Skill Awards

The Scottish Curling Skill Awards programme has been redesigned to better reflect modern day curling, rules and terminology.  Its aim is to improve curlers skills through a series of awards and to develop the participant beyond the athlete.  The programme is for juniors and adults and has a real focus on all abilities with the inclusion of stick delivery and wheelchair delivery.  Coaches can use the programme as a development tool for participants who would like to progress along the pathway, or as a coaching tool and resource for members.

There will be four new levels: FUNdamentals, Discovery, Advanced and Excellence.  Each level will challenge participants and increase in detail and difficulty.  The levels will ask the participant to demonstrate knowledge, and skills through written and practical on ice assessments.

The written assessment will require a pass mark at each level, whereas the practical element will be a combination of a controlled and playing environment.  This blended approach will allow a continuous assessment of the curler over a period of time, making completion of each level much more achievable and realistic.

The Skill Awards programme will soon be available on an app too making access to all the resources, booklets and assessments for the participant and the coach/assessor, both easy and practical on and off the ice.

Training will be available to all coaches and assessors through workshops prior to the start of the season.  The workshops will take the coach/assessor through the finer details of how to coach and assess the levels.

More information will be provided at the Coaching and Development Conference at the end of the summer.

Fiona Harfield, Workforce Development Manager.