CURLABILITY 2023 GOES DOWN AS ROARING SUCCESS
On Thursday 9 November, Scottish Curling held its latest Curlability event at Kinross Curling. The day was very well attended and some great curling was on show.
This year, Curlability was aimed at beginner curlers with any form of disability, offering a fun and welcoming way to get into the sport. On the day there were 10 attendees, some of whom were already members of Visually Impaired Curlers Kinross (VICKS), but many were completely new to the sport.
After some introductions over teas and coffees, participants were briefed by the excellent Lead Coach for the session, Dottie Burt of VICKS, before heading down to the ice. On the ice, curlers were split into groups based on curling experience and coaches’ specialties. Experienced curlers from VICKS got straight into their rhythm while some of our beginners learned the ropes and started to try the basic techniques of curling.
Thanks to the brilliant coaches on the day, necessary adaptations were quickly made to ensure everyone got curling as quickly as possible and it was brilliant to see people with such a wide variety of abilities enjoying their first experience of the sport.
After an hour or so of the session, it was time for everyone to start taking part in some fun, yet competitive matches. It was clear that some had a natural aptitude for curling and nobody was out of their depth thanks to the coaching they had received.
Following the session, all curlers and coaches retired to the café upstairs for a delicious lunch thanks to the team at Kinross Curling which gave us all an opportunity to chat about the session. At this point it was great to hear many participants saying how keen they were to curl again and how much they enjoyed themselves.
All curlers were given thanks and a debrief by Dottie and provided information about how to keep curling with many already feeding back that they have enquired about joining their local club.
‘The coaches were clearly able, experienced, knowledgeable and, most importantly, so patient. Please pass on my thanks to them all and to the Club for their excellent hospitality. I have sent an email to the secretary of my local Wheelchair Curling Club.’
– Colin, Curlability Participant
Overall, it was a fantastic afternoon and we would like to thank Collier Haulage for sponsoring the event so that we could welcome new curlers to our sport – we very much appreciate their support. We would also like to thank Kim Dalland, Alan Muirhead, Elaine Spain, Morag Wellman, Derek Young, and Dottie Burt for their excellent coaching on the day, Kinross Curling for being excellent hosts, and of course all Curlability attendees for making it such a huge success.
Inclusion is a major part of our current strategy Sweeping Change – The Future of Curling and we plan to hold many more sessions like this in the future. If anyone would like any further information, please email development@scottishcurling.org
The week starting 27 November to 3 December marks Scottish Disability Sport Week, celebrating getting active and involved in disability sport in Scotland. The campaign aims to highlight and promote the opportunities and the impact physical activity can have on individuals, communities, clubs and society across the country. It will also provide a platform to showcase the intersectionality of participants within disability sport and share the message that everyone can participate in sport.
