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Fifth-graders chill out at local curling rink


By Greg Seubert, Waupaca County Post West Sports Editor W


hen the 2014 Winter Olympics roll around next February in Russia, Waupaca’s fiſth-graders will have a better under- standing of one of its events.


Students spent a half-day recently at the Waupaca Curling Club to learn


more about the sport of curling. Figure skating, hockey and downhill skiing may draw the most TV view-


ers to the Winter Olympics, but curling is growing in popularity. Players slide stones across a sheet of ice toward a target area divided into


four rings. Two four-person teams take turns sliding heavy, polished gran- ite stones, called rocks, across the ice toward the house, a circular target marked on the ice. Each team has eight stones and the purpose is to accumulate the highest


score for a game. Points are scored for the stones resting closest to the center of the house at the conclusion of each end, which is completed aſter both teams have thrown all of their stones. A curler can induce a curved path by causing the stone to slowly turn as


it slides and the path of the rock may be further influenced by two sweepers with brooms who accompany it as it slides down the sheet, using brooms to alter the state of the ice in front of the stone. A great deal of strategy and teamwork goes into choosing the ideal path


and placement of a stone for each situation and the skills of the curlers de- termine how close to the desired result the stone will achieve. Curling was included in the program of the inaugural Winter Olympic


Games in 1924, but the results of that competition were not considered of- ficial by the International Olympic Committee until 2006. Curling was a demonstration sport at the 1932, 1988 and 1992 games and added to the official program for the 1998 games in Na- gano, Japan. “In fiſth grade, we feel the students are


responsible enough that they can be out here on the ice and be ready to listen,” Waupaca Middle School phy ed teacher Brandon Temperly said. “When you get out on the ice, everybody wants to slide and move around. Tat’s fun, but there are some skills that are involved (in curl- ing) that can be difficult. Fiſth grade’s a good age to get that started.” Temperly was on the ice with volunteer


instructors from the curling club to help the kids get started. “We practiced in the gym with some


makeshiſt equipment that we have,” Tem- perly said. “It’s nothing like what we can do here, but we go over technique, strat- egy and what each position does. Te stu- dents have a general idea of how the game is played. When they get here, they get to see how it’s actually done.” Temperly, the former girls’ basketball


coach at Waupaca High School, said the curling unit is different than intro- ducing students to other sports, such as basketball. “Usually, we get about two or three students in fiſth grade that have seen


it or done it,” he said. “Te other sports are televised so much, so the stu- dents are pretty familiar with them. Other than the Olympics, (curling) isn’t on TV very oſten. It’s pretty exciting that the students get so see some- thing new and something maybe out of their element. Students enjoy things that are a little bit different.” It doesn’t take long for the students to pick up on the skills, according to Temperly. “Here at the curling club, Jan (Hanke)


and Neil (Wenberg) do a fantastic job of breaking down the skills and showing them the safe way to do things correctly,” he said. “Tey seem to soak everything up pretty well when they’re here.” Te club also offers a youth curling


program that starts with fiſth-graders. “Tis year, we did the unit a little ear-


lier,” Temperly said. “Hopefully, that can help the curling club receive some more young students for their program. Usu- ally, we’ve done this toward the end of their curling season in February just be- cause it fit into the phy ed schedule a little easier. Tis is the first year we’ve done it this early. “We worked two weeks prior to com-


ing here and this is kind of the culmina- tion of our unit,” he added. “We’ll discuss some things. Te unit’s pretty much over here, but they have the opportunity to continue to curl in the youth program.” n


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