Students “Hurry Hard”at
Harrowsmith PS

Photo: grade six students at Harrowsmith Public School with teacher Ms. Sheila Vogelzang learn the ins and outs of curling with Mark Strachan of Rocks and Rings

Students at Harrowsmith Public School were engaged in a very different kind of hurrying in their school gym on January 25 thanks to a special program called Rocks and Rings. The program, sponsored by Capital One, aims to introduce youngsters to the sport of curling. Mark Strachan, who is the curling coordinator at the Cataraqui Golf and Country Club and who was also representing the Royal Kingston Curling Club, gave a series of 45-minute presentations to HPS students in grades one through eight in the art and lingo of curling. Strachan brought with him specially designed equipment for curling off ice, which included brooms and disc-shaped rocks that are equipped with three wheels so they can slide across the gym floor. The students described the special rocks as “very cool”.

In his presentation Mark first spoke to the students about the difference in the ice surfaces of a curling rink compared to that of a hockey rink. In the former the surface is pebbled, which allows the rocks to travel faster.

And why all that sweeping with the brooms? Sweeping the ice surface creates friction, and therefore heat, which makes the pebbled surface slightly smoother and allows the rocks to travel faster and farther. Sweeping also removes any small pieces of debris that might send the rock onto a different course.

After learning specific terms like the button, the house, hurrying and sweeping, and receiving instructions as to how to win points and to properly keep score, the students played a number of relay games using the rocks, brooms and a plastic ringed house that was placed on the gym floor. The presentation ended with an exciting shoot out at one end of the gym.

The program definitely made an impression on the grade six students, many of whom felt they would consider taking up the sport in the future. Mark informed me that after one of his presentations a younger student inquired if he might consider bringing his gear to her upcoming birthday party. Schools interested in booking a Rings and Rocks presentation can email kingston@rocksandrings.com. More information about Kingston curling programs can be found by calling the Royal Kingston Curling Club at 613-546-2243 and/or the Cataraqui Golf and Country Club at 613-546-1753.