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 Welcome to the St. Vital Curling Club Junior Program Web Site   

The St. Vital Curling Club (SVCC) Junior Program is considered to be one of the finest programs available to young curlers in the Winnipeg area.  Founded on the principles of fun and fundamentals, coupled with a strong belief in parent's approval and participation, the SVCC Junior Program has provided junior curlers with an atmosphere of excellence and appreciation for several decades. 

The number one goal of the program is to provide a fun and safe environment in which to develop sound fundamental curling skills, appreciate curling etiquette, and to develop new friendships.

In providing for this, the SVCC Junior Program also caters to young curlers who wish to develop their skills and focus on more competitive junior play, with many of the teams in the program participating in the Manitoba junior bonspiel circuit.

We currently have 3 different leagues available for the kids.

Saturday 3 PM-5 PM Program

Beginners and Novices aged 5-12.   

This league runs 20 weeks from mid October until the end of March.  This program focuses on skill development and teaching the game by utilizing repetitive drills and other games and lessons so the young curlers can acquire a good grasp of the ice markings, curling terms, balance, basic skills as well as learn the etiquette of the game.  We work in an increasing amount of scrimmage play starting in week 2 for the Saturday kids, and after the first 6 weeks the players begin scheduled games.

-  We use full sized rocks and play either half, ¾ sheet or full sheet curling depending on the size, age and ability of the curlers.  We use ghost rings drawn on the ice for the shorter playing surfaces and have temporary hacks for the ¾ sheet play.  We do this to promote proper delivery mechanics and to avoid the younger athletes desire to push the regulation sized curling rocks, as when little curlers have to push the rock, it destroys the proper mechanics that we are trying to teach, so we try to find a sheet length that suits them best. 

We have a team of Junior Coordinators who help provide on-ice instruction on Saturday.  As there are a lot of kids on the ice, we need a lot of people involved to ensure quality instruction.  We have a number of certified coaches plus our team of experienced on-ice parents who come out to enjoy time with their kids and help to reinforce what we are trying to accomplish.  Typically there are 2 or 3 coaches/parents per sheet on the ice with the kids.

-  We take attendance weekly, as we want to encourage timeliness, as well as know who is not there and why.  We hand out name badges every week so we can try to learn the names of all the kids.

-  As a reward for timeliness we will once again feature the world famous “Early Bird” draw.  Every kid who arrives and checks in at least 10 minutes early are eligible for the weekly draw for a great prize.  If the curler can manage to be on time the entire season they are then eligible for the “SUPER MEGA PRIZE” DRAW” which will be drawn at the windup banquet!!!! 

 We wrap up the pre-season with a SKINS GAME where the kids learn and play a four-end skins format and battle for cash prizes. 

-  After Pre-Season (first 6 weeks) we divide into an "A" and "B" group and play two 7 game round robins.  The second round is the prize round. 

-  The final week before Christmas we have our annual HOTSHOTS competition for fun and big prizes and follow it up with a Christmas party with a free lunch and even more fantastic prizes and giveaways.  The kids get to test their skills in a contest format made famous by the Scotties and Brier, plus a few contests of our own!!

-  At the end of the year we have a windup with free food, lots of door prizes, and trophies for all the winners. 

The SVCC Junior Program Peashooters

The Peashooter Program offers a developmental program opportunity for the Saturday junior curlers.  It’s a 5 week program that runs at the same time as the pre-season for the main group.  Participants spend time focusing on advanced skill development, correcting any faults in delivery, strategy, team building, and scrimmage play, video work, and more one on one coaching.  The Peashooter curlers start 30 minutes early for the 5 week duration in order to take part in off-ice classroom activities.  This leaves the full 2 hours of ice time to work on their on-ice skills as well as maximize scrimmage time. 

Peashooter participants are chosen according to skill and the potential to benefit from the program so as not to overload