TORCH SPARKS FLOORCURL PLAN!

Andrea doesn’t miss chance to promote curling

It’s a far cry from an Olympic torch to floor curling mats, but it was the 2010 torch relay prior to that year’s Winter Olympics in Vancouver that sparked an idea in the mind of Mary Louise Andrea that has spread throughout the schools in Cape Breton.

Andrea, a Phys Ed teacher back in 2010, isn’t one to pass up on unique opportunities and just like 2010 this week’s BKT Tires World Women’s Curling Championship presented her another one.

“Just having students coming to watch curling is huge in this area,” she said this week while watching the world championship at Centre 200, where large school groups have been attending each day. “This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity having the worlds here. I try to take advantage of those once-in -a -lifetime opportunities.

“Like in 2010 I was a torch-bearer, I ran with the torch for the Olympics and I had this crazy idea: why not bring the sports to every school before the opening ceremonies. So we had the torch at every school for half an hour and then they had to transport it the next school.

“This is a similar feeling. Every one of our schools, all 38 schools, taught curling this year. Plus the teachers are doing curling projects, we had backyard curling on outdoor rinks, we had at the learning centre wheelchair curling.

“Here we have the worlds in our area. Kids are going to see signs, they’re going to hear it on TV and radio so let’s let them live it so they understand it.”

It is floor curling that has taken the game to the region’s kids. Before the 2019 Scotties Tournament of Hearts in Sydney, Andrea had the Cape Breton-Victoria Regional Centre for Education, where she is an active healthy living consultant, purchase 14 sets of FloorCurl mats and rocks for use in the schools.

This year, thanks to the Sport Canada Community Sport for All Initiative Grant, Curling Canada contributed another 15 sets of FloorCurl equipment.

“With the support of our partners at Rock Solid Productions, Mary Louise coordinated lessons, experiences, and tournaments with 38 schools in the area, during the lead-up the world championship,” said Brodie Bazinet, manager, Philanthropic Program for  Curling Canada’s For the Love of Curling program.

“Her leadership and impact with FloorCurl in local schools is beyond impressive.”

Each of the region’s 38 schools now has four sets, each with eight rocks and two mats.

“We’ve been purchasing equipment all along, but this year it was great to get the curling kits from Curling Canada so we can bring it to the high schools and the high schools really embraced it.’ Andrea says. “They’re having bonspiels and two-on-twos and staff versus students, so it really helped having enough curling rocks to have it in every school in our region.”

Andrea has been using the mats for more than a decade to ignite curling interest in the region.Rea

 “I taught it back in the days when I was teaching. We beefed it up in 2019 when the Scotties was here. And now with the worlds it’s been incredible the amount of curling we’re doing in schools.

“Because it’s something that everybody can do, for all abilities, all ages and it brings out different strategies and skills the kids normally don’t use … and everybody can participate and everybody can be successful at it.”

Andrea says the role of floor curling is to get youngsters interested enough to take up the sport on the ice. It’s hard, she says, to know how much impact it has had on students joining curling clubs.

“It’s definitely sparked an interest in kids wanting to get on the ice,” she explains. “If they have it in their school they can feel that excitement, and be part of it. Now when they come to the rink to see it they understand the game a little more, they’re going to be more engaged and that helps.”

In Draw 13 action Wednesday afternoon, Italy’s Team Stefania Constantini (7-1) was an 8-6 winner over Denmark’s Team Madeleine Dupont (5-3); Japan’s Team Miyu Ueno (3-5) turned back Norway’s Team Marianne Roervik (3-5) 8-5; Turkey’s Team Dilsat Yildiz (2-6) prevailed 8-6 over Team Estonia (1-7), skipped by Liisa Turmann; and Scotland’s Team Rebecca Morrison (3-5) took an extra end to hand Switzerland’s Team Silvana Tirinzoni (6-2) 6-5.

Canada’s Team Rachel Homan (6-0; Ottawa) had the bye and will be back in action Wednesday night against Turkey.

Denmark (5-2), South Korea (5-2), Sweden (5-3), the United States (2-5) and New Zealand (1-6) also had afternoon byes.

The 2024 BKT Tires World Women’s Curling Championship continues with the evening draw today at 7 p.m. p.m. (all times Atlantic).

Live scoring, standings and statistics for the 2024 BKT Tires World Women’s Curling Championship are available by CLICKING HERE.

TSN and RDS2 will provide complete coverage of the 2024 BKT Tires World Women’s Curling Championship. CLICK HERE for the complete schedule.

For ticket information for the 2024 BKT Tires World Women’s Curling Championship, go to www.curling.ca/2024worldwomen/tickets/.

This story will be available in French as soon as possible at www.curling.ca/2024worldwomen/nouvelles/?lang=fr