Curling practices begin

Times Reporter 

 

Strathmore High School (SHS) has begun their curling season with the help of coach Brad Steele, with practices now commencing once a week. Several boys have been named to the team, along with two girls.

“We had all but one from our boys team last year graduate,” Steele said. “So one of the girls is returning, and one of the boys is returning; possibly a couple other guys that didn’t actually play on the team. We’d like to get some more girls – we certainly would like to get six girls so we could field three teams.”

Schools are allowed to have a boys squad, a girls squad, and a mixed squad, typically with four on a team and one spare. Mixed teams must have at least two girls and two boys.

“Last year we only had four girls, so just a boys team and girls team,” Steele said. “To win our county, we have to beat Holy Cross and Standard, and usually that’s about it. We can usually pull in about three teams, and we go to playoffs. One team gets to go to zones.”

Last year, SHS won the county and went on to zones.

“Our boys did quite well, I believe we got into the cross-over games – we got out of the round robin in first or second,” Steele said.

The boys then lost in the semi final playoff round.

“With the boys, we’ve had some teams where everybody has curled before,” Steele said. “Normally we get quite a mix; we get some students that have curled for 10 years and we get some brand new curlers. Sometimes on our team, our front end is brand new, while the third and skip are quite experienced.”

The curling team does not participate in league play, but may have exhibition games prior to county finals in February; having the rookies learn the fundamentals before then will be key.

“You have to learn the delivery. Being able to throw the rock is everything, followed by hitting the broom, and figuring out your weights,” Steele said. “With some strategy thrown in, you’ve got to be able to sweep as well.”