The small but mighty Glacial Ridge Curling Club in Willmar, Minnesota may only have around 100 members, but they form a tight-knit community working together to build a new club with dedicated ice to have more ice time to expose newcomers to the sport of curling.
At the beginning of the curling season, Glacial Ridge CC board member Luke Barthel reached out to Rock Solid Productions in hopes of helping out his club, which provides a curling session to a local adaptive group that loves to get out and socialize while trying something new. With FloorCurl being a naturally adaptive and inclusive sport, the fit seemed ideal, and a set of FloorCurl equipment was sent to the club for use in their various endeavours with the adaptive group, community outreach, and for growing their club.
Local Adaptive Program Takes To The Floor And The Ice
Each year, Glacial Ridge CC hosts an on-ice curling event for the local adaptive program, which consists of around 15 individuals. Through sponsorship, the curling club provides bussing to and from the arena, equipment, instructors, and helpers. The participants get to play 4 ends of curling, with most of the participants delivering the rock with a stick. The instructors and helpers ensure safety on the ice by giving each participant grippers for both feet and keeping the rocks under control. The two wheelchair participants are set up just outside the hog line and play for about 45 minutes, along with guidance from the instructors. Barthel added, “This is a very rewarding program to help with and club members love to assist. We love to see the smiles on everyone’s face while getting out and creating relationships on the ice.”
This year, prior to stepping onto the ice, the FloorCurl equipment was set up in the lobby of the arena where the participants got to play for around half an hour and absolutely loved it! Helpers stood alongside, helping when needed. As the adaptive program team headed out onto the ice, a few of the helpers were curious about the equipment and tried it themselves.
Barthel shared, “I talked about how your company has donated this set and how awesome it was. I asked one man if he had ever curled before, and he said no, he has watched his 3 boys enjoy the sport of curling for several years on the adaptive team, but he has always sat on the outside and watched. He and I threw a few floor curling stones to try it out, and then he started to get a little emotional. He told me to tell Rock Solid Productions how much this means to him and his 3 boys. This man told me how he sold some farmland so he could build a proper house in town with the amenities that his boys needed. He was very thankful to our curling club and to [Rock Solid Productions] for offering this floor curling set.”
The adaptive team gets together each week throughout the summer in a local park to socialize, and Glacial Ridge CC has generously offered to lend the FloorCurl set to the group in order for them to continue to enjoy playing. Barthel added, “[The FloorCurl set] has made a difference and will continue to make a difference.”
FloorCurl Enjoyed By All
As a part of the club’s community outreach, members of Glacial Ridge Curling Club brought the FloorCurl set to a local nursing home and a long-term care facility for the residents to enjoy. All who tried it had a wonderful time using the pusher sticks to deliver the stones from either standing or seated positions.
Once Glacial Ridge Curling Club moves into their new space, giving them a dedicated space for curling, they will be working hard to recruit new members, including using this floor curling set for ongoing recruitment endeavours.
