Schooner Junior Curling Program

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Candace Sims
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1 April 18, 2012 Schooner Junior Curling Program Introduction The purpose of this document is to update the general membership of the Schooner Curling Club on the recent activities of the Schooner Curling Club s Junior Curling Program, and to request the Membership s approval for the Junior Curling Program s vision for next year s curling season. Summary of Season The Schooner Curling Club s Junior Curling Program got its second season under way on October 29, We wrapped up our season on March 31, 2012, with our Juniors vs. Parents game. The Edition of our Junior Program consisted of twelve (12) junior curlers, ranging in age from 10 to 15. The Schooner Juniors were led by Schooner Curling Club regular members Albert Chiasson as Coordinator/Instructor and Thomas Drover as Lead Instructor, with Lynnette Chiasson, Amy MacPherson and Matt MacPherson as Program Support/Supervisors. From Opening Day to the Final Game, our Juniors were very busy, meeting every Saturday afternoon, from 2:30 4pm. Along with these regular Saturday sessions, our Juniors also travelled to the Baddeck, Port Hawkesbury and Sydney Curling Clubs to participate in three separate Junior Funspiels. Our Juniors were great ambassadors for our club, consistently demonstrating great athleticism and sportsmanship, and winning more than their fair share of games. Our Juniors were always first to offer a handshake to their opponents, and took the lead in maintaining the proper flow of their games. Our Juniors also participated in our club s Curl For a Cure Fundraiser Bonspiel in support of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. The Schooner Juniors received numerous compliments on their play and behaviour during this spiel. Several inter club matches, with the Sydney Curling Club s Junior teams, were also a big hit with our young curlers. Our season ending Juniors vs. Parents game was a Blast!!! Thanks to the generosity of our club members, we had lots of great food, snacks and beverages. 1

2 Club President Ray Cameron presented every Junior with a Fleece knit sweater, c/w Schooner Curling Club Cresting, as the Schooner Club s gift to our Junior Curlers. We always tell our Juniors that the regular curling club members are proud of their efforts to learn this great game, and they are always interested in how the Juniors are getting along; but to have Ray in attendance to present the Club s gifts was a real treat for everyone. Thanks Ray! Present day Schooner Junior Curling Program The present day Junior Program configuration is quite simple. It is open to children, ages 12 to 16. Over the past two years, this model has proven to be effective. The current Schooner Juniors are a very courteous, kind, respectful group of boys and girls who demonstrate a desire to learn the game of curling. Everyone gets along; the older kids demonstrate leadership, kindness and patience towards the younger kids the younger kids demonstrate respect and gratitude towards the older kids. Up to this point, we have not insisted that any of our Junior Curlers wear CSA approved hockey helmets while on the ice. The generally accepted practice in most curling club junior programs is to require all children under the age of 12, and/or enrolled in elementary school, to wear CSA approved hockey helmets. Proposed Reconfiguration of Schooner Junior Curling Program Over the past few months, we have been approached by Schooner Club members, as well as other friends of the club, requesting that we expand our Junior Curling Program to include younger curlers. It seems that we have many young visitors to our club that are very interested in curling! Another issue that should be dealt with relates to a few of our older Junior Curlers who are now at a point in their development where they could truly benefit from some experience curling in our regular club curling program. These kids have a firm understanding of the general rules and etiquette of the game, and have also demonstrated significant curling skills. We therefore request the approval of the Schooner Curling Club s executive and general membership to change the present Junior Curling Program to consist of the following three (3) categories: Regular Junior Curling consisting of junior high and high school children (Grades 7 to 12), ages 12 to 18 (approx.); 2

3 Full Junior Curling consisting of older, more experienced Regular Junior Curlers, who have demonstrated the maturity, knowledge of the rules, etiquette, curling ability and desire to be integrated with the general (adult) curling program; Alpha/Half Hack Curling, consisting of elementary school children (Grades 2 to 6), ages 7 to 12 (approx.). The Regular Junior Curling would essentially be identical to our present day configuration. We would maintain the same Saturday afternoon sessions (2:30 to 4pm), and would include most of the current Junior Curlers, and any new curlers attending Junior High or High School. CSAapproved hockey helmets would not be deemed mandatory for this group. The Full Junior Membership would be offered to a select group of older Regular Junior curlers, who would have demonstrated a firm understanding of the general rules, etiquette, as well as significant curling skills and maturity. The Full Junior curler would be permitted to curl in the Regular (adult) Curling Club Leagues and Bonspiels, while maintaining mandatory participation in the Regular Junior Program. This Full Junior Membership would be a privilege offered and regulated by the Junior Curling Coordinator, in conjunction with the Club s Drawmaster, and be subject to any requirements set forth by the Full Junior Program (to be determined prior to implementation). The Full Junior would be assigned to a Mentor team in each and every regular league he/she participates. The Mentors would communicate on a regular basis with the Junior Coordinator, to ensure that the Full Junior s development is optimized when participating in the regular (adult) leagues. Any weaknesses or deficiencies (in the Full Junior s regular league experience) would be addressed within the Regular Junior Program. The Mentors could very well be Junior Program Instructors, Supervisors or Parents/Grandparents, which would further enhance the Full Junior s experience. Similar Full Junior Memberships have been introduced at other curling clubs. The annual dues are usually similar, but slightly less than, regular (adult) student rates. The Alpha/Half Hack Junior Curling would introduce elementary school (Grade 2 minimum) curlers to our game by developing curling related skills in a fun manner. We would insist that every Alpha/Half Hack curler wear a CSA approved hockey helmet while on the ice. No helmet no curling. This would bring us in line with generally accepted practice in most curling club junior programs. All Alpha and Half Hack curlers would have to be accompanied by a parent or guardian, and this parent or guardian must be present (at all times) while his or her Alpha/Half Hack curler is in the curling club. We must emphasize that we do not intend on running a babysitting service. We are committed to teaching these younger children the joys of curling, but any child that would be injured or acting up during a curling session, would be sent off with their parent or 3

