relatively cheap and is a sport that anyone can learn at any age. “It was something I could go into and play as an adult beginner and no one would look at me funny or expect me to have curled since the age of ve,” he says.

Although Dobbs was attracted to curling as a winter sport, it took him three years to get the courage to sign up. “At one point, I drove into the parking lot and turned around and drove back,” he says. Being a newcomer, Dobbs was nervous about engaging in a team sport where he’d be forced to interact with others and learn about something he knew little about. He also struggled to adjust to the cyclical nature of sports clubs in Canada. “With curling, you sign up for it in October and if you miss October all the leagues are set, the teams are set and there isn’t much opportunity to get into the sport later,” he says. Clubs also require members to pay for the entire season upfront. “In the U.K., most of the sports I played were a pay-as-you-go format. With my cricket team, we paid game dues every time you played,” he says. Although he probably spent the equivalent of the $400 annual curling club fee on the other sports he participated in in England, it seemed like a lot of cash to drop at once.

Physical and social benefi ts

But it was a worthwhile investment, on several levels. Participating in curling not only provided him with an opportunity for physical activity, it also provided Dobbs with social support he had been missing as a newcomer. “I’ve met an enormous amount of people through the sport,” he says.

As one of the most popular sports in Canada, curling also helped Dobbs feel more connected to Canadian society. “To me, it was a very Canadian thing to do,” he says. And although he enjoys the physical aspect of the sport, it’s the social aspect that Dobbs now gets the greatest rewards from. “You get to talk to people. It helps you integrate into the community,” he says.

Dobbs enjoyed curling so much, he got involved in coaching when his daughter started to play the sport. He also became involved with the board of directors at his local club and is currently one of 16 representatives across Ontario. “I now know people across the province at all levels of curling that I would never have known before,” says Dobbs.

Curling swept Richard Dobbs off his feet after immigrating to Canada.

Photo by Alessandro Shinoda

1Curling is an inclusive sport Curling can be played by anyone at any age and of any ability. Unlike many organized sports, you don’t have to have a high level of physical activity to be able to play. It’s even possible for someone in a wheelchair to participate in curling by using a delivery stick.

2Curling is inexpensive Unlike many organized sports in Canada, curling is relatively inexpensive. Danny Lamoureux, director of Curling Canada, estimates a fullyear membership at a big city club costs around $400 while a smaller city club may cost around $200 for a 20- to 24week season. at’s cheaper than most gym memberships! Plus, curling doesn’t require much equipment and is a great sport for someone who doesn’t want to invest a lot of money in gear to learn how to do a Canadian sport. To begin curling, all you need is a pair of rubbersoled shoes and loose- tting pants like yoga or track pants. Clubs typically supply brooms and sliders for new players.

3Curling has physical health benefi ts While you don’t need to be in terri c shape to be a good curler, the sport can give you a great workout. Sweeping (using brooms to clear the ice surface and coax the stone down the run and into the bullseye) is an excellent cardiovascular activity, and throwing the stone can help to improve your balance and hand-eye coordination. When you deliver a curling stone, you slide out with one foot forward in a bent knee position. is requires some balance, though for individuals who aren’t able to do this motion, a delivery stick can be used.

6 reasons to curl

4Curling is a social sport Like any team sport, curling involves a great deal of camaraderie. ere are four members on a curling team and you’ll play against another foursome. “You’re going to meet people that are representative of the community you live in,” says Lamoureux. “You’re going to meet doctors, plumbers, housewives, re ghters, people of all walks of life.”

5Curling is easy to understand If you understand a bullseye, you can understand curling. Scoring in curling is based on points you earn from landing your stone in the target. Most curling rinks are open to the public and many o er learnto-curl opportunities. Learnto-curl programs typically run over an entire season. “Because it’s a game played on ice, we want to make sure that [players] are safe, that they understand how the game is played rather than letting them loose without any instruction,” says Lamoureux. Injuries in curling are typically minor, caused by slipping on the ice, and most often land you with nothing more than a bruised ego.

6Curling is one of Canada’s most popular sports Curling was introduced to Canada in the early 1800s by Scottish immigrants. e rst o cial curling club in Canada was formed in Montreal in 1807. ere are now more than 1,000 curling clubs across the country and it’s estimated there are more than 750,000 Canadians participating in the sport.

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