The Almonte Curling Club has introduced a curling program that allows people with reduced mobility to continue in the sport, because the rocks move up and down the ice but the curlers don’t.
According to Curling Canada, sturling, or stick curling, was developed in Didsbury, Alberta in 1998 and its popularity has spread since then. This version of the sport allows curlers who may have joint, muscle or other mobility issues to play because each member of the team stays at their end of the sheet for the entire six-end game. Players take turns delivering their rocks and skipping from their end, and sweeping is only allowed in the house. A game lasts about an hour.
“We’re happy to be able to offer another curling option for the community,” says Don St. John, President of the ACC. “and to welcome curlers of all abilities. We hope curlers who’ve had to leave the game because they aren’t comfortable on the ice feel that they have another chance to enjoy both the physical and social sides of the curling experience.”
For more information about the Almonte Curling Club and its leagues, including Sturling, please visit www.almontecurling.ca.
