Kids follow after Ice Queen Eve

Mar 15 2010 by Andy Newport, Paisley Daily Express

Kids follow after Ice Queen Eve

DOZENS of young school kids have been inspired to take up curling by Olympic ice queen Eve Muirhead.

Greenacres Curling Club say they have been overwhelmed with interest from youngsters since 19-year-old Eve led a brave bid for Olympic gold in Vancouver, Canada, last month.

The World Junior Curling Championship-winning skip sadly failed to make the semi-finals of the curling tournament at the Winter Games but her efforts have at least left a legacy in the increased interest in the sport.

Pilot

With the help of a £10,000 Big Lottery Fund grant, the team at Greenacres have rolled out their Curling is Cool programme to kids in East Renfrewshire after a successful pilot with P6 and 7 children from Paisley and its surrounding towns.

In total, 27 schools now send their pupils to the Howwood club’s rinks.

Last week, the club invited P6 youngsters from St Margarets Primary School in Johnstone and they were taught all the basics for curling, such as how to slide on the ice, how to deliver the curling stone and how to sweep it into position on the rink.

And once they have mastered those skills the youngsters are then given a few handy hints on big-match tactics so they can outsmart their opponents.

The lessons have gone down a storm and Greenacres manager Elma Paterson says the recent Olympics have played a major part in that.

“We’ve had a lot of television coverage of the sport in the past few weeks with the Olympics in Canada and that has really generated a lot of interest.”

She added: “The fact that we had Eve Muirhead leading the team as skip at just 19 really appealed to the kids, showing them that it is not a sport just for old people.”

As well as the Curling is Cool programme, Greenacres are also taking part in a Come and Try event, which opens up their ice to novice players, allowing them to test their hand at curling for the first time.

The club are set to host another such event on Sunday, April 11, from 10.30pm.

Anyone who would like to take part should call the club on 01505 850 633 to find out more or book a place.