Riverside girls and boys curling teams have officially begun their training for the new 2018-2019 season. After having a number of new students who joined the team this year, coach Mr. David Romani believes it’s important to start the training early to teach the new players the rules and techniques for curling. “I always like to start training early to prepare the new students for the season ahead,” said Romani. After only the first few practices, Romani already believes that the season looks promising. “We had a great turn out and we have a good chance at making provincials this year,” he said.
Romani, who began curling at 14, was inspired to start a curling team at Riverside after having played curling throughout his teenage years. “I started curling in high school and really enjoyed it,” said Romani. He also described that when he first started teaching at the school, he always wanted to bring a new sport to Riverside. “We’d never had a curling team at Riverside before and I thought it would be interesting to start one,” said Romani.
Throughout his 15 years as a curling coach, Romani explained that he has always had two main rules when coaching; to be safe and always have fun. He believes that it’s crucial to be careful on the ice, but it’s still important to have fun and enjoy the sport. He also believes that by putting in time, effort, and practice it elevates your skill and raises the competition. “It’s always important to have a good time, but also to learn new skills and challenge yourself to become better,” said Romani.
This year, he hopes to accomplish teaching the new players on the team how to excel at curling and hopefully make it to provincials that are hosted at Riverside this season. “I really hope the players on the team enjoy being part of Riverside’s curling team and learn from this experience,” said Romani. He also said that he hopes the new players on the team will continue to stay interested in curling for the next few years after the season’s over.
Riverside grade 12 student, April Kornitsky, has been curling on Riversides team since grade 9 and has loved it ever since. “The best part about curling is the teamwork aspect of it, where we can cheer each other on and work together to win games,” she said. Kornitsky also looks forward to helping the new players on the team understand the art of curling and teaching them new skills that they can use during the games.
Another Riverside grade 12 student, Josh Miki, has been playing on Riverside’s curling team since grade 10 and enjoys the social aspect of the sport. “My favourite part about curling is making many new life-long friends that all share the passion of curling,” he said. Miki also said that he looks forward to teaching the new players on the team how to curl and hopes that the teams make it to provincials this year.
In addition, Miki’s piece of advice for students interested in joining the team would be to try it, because it’s a great sport and is a great opportunity for students to feel part of a team.
The players on the girls team include: Sarah McCrady, April Kornitsky, Kelsey Stewart, Maya Pawley, Didi Dimitrova, Gabrielle Comartin, and Mackenzie Clarke. The players on the boys team include: Josh Miki, Matt Fenton, Adam Fenton, Bryn Tomlins, and Clayton Campbell.
