Northwest curlers Heather Wood, Megan Babchuk, Kyla Greenwald, Shelby Solomko and Justin Sopyc have returned Nipawin where they experienced Amber Holland's annual Prairieland Curling Camp.
This year was especially exciting as Holland is coming off her Canadian championship and world curling silver medal. Kids from all over the province are instructed on the fundamentals of curling by Holland and her team of experts. This is intertwined with other camp activities to keep it fun for the kids.
I had a chance to sit and talk with Amber Holland, who eagerly talked about her season and this camp. Prairieland Curling Camp has been happening for 26 years, with Holland leading it for the past 16 years. This year she hosted 96 kids at camp one and 96 kids at camp two. I asked if there was an increased demand for her leadership after all her success in curling this year. She replied that they did have 35 kids on the waiting list this year.
This was the second year for Prairieland Camp in Nipawin and they hope to have it there for several more years, knowing that it is a definite for 2012. The camp has 22 staff from the Saskatchewan Curling Association who, Holland says, volunteer more than they are paid. She also counts on eight to 10 volunteers from the host club. Notable leaders at camp this year were Merv Fonger, Team Holland's coach, and Travis Brown, coach of the University of Regina team, who competed as Team Canada at the World University Games in Turkey this past January.
Holland said what impresses her the most is when she hosts a curling camp in the summer and get this many kids come out, you know they really want to be there which makes instruction much easier. Holland said it was a whirlwind this year, as they finished throwing their last rock in Denmark at Worlds in April and came home to work industriously on the details of the 2011 Prairieland camp. Her curling season this year includes throwing the first rock in early September and starting the competitive season with a bonspiel at the end of September.
I asked her how overwhelming her instant celebrity status was and she laughed. She didn't feel like a celebrity, she said, because curling is every person's sport and has always been friendly both on-ice and off. She said Saskatchewan loves their curling and teams and it made it exciting for both the team and the fans to share in their successes in 2011. I found Holland very humble and accommodating to the many requests for autographs and photos throughout the camp. In addition to her interaction with all participants and parents, she was behind the scenes nonstop managing the operations of the camp.
Each day, during an on-ice session, she chose a curler to wear and curl in her Team Canada jacket, to inspire them and encourage them to follow their dreams of competitive curling, if they so choose. She likes to see the sport of curling grow in popularity and, when you can inspire kids to get involved, you are only helping to see your favourite sport grow. Holland had on display her memorabilia from all the success they had in 2011, including photo albums and itineraries from both Canadian and world competitions, as well as her medals.
So for these Unity kids, it was four solid days of being at the rink, yearning to tell others "they were shot", watching men sweep the house clean, lifting 44 pounds of granite regularly and sharing much fun and fellowship with other kids throughout the province.
