Interest in curling has picked up tremendously since the 2018 Olympics, and Robyn Parkes can’t help but notice the influx of people keen to consider the sport in Langley.
But today (Sunday, March 4), it’s a group who have been enjoying curling at the Langley Curling Centre for years, who have taken over the ice.
The Langley Special Olympics team are hosting a bonspiel. They’re playing host to a regional event featuring two of their own Langley teams, as well as two Abbotsford teams, two from Surrey, one from Coquitlam, one out of Vancouver, and one mixed team.
The bonspiel is expected to last until about 4 p.m., and Parkes said it is free for spectators to come and watch. In fact, it’s encouraged.
It’s happening inside the curling centre, in the George Preston Recreation Centre at 208th Street and 42nd Avenue in Brookswood.
For more information about the Langley Curling Centre is available online.
Special Olympics BC – Langley has 200 athletes who participate in 16 sport programs, including swimming, fitness, basketball, floor hockey, rhythmic gymnastics, curling, five-pin bowling, powerlifting, bocce, golf, soccer, softball, and athletics. Also offered in this community are several youth programs, including FUNdamentals, youth bowling and youth basketball.
For more about the SOBC - Langley, people can visit their website.
In the meantime, Parkes said the influx of interest around curling peaked with the Olympics, but the numbers of calls from people anxious to try curling normally also goes up around the Scotties and the Brier each year.
“But when it is an Olympic year there is a bigger surge of excitement,” she elaborated. “Lots of calls from groups wanting to try. We love the enthusiasm and try to work out an option but we can’t always offer something right away.”
The Langley Curling Club is hosting a few open houses later this month. There’s a drop-in for individuals on Tuesday, March 20, from 1 to 4 pm. and from 6 to 9 p.m.. There’s also a group open house (for sets of four or more people) being held on Wednesday, March 21 from 7 to 9 p.m.
There will also be a learn to curl, as well as a mixed doubles training event on Thursday, March 22, from 7 to 9 p.m., but a $20 registration fee is required (which will be refunded upon registration in September).
Parkes said there going to be offering wheelchair and stick curling (for those who aren’t able to get down to deliver a rock), but that date is still to be announced.
For information about the curling centre, people can visit their website at www.langleycurlingcentre.com, or call Parkes at 604-530-8218.
