Kids rock the house!

First Nations youth get first taste of curling through FloorCurl event

If their smiles and laughter were any indication, the sport of curling may have captured a number of new, enthusiastic fans after an Indigenous FloorCurl event was held Thursday at Calgary’s Markin MacPhail Centre at WinSport — host of the 2024 Scotties Tournament of Hearts.

The hoots and hollers of the youngsters suggested that if floor curling can be this much fun, how great can the on-ice version be?

The event, held one day before the start of the 2024 Scotties, exposed young Indigenous people to a version of the game that can be played in areas without curling clubs, such as some First Nations communities in Alberta.

Floor curling, developed by Rock Solid Productions, involves plastic rocks on rollers thrown at ringed mats

The event was a partnership between the First Nations Health Consortium, Egg Farmers Rocks & Rings Curling, presented by Curling Canada, Rock Solid Productions, and athletes from the Scotties Tournament of Hearts. Players from Team Alberta, Team Northwest Territories and Kerri Einarson and Shannon Birchard of Team Canada were on hand to interact with the kids and answer their questions.

Abbie Darnley of Rock Solid Productions provided the instruction.

The Calgary event included youth from the Tsuut’ina Nation, Siksika Nation and Stoney Nakoda Nations. It was kicked off by Crystal White, who gave an opening prayer and blessing and land entitlement.

“We’re thrilled about this,” said Tyler White, Board Chair for First Nations Health Consortium, which initiated the event through its Sports and Recreation Pilot Project. “We’re here to support the effort and wonderful partnership between Rock & Rings and Curling Canada. It’s just an honour to be part of the Scotties tournament.”

It wasn’t the first time Rock & Rings has been offered to First Nations youths in Alberta.

“I think we’re in 16 communities right now,” said White. “We’re very thrilled by the development and progress and getting a positive response from the communities.”

White said these kind of events are important because they open new doors to sport and recreation for Indigenous youth who might not otherwise have those opportunities. Sports helps Indigenous youth discover new talents, develop leadership skills and improve their health and mental wellness.

“You never know, you might see them one day in the Scotties,” he said. “That would be a dream, of course. Being able to empower these youths in the area of sports is important.” 

Nolan Thiessen, Chief Executive Officer  of Curling Canada, was also on hand for the event and said it was a good introduction for Indigenous youth to the sport.

“We want to bring the game to more places in Canada,” he said. “To us, it’s not like we know how to do that, we need partners like First Nations Health Consortium. It’s really cool to see the kids yelling and throwing stones. 

“Last year was our first Youth Engagement Program. This year, with the Community Sport For All Initiative grant from Sport Canada, it grew even more. We want this to be a part of the Season of Champions events.” 

The kids found it to be a blast.

The Scotties players were enjoying the interaction, too.

“It was fantastic,” said Birchard. “It’s great to introduce the sport to potential new players. We had a lot of fun this afternoon. We were so excited to be here.”