Curling comes in many forms
Gordon Conrad of Edmonton uses calipers to measure the rock distance at one of the floor curling games played Friday morning at the Rendez-Vous Centre.
by Lucie Roy
Morinville hosted the Alberta Floor Curling Association tournament at the Rendez-Vous Centre Jan. 10. Some of the best curlers from Edmonton, Redwater, Spruce Grove, Villeneuve, Onoway, Ardrossan, Barrhead, Dapp, and Morinville gathered to form 16 teams of four players, each competing for cash prizes. Morinville fielded two teams for the event, and players ages ranged from 50 to 93.
Organizer Madeleine Van Brabant said they usually have 20 or 24 teams for the tournament but she was pleased with what she saw as a great turnout.
Alberta Floor Curling Association President Audrey Connery said the tournament format is three games rather than four because some of the seniors cannot take four games. “The games are for people to enjoy themselves and not torture them and also for daylight travelling,” he said. Connery, who is in her sixth year as Association President, was on hand to ensure all rules and regulations were enforced. “Morinville is the most central area and the Association has an office here,” Connery said.
Instead of ice the curlers play on a 36-foot by eight-foot polished floor with each team consisting of a lead, second, third and skip. There is no sweeping as there is in traditional curling, but the floor curling skip does use a pointing stick to direct the players where they want the rock delivered. The scoreboard and scoring system is the same as in regular curling. The weight of the rocks is two pounds each and the handles are painted various colours so they can be easily distinguished by players of each team.
Every year there are more than 40 floor curling tournaments held throughout the province with more than 500 members in the Alberta floor Curling Association. Competition opportunities are beginning to emerge for floor curling. The sport will be featured in the 55+ Canada Games to be held in Strathcona County in 2014.
The next tournament in Morinville is scheduled for Mar. 2. The location for June’s Provincials has yet to be announced. The four western provinces will hold a tournament in BC in September.
Above: Floor curlers gathered at the Morinville Rendez-Vous Centre on Friday to participate in the Alberta Floor Curling Association Tournament. Participants were from Edmonton, Redwater, Spruce Grove, Villeneuve, Ardrossan, Onoway, Barrhead, Dapp, and Morinville.
Atom Female player recognized
submitted by Janice Kluss, Atom Female Manager
The coaches recently named Raeanne Cyr #16 as Player of the Week for the Atom Female Team. This is her first year playing Atom and she is very excited to be playing on the first ever all-girls team in the Sturgeon Hockey Club. Raeanne plays defence and she has been very solid on the blue line. Playing games is her favourite part of hockey and she is looking forward to having lots of fun this year.
The Sturgeon Atom Female Team has been enjoying success in their recent games and is currently on a six-game winning streak. The highlight of the season so far was winning the Gold Medal in an all girls tournament in Lacombe in November. They were down 7-5 in the Gold Medal Game with only six minutes to play and they battled back to tie it up and go into overtime. They played four on four for one minute and then three on three for one minute with no goals. This exciting game ended with a three-player shoot out. Natalie Kieser scored in the shoot out and Goalie Jada Graham stopped all three shooters for a final victory score of 8-7.
The girls are really working hard, and it is nice to see them improving every game. The team is playing in another all girls tournament in Camrose in January and also really looking forward to the Atom Female Provincials in March.
Sturgeon Novice 3B Mustangs
submitted by Patti Turcotte – Manager
Our team consists of 13 boys between 6-8 years of age and is made up of first and second year novice players. The boys have a lot of fun during practice but love playing games against other teams. They are eager to take what they have learned to each and every game. Their team work, skating and puck handling have improved by leaps and bounds since the beginning of the season and it is really exciting to watch. These boys work hard every time they get on the ice and are determined to do their best as a team. As they continue to improve, the Novice 3B boys are sure to take home a few more wins! Go Mustangs!
