Stewartry schoolkids to be given the chance to try curling thanks to funding boost

Kids in the Stewartry who have been bitten by the curling bug will be able to try the sport for themselves.

The region is still celebrating the success of Dumfries and Galloway’s curlers at the Winter Olympics, with Stranraer’s Vicky Wright winning a gold medal and Kirkgunzeon’s Grant Hardie, Stranraer pair Hammy McMillan Jnr and Bobby Lammie and Dumfries’ Ross Whyte winning silver.

Now, the council’s Active Schools and community sport team has secured £6,200 for 24 sets of curling kits – one for every school in the Stewartry plus each learning unit.

A new partnership between Active Schools, Disability Sport, Scottish Curling and the Galloway Glens Landscape partnership will also see a schools curling programme rolled out at the start of the new academic year.

Education committee chairman Jeff Leaver said: “What an exciting time for curling in the Stewartry area.

“ I congratulate the Active Schools team and the partnership and look forward to watching them work together to bring a terrific curling programme that can only benefit children and young people in this area.”

The first year of the new programme will feature class taster sessions, a curling disability sport event and a primary school curling competition. The Ready Steady Curl course will form part of secondary schools’ leadership programmes.

The Galloway Glens and members of Active Schools recently met at the Ice Bowl in Dumfries to celebrate the launch of the project and get a lesson from 2014 Olympic silver medallist Scott Andrews who now works for Scottish Curling.

Galloway Glens team leader McNabb Laurie said: “A great partnership between council departments brought this about and its perfectly timed to jump on the interest and popularity of curling