4 guardian, until the child would be ready to return to the curling activities. Children love to have their parents watching them Parents must stay. We would divide the Alpha/Half Hack Junior Curlers into two sub groups, The Half Hackers (ages 7 9) would curl using the Half Hack system, where a portable, adjustable hack is placed at a position closer to the rings, allowing the smaller (weaker) curlers to shoot and be able to reach the rings; where they otherwise would not be able to do so by shooting from the regular (permanent) hacks. The general rules of curling would not be emphasized at this level; the main focus would be to introduce our younger curlers to on ice safety, fair play and sportsmanship and of course, basic curling skills all in a fun manner. The Alphas (ages 10 12) would curl using the regulation hacks, and would be taught to play the regular game of curling, including all rules and accepted etiquette, but again in a fun, playful manner. If the Half Hack Curling proves successful, we may want to purchase Little Rocks and replace the Half Hack Curling with Little Rock Curling. These Little Rocks are designed to be used by the smaller curlers they weigh half as much as the regulation curling stones, therefore easier for the smaller curlers to throw. The cost of a set of Little Rocks is substantial, therefore we may have to devise fundraising efforts to purchase these stones. The Alpha/Half Hack Juniors would curl on Saturday mornings, 10:30am to Noon. We would encourage our older Regular Junior curlers to help out with the younger curlers, and we would obviously need more adult instructor/supervisors for this program. We propose a supervisor tojunior ratio of 1:4 for this program. Proposed New Junior Curling Annual Dues For our proposed Junior Curling Program reconfiguration, we propose the following annual dues (subject, of course, to Executive and General Membership approval): Regular Junior Membership = $50; Full Junior Membership = $100; Alpha/Half Hack Membership = $50. Proposed New Junior Curling Fundraising Initiatives In order to support an enhanced Junior Curling Program, we are also proposing to undertake some fundraising initiatives, throughout the curling season, to host spiels, parties, purchase curling supplies (such as Little Rocks), etc. Corporate sponsorship of a Little Rock may work a company or individual would pay a fee to have their name engraved on the handle of a Little Rock stone. 4

5 Another possibility is to sell hot dogs and sausages (within the club) during Saturday Junior Curling activities. One of the requirements of the Alpha/Half Hack Curling will be that every curler have a parent or guardian at the club while the child is on the ice so we would have a captive audience. These ideas will be discussed in greater detail during the October general meeting. Proposed New Junior Senior Fun Spiel We would also like to propose the creation of a new weekend (Friday pm, all day Saturday) Junior Senior Funspiel. The main concept would be to create teams consisting of three regular (adult) curlers and one junior curler. This could prove to be especially fun for regular curlers matched up with their child/grandchild, curling against other Junior Senior teams. This concept would introduce the junior curlers to a real bonspiel experience, while curling with Mom, Dad, Granny or Grampy! Optimum timing for this Spiel would be towards the end of the curling season, so that the new junior curlers would have a chance to develop their curling skills, to show their adult counterparts what they can do!!! A Final Thought Here are a few scary tidbits of information: The average age of the Schooner Curling Club member is 54; Percentage of Schooner Curling Club members who are 60 or older = 40%; Percentage of Schooner Curling Club members who are 50 or older = 75%. These numbers clearly indicate that we must attract and retain younger curlers for our club to survive. It is essential to develop a strong Junior Curling Program. We are grateful for all of the support that the Schooner Curling Club has given us and we hope that more regular club members will join us on Saturdays and help our Schooner juniors thrive. Thank you!!! SCHOONER JUNIOR CURLING PROGRAM Albert Chiasson, Thomas Drover. 5

OPERATIONAL REVIEW COMPETITIONS LEADING TO A PROVINCIAL EVENT

016-17 OPERATIONAL REVIEW COMPETITIONS LEADING TO A PROVINCIAL EVENT Last Updated February 9 @ :30 pm Based on the Competition Committee Review document and conference call comments the Operational Team