Tell a bunch of fourth-graders they are going to try curling, and what you get is curiosity mixed with a bit of confusion.
“I was very excited because I didn't know what it was,” Bancroft Elementary fourth-grader Sophia Ferraguti said.
“Are we throwing plastic or something,” fourth-grader Xander Mosites said.
In order to bring awareness and excitement ahead of the US Olympic Curling Trials coming to Baxter Arena, the Omaha Sports Commission, UNO and the Omaha Curling Club brought curling kits into area schools.
“When you normally play, you play on ice,” said Lindsay Toussant, director of events for the Omaha Sports Commission.
“What if I throw the stones and they look like this, does anybody score,” asked Toussant.
Toussant said the Bancroft students caught on quickly.
“It's great to see them grow in 50 minutes or less,” she said.
They learned the lingo and perfected their techniques.
“If you push it way too hard, it's not going to make it. And if you push it way too soft, it is definitely not going to make it,” Ferraguti said.
The students say the hardest part was learning how to school.
Ferraguti said she loved learning a new sport with her classmates. Mosites agreed.
“I really like it, and I’m probably going to try it on ice,” she said.
Each student who participated in the learning event at their school got a voucher to the US Olympic Curling Trials. Nine area schools also get to take kids to the trails next week.
