The Canadian Deaf Curling Program was launched in 2018 to allow national teams to train for international competitions using industry-leading technology at the Morris Curling Club’s Cargill Curling Training Centre.
On Monday, March 20th, the program brought a group of kids and staff from the Manitoba School for The Deaf to the state-of-the-art facility to experience a day of curling.
Shawna Joynt, acting president for the Manitoba Deaf Sports Association, says the event was aimed at drawing hearing-impaired young people to this official Olympic sport.
“We’ve have students – deaf and hard of hearing – learning how to curl. The youth are here to learn how to play curling. Some of them have never touched the ice and we wanted to give them that opportunity. Maybe that’s something they’re interested in playing.”
The program is based on a four-year agreement between the Canadian Deaf Sports Association, the Manitoba Deaf Sports Association, Manitoba School for the Deaf and the Training Center along with the support of Level 4 NCCP Olympic Coaches Lorne and Chris Hamblin as well as Hy Tech Production Ltd,