Players from Letterkenny Active Retirement group & Stranorlar Friday Club at a recent league game in Letterkenny. Also included is Ann Marie Crosse, Eco-Health Promotion Officer, HSE West; Karen Guthrie, Donegal Sports Partnership & umpire for the day John Butler from Killygordan Wednesday Club.
It’s about as far from curlers or the Winter Olympics as you can get.
However the craze of curling is being piloted among older adults across Donegal.
The Donegal Sports Partnership, along with the support of the Health Promotion Department in the HSE, have facilitated a new pilot Curling League initiative.
Donegal Sports Partnership, under the umbrella of the Irish Sports Council, work to ensure increased levels of participation and encourage everyone, young & old, to lead a more active lifestyle through a variety of sports & recreational activities.
Cathy Anderson, Stranorlar Friday Club, in action at a recent league match between Letterkenny Active Retirement group & Stranorlar Friday Club in Letterkenny.
Adapted games such as New Age Curling encourage participation, fun, fair-play, social interaction & enjoyment.
For the first time in this county’s history, five Curling clubs through Killygordan Wednesday Club, Raphoe Monday Club, Stranorlar Friday Club, Lifford Friday Club & Letterkenny Active Retirement will compete in this new initiative.
League winners will be crowned after the last round of games, scheduled to take place on Monday 26th May. The teams are mixed with both men & women playing.
To avoid any disputes, each club nominated two members to join a group of trained adjudicators that will act as neutral umpires at each game.
Curling is a sport which is played worldwide on an ice rink. Many people will be familiar with it from watching the Winter Olympics recently on TV.
New Age curling is a version of the official sport adapted by Go for Life, the national sports programme for older adults. Importantly, the game can be played by both able-bodied and disabled people of all ages alike.
How to play
Curling can be played on a flat wooden surface, approximately the size of a Badminton court (44feet). To play the game, you will need 8 Kurling stones (4 for each team), and a target mat. The objective of the game is to get your stones closer to the centre of the target than your opponent. The team with the stone nearest the centre target after all 8 stones have been rolled, wins 1 point for that game, with 5 games played in total.
The league will run every Monday evening, with the exception of a few games being played on Monday or Wednesday afternoon.
If you are interested in setting up a curling club, or are already part of an established club but would like to take part in a structured league, contact the Donegal Sports Partnership Offices on 074-9116078 .
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