On January 5, Communities First Inc. traveled to the Greater Midland Curling Club as a part of our Culture Shock program. Culture Shock is an outreach program designed to provide experiences that provoke, surprise and stimulate.
What is curling? When you watch curling on the Olympics it can seem quite easy and simple, but it is more complex than it looks. Curling originated in Scotland in the 16th century and made its Olympic debut in 1924. The two main components in the game are the stone and the brooms. The stone normally weighs 42 pounds and is made from a rare granite found on an island in Scotland. The brooms are used to speed up the stone by reducing friction. In this sport, two teams of four slide a curling stone across the ice trying to get the team's stone closest to the center of the house to win the point.
A group of 25 people, ranging in age from nine to 60, participated. The group was met by coaches from the Midland Curling Club. They showed everyone the equipment, explained the game and rules, did a demonstration, and then taught them how to play. Everyone had a chance to try it step by step and then the experience finished up by playing a match.
The group had an amazing experience at the curling club. When asked if they would try curling again, 100% of the participants said that they would. Everyone was glad they had this opportunity because if it was not for Communities First Inc. they would have never had this experience. One participant stated, "I had never thought I'd be able to enjoy it, with not being very athletic, but it was great! I was able to participate and had a blast!"
If you are interested in being part of Culture Shock experience, please complete the survey at Culture Shock Survey.
Make sure to keep a look out for the next Culture Shock event to push yourself out of your comfort zone and experience something great!