Not even two months into 2024, it's already been a brilliant year for curling in Scotland. Between the National Women’s and Men’s Championships in early February, the Scottish Curling Senior Championships a few weeks later, and the World Junior Championships which just wrapped up over the weekend, the calendar has been jam-packed for Scotland’s curling talent.
Curling for all
The sport, of course, isn’t just for those competing at the top level. Scottish Curling prides itself on its openness to new participants and its active efforts to bring new faces into the game.
An accessible and inclusive sport, curling offers variations of the game to support everyone to play on the same sheet of ice. Whether you’re 8 or 81, there is space on the rink for you.
Hundreds of come & try sessions run across Scotland’s 21 ice rinks, all designed to give participants a taste of the sport and learn the key skills to get started. Scottish Curling could not make it easier to have a go with its designated platform TryCurling, compiling all the information you need to find a session and book in. Participants don’t need any previous knowledge or gear; everything is provided!
Liz Paul who coaches the TryCurling sessions at the Dewars Centre, Perth said:
“TryCurling lets participants have a go at an Olympic sport they probably thought was well out of their reach. They’re quite scared sometimes going onto the ice at first, but within minutes they are having a whale of a time in full participation.
‘As a coach, I just love seeing their journey from trepidation to loving curling as much as I do and screeching with delight as their stone reaches the circles.”
The Curling Pathway
After Try Curling sessions, participants can attend Beginner classes and the Gateway Club at their local rink. These continue to provide support and coaching to new curlers in a relaxed and informal environment.
Paul Davis who coaches TryCurling sessions at Curl Edinburgh said:
“The joy of coaching the sessions is novice curlers after a few wobbles sliding out and delivering a stone into the house. They then become more intrigued by technique and then the competitive juices start to flow and suddenly they are hooked on our wonderful sport of curling.
“I’m always pleased to see those that started with a TryCurling session advancing through the virtual club and into several clubs in Curl Edinburgh.”
Curlability 
In extension to the TryCurling sessions, Scottish Curling also runs Curlability sessions which are free and open to people with any form of disability looking to try curling for the first time. These sessions are supported by The Scottish Curling Trust who work to ensure that curling in Scotland is more accessible and inclusive for all.
At the end of last year, 10 participants attended the Curlability event at Kinross Curling, some of whom were already members of Visually Impaired Curlers Kinross (VICKS), but many were completely new to the sport.
Thanks to the experienced coaches on the day, necessary adaptions were made to ensure that everyone could get the most out of the experience. Participants were supported to build on their skills throughout the day and then eventually take part in match play.
For Scottish Curling, it is integral to keep in contact with those who attend events like Curlability and ensure that they know where to go next. Participants were provided with information about how to keep curling with many then reporting back that they had enquired about joining their local club.
One of the participants, Colin said:
"The coaches were clearly able, experienced, knowledgeable, and most importantly, patient."
More info
- Scottish Curling
- Visit TryCurling to find your nearest TryCurling session
- Read about Curlability
