McKellar Students Have the Hammer!

Members of the Fort William Curling Club, through a partnership with the RBC Learn to Play Project, are working with McKellar Park Central Public School students to introduce them to the sport of curling. Since September, seventy-five students in Grades 5, 6, 7 and 8 from McKellar Park have been able to begin learning and playing the sport at the nearby Fort William Curling Club. The program will finish in December.

“Our members are excited to work with RBC to introduce the sport of curling to what we hope to be a new generation of curlers,” says Dick Henderson, Fort William Curling Club member and Learn to Curl Project Coordinator. “The goal is to demonstrate that curling provides competitive and recreational opportunities that can last a lifetime. It truly is a sport, like hockey, that is woven deeply into the fabric of our country.”

Instructors in the program from the Fort William Curling Club have received training and/or upgrading in the Club Coach Youth Community Instruction Program of the National Coaching Certification Program (NCCP) with specific reference to the Active Start, FUNdamentals, and Learn to Train Stages of the Curling Canada LTAD plan for athletes and coaches.

The program consists of six levels and the McKellar Park curlers began the program with in class instruction which includes sport safety and the basic concepts of the game through floor curling. For those students who continue to show interest and progress through the Bronze, Silver and Gold levels, further opportunities for curling will be available through the Fort William Curling Club Junior Program, the Boston Pizza League and the Youth Challenge event hosted by the Fort William Curling Club.

“We are extremely fortunate to have the support of the Fort William Curling Club and the RBC Learn to Play initiative to expose our students to curling,” says Eric Fredrickson, Principal of McKellar Park Central Public School. “It is an opportunity for many of our students to try something that they may not ever have the chance to try.”

The RBC Learn to Play Project is a multi–year funding commitment dedicated to teaching students the basic skills they need to participate in youth sport and recreation programs. The goal of the project is to encourage more kids to get out and play.

In addition to the RBC Learn to Play initiative, the Fort William Curling Club will be making a number of other announcements during this time.RBC Learn to Play Project