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thursday oct 10 2002 25 economist sun stouffville tribune sports youngsters swept up in challenge of curling by mike hayakawa staff writer are you searching for a sport for your youngster this win ter an activity that is affordable provides a good workout forces children to don their thinking caps and is something they can do most of their lives although curling has a stigma as a pastime tailored to old fogies and elitists many youngsters are proving otherwise by taking to the pebbled ice surface through youth programs at curling clubs its something you can play when youre six years of age arid even when youre 68 says barb poole richmond hill curling club manager we try to advertise that we love to have kids and weve had club members go to elementary schools in the past to encourage our younger section to grow says robyn scott unionville curling clubs little rocks co ordinator in the last couple of years especially with the olympics youngsters have become a little more aware of the sport and weve tried to provide them with an opportunity to play no concrete statistics are available on the games growth at the little rocks level for those ages six to 1 1 along with bantam and jun ior programs 12 to 20 years but representatives of vari ous curling clubs in york region insist its growing they say thats due to sev eral factors not the least of which is expanding media coverage given to the sport in recent years including this years winter olympics where canadians claimed medals in the last couple of years especially with the olympics youngsters have become a little more aware of the sport and weve tried to provide them with an oppor tunity to play every sunday says dave dalton thornhill country club manager ms poole says the movie men with brooms which depicted the sport from a comical viewpoint might also have generated some interest ultimately though mr dalton says its parents who decide if the game is suitable for their youngsters while the game has had tv coverage more than ever in recent times its the par ents who now see that curl ing is another sport to do during the winter parents are always looking for things to keep their kids busy an important factor for most parents is cost unlike other winter activities such as hockey which can cost and arm and a leg curling enthusiasts are quick to point out their sport is attractive from an economic stand point doug bakes an ontario curling association spokesperson says some curling clubs have joined with other sports for winter registration to lure new par ticipants through cost com parison in the fall and winter at a community centre you find sports such as hockey swim ming figure skating or vol leyball setting up registration booths and some will allow curling clubs to register potential junior curlers a parent comes along and sees that it might cost them 450 to enrol their youngster for hockey or maybe 300 for skating in staff photossteve somerville allyson cowie above takes a shot after learning the throwing technique from coach robyn scott while students brenna osaka erin osaka and megan cowie look on at the unionville curling club brenna right tries her hand the middle you get curling which might only cost a par ent 35 to 40 a parent might say curling looks attractive i think weve made some inroads in that area he says curling clubs will also supply equipment for youngsters reducing expenses even further see curling page 26 hilton suites torontomarkham conference centre spa 8500 warden ave markham ontario l6g1a5 9054708500 wwwhiltoncom and why not bring along the entire family relax and leave the cooking to us our well versed team of culinary professionals are creating all the traditional specialties including roast ontario tom turkey baked virginia ham with all the trimming and much much more sunday thanksgiving brunch oct 13 thanksgiving dinner menu oct 1 3 1 4 reserve your table early at the unionville cafe reservation hotline at 9054708500 ext 2635 hilton hhonors it happens at the hilton rwnbmlks-