“Olympians are born from throwing their first rock” is one of empowering statements shared by Lorne Hamblin, Level 4 NCCP Olympic Coach, at a curling event hosted by the Morris Curling Club’s Cargill Curling Training Centre (CCTC) last Friday.
The all-day event introduced 27 deaf or hard-of-hearing southern Manitoba youth to curling.
“[This event] is great because it provides exposure to the sport,” says Patti Craven, a support teacher for deaf and hard-of-hearing students at Tec Voc High School in Winnipeg. “This provides important social interaction for students, some of who are the only deaf students at their school. There is also the opportunity for them to learn from role models who are also deaf.”
Thanks to funding from the Canadian Deaf Sports Association, the students came not just from Tec Voc but also the Manitoba School for the Deaf and Rosenort School.
In addition to Lorne Hamblin and local volunteers, the group also got the chance to learn from fellow Olympic coach Chris Hamblin along with 11 other National, World, and Olympic champions in deaf curling.
“Today was great to try something new,” said a student Sami Bhatti by way of a translator. “I’ve never tried [curling] before, although my friends have. This is a nice opportunity to learn from deaf people and [see] that deaf people can play sports like curling.”
Off-ice, through step-by-step instruction with aid from an interpreter, Chris Hamblin provided the group with practical tips on keeping safe on the ice while also having fun.
Once on the six ice sheets of the curling rink, the kids were broken up into groups of three or four to learn the basics of the sport: sweeping, sliding, and turning a rock.
“It helps the students to take everything in slowly, instead of just throwing a rock from one end of the sheet to the other,” observed Cam Hurst of the Canadian National team.
Following a pizza lunch and the chance to look at memorabilia from the 2015 Deaflympics in Russia, the students took part in a short game.
“I feel inspired and happy, knowing that I can pass on my knowledge of curling,” says Shawn Demianyk, 2015 Deaflympic and 2017 Deaf World Champion. “There are very few deaf and hard-of-hearing curlers and this event is good exposure for young athletes to help develop their skills. I love the positive attitudes I see here today.”
Although the students all enjoyed their time learning about curling, one younger curler indicated she was a bit nervous about moving on the ice with the slider.
When asked if he would try curling again, fellow student Aethan Ortiguero responded with a non-commital, “Maybe.”
Despite uncertain enthusiasm from some of the youth, local volunteer, Janice White is excited about the opportunity the quality instruction provided.
“Without this, [the youth] perhaps wouldn’t even have the chance to curl. I can already see the natural talent that exists in some of these youth.”
Quality instruction for the newbies couldn’t have happened without the help of American Sign Language translators and teachers, easily bridging the gap that could exist between people who speak different languages.
“Although many athletes use ASL to communicate, some are only hard-of-hearing,” notes Hurst. “ We’ve developed curling signs and visual cues to use when communicating with each other on the ice. And really, I feel that we have an advantage over teams that can speak because the ice is usually a noisy place. We can block out the noise and concentrate on the game and our coaches.”
Chris Hamblin says that working with the deaf community since 2014 has brought many opportunities to learn and grow in her communication with athletes.
“Curling is a sport that relies on a lot of explanation while demonstrating. Working with the deaf community has increased the reliance on video technology, allowing deaf curlers to watch a video clip and receive explanation immediately after, rather than explaining while doing.”
Words of encouragement for the youth was continually heard throughout the on-ice sessions, and many thumbs-up signs were exchanged. Smiling faces could be seen throughout the rink.
During one of the explanations, Lorne Hamblin commented to the students, eyeing especially those from the Manitoba School for the Deaf: “Several of the instructors here today, these National and Olympic champions, went to your school. They are just like you.”
By Siobhan Maas
