The Chicago Curling Club in Northbrook is growing the game of curling.
Northbrook Junior High School’s Buddy Group, an extracurricular club that provides social activities outside of school for all students, experienced curling on March 1 at the club (555 Dundee Road).
Students from the Foundational program pair with NBJH peers in inclusive social outings throughout the year. The Friday night event provided middle schoolers a curling experience via the club’s Second City Curling, which offers programs for youth to learn the sport of curling.
According to http://www.secondcitycurling.org/, Second City Curling runs a Junior Curling League, offers curling opportunities for area physical education classes and engages schools and park districts in Learn2Curl lessons and other programming.
NBJH students spent about an hour on the ice with pizza as a nightcap.
“They’re learning how to balance, they’re learning how to move,” said Kula Geib, district physical education teacher.
“It’s fantastic, this is the most inclusive sport,” said Karrie Gottschild of Northbrook, a Chicago Curling Club member since 2009. “It doesn’t matter your size or your gender.”
Heather Sullivan, district instructional assistant, said, “It’s exciting to support our kids.”
Megan McGuire of Lake Bluff, teacher’s assistant, said, “It’s something outside of school, it’s something out of the norm.”
The club program’s youth event coordinator is Lis Collins of Evanston who grew up in Northbrook and is of the 2003 Class of Glenbrook North High School.
Collins, a Second City Curling board member, attended District 28 schools.
“Not a lot of people know about curling and it is such a good sport, not only for coordination, for fitness, but also for sportsmanship and camaraderie and friendship, and all of those things that we kind of could use in our world,” Collins said.
Bring inclusive is, “100 % of what curlers believe in,” Collins said.
“We actually call it the spirit of curling and in the spirit of curling, it’s playing fair, it’s being a good sport, it’s following the rules, it’s cheering on your opponents, not just trying to win the game,” Collins said.
Via Second City Curling, “Our goal is to experience a new experience, to have something new,” Collins added
“But also to have something that maybe they could do, they could come back and join us for curling. There is adaptive curling on the world stage in the Paralympics, in the Special Olympics and there is curling across so many facets of our community that everyone can be included, no matter of age, gender or ability,” Collins said.
The middle schoolers were shown how to release the curling stone and sweep the ice.
Matt Walz, of Schaumburg, adapted physical education teacher at District 28, said, “( for) a chance to come out on a Friday night and get to be with their peers and to learn a new sport, it’s exciting for them and they love it and we love it.”
Northbrook School District 28, “has a valuable partnership with the Second City Curling Club,” said Terry Ryan, District 28’s communications director. “We are grateful for the Curling Club’s volunteers who work with our students and expose them to this very unique sport, a sport that many individuals can be successful at once they are taught what to do.”
Ryan said the district’s fifth-grade students also get to experience curling via a daytime school field trip.
This year, Greenbriar School fifth graders visited in December and Meadowbrook School fifth graders participated in February.
Brooke Brown, the district’s Foundational special education teacher, said the curling opportunity, “really shows just the inclusivity of our town and how we open doors to everyone, and how everyone has an opportunity to do whatever they would like to do in life.
“A lot of our students don’t always have these opportunities to go out and be in the community and kind of be in different environments other than school and home, so it’s important to have these peer interactions,” Brown said.
Wearing a soft blue long-sleeve shirt that read on the back, “Be kind to everyone” was Katherine Rosenberg, foundational aide. Rosenberg was seen waving at students as they arrived for the outing.
The gesture of a smile, “makes them feel happy when they see me,” Rosenberg said. “It kind of makes their day, makes my day.”
Northbrook eighth-graders Max Osterman, 13, and Max’s buddy Bryce Bavier, 14, teamed up.
“It’s more than curling,” Bryce said. “It’s more like, they can follow directions, it’s just a good experience.
Of being a buddy, “I think it’s really good for the people who have special needs, for them to have a role model to help them,” Bryce said.
“It’s always good to have a buddy, no matter what.”
March 1, 2024 was Max Osterman’s first time trying curling.
“I like it,” Max said.
Established in 1948, the Chicago Curling Club has four sheets of ice, locker rooms, a kitchen, plus a dining and social area. The curling season begins in October and concludes in spring.
Abby Martinson, 11, a sixth-grader, said, “It was fun.”
“It’s easier than ice skating.”
Learn about Chicago Curling Club, a volunteer-driven club, at https://chicagocurlingclub.org.
Karie Angell Luc is a freelancer for Pioneer Press.
