THE FINALSTONE Within the department we constantly use the buzz word ‘resilience’. It’s something we consciously make an effort to reference in discussions and its one of the main life skills we shape our LGGS PE curriculum around. Examples could be when running cross country or taking part in fitness challenges, learning from feedback about a performance or practising a new skill to master the art of the technique. We believe that failure teaches us the ability to progress, the willingness to bounce back, the
Both the women’s British Curling team are fabulous advocates for this with their recent success in achieving a gold medal at the Winter Olympics in Beijing. ‘’What a journey they have been through in these last couple of years and it just shows you the strength and resilience you have to have to make it all the way through. Great Britain continued to come back when things weren't working for them.’’ Curling is one of those sports that has the clever and subtle ability to teach us hidden lessons. A little like chess on ice, this sport is more than just sliding a rock down a sheet of ice. It requires mental skills like strategy and effective communication for successful teamwork alongside more physical skills like balance, strength and stamina. It is only as a result of the Winter Olympics that many of us had been reacquainted with the sport, since PyeonChang in 2018. It is a sport that has the ability to
keep you engrossed for hours not daring to leave the room for a toilet stop in case you miss a takeout. I will be surprised if there isn’t at least one person reading, that hadn’t tried to reenact the infamous low prowl like starting position… Yet, even though we watch it and we are drawn into the drama that unfolds, very few people play it. Few know it exists outside the TV box and most importantly that it’s a sport for all… the old, the young, the naturally sporty, the opposite, the introvert, the extrovert… the list is endless. BUT – were you aware we have a local curling facility which boasts an opportunity to give the sport a go? You can take part at a recreational level or for the more serious athletes aspiring to be in for a shout of joining Team GB at the next Winter Olympics, elite coaching and training. Just round the corner in Garstang, of all places! Marianna Ward in Year 9 has a passion and a real determination to share her knowledge of the game and try to inspire others to join the fun… here is her
experience of the sport so far and how you could find out more or even get involved… ‘Curling is an amazing, unique sport, open to all. It originated in Scotland in the 16th century, with competitors playing on frozen ponds and lochs in the winter, and the first curling stones date back as far as 1511. Curling is a sport in which players slide across a sheet of ice with a granite stone, aiming to get the stone into the target area, or the house as it is referred to in curling. There are four players in a team, the skip, the lead, the second, and the third/vice-skip. Each member of the team plays two stones. The skip is the captain of the team and plays their two stones last, the vice-skip/third plays third, the second second, and the first first. I started playing curling in the summer of 2021, when my friend and I decided to give it a try. I was then extremely lucky to be spotted by the vice-president of Preston Curling Club, whose home rink is the Flowerbowl, just outside of Garstang, which some of you may have heard of. He then put me in contact with some girls from Cambridge and Kent, who wanted to form a girls' team. I started training with these girls
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