Carlyle teachers Natalie Bloomfield and Amy Rutten have been instrumental in holding regular training sessions for their students at the Carlyle Curling Club.
Bloomfield is a teacher at the Carlyle Elementary School, while Rutten a teacher at Gordon F. Kells High School.
Since mid-November, up to 30 GFK high school students have been honing their skills every Monday and Wednesday afternoons after school. On-ice instruction is provided by Rutten and assisted by local curlers Robin Brown, Garry Johnson and Michael Lothian.
Rutten is a long-time member of the Carlyle Curling Club. In November, she helped organize a women’s bonspiel with 12 rinks participating. It was the first women’s bonspiel to be held in Carlyle in over 10 years.
Rutten has been impressed with the commitment and steady progress shown by her young athletes.
“At the start of the year, nearly half of our group had never curled before. Every week, they are showing tremendous improvement in all aspects of the game. We teach them every skill including delivery, sweeping, technical skills, and curling strategy. A big thank-you to Robin, Garry and Michael for helping,” she said.
“We have entered a couple of local bonspiels recently and we plan on entering events in Maryfield, Wawota and Lampman in the coming weeks,” Rutten added. “The kids have a great attitude and are really enjoying the game of curling.”
Bloomfield, meanwhile, has curled extensively over the years and was part of the Cindy Ricci rink that recently competed at the CurlSask Viterra Scotties Tournament of Hearts provincial women’s curling championship in Estevan.
Carlyle residents Morgan and Darryl Sutherland are the parents of three girls. Syah is 14 and the twins London and Chandler are 12.
“Our family truly appreciates everything that Amy Rutten and her school curling program are doing,” said Morgan. “Our girls are really enjoying the game and are showing steady improvement every week. They were excited to participate in their first bonspiel at Lampman earlier this year.
“And a couple of weeks ago, Syah spared for a high school foursome that curls in the Monday night league. Her opposition was no other than Mrs. Rutten. She didn’t win but had a great time.”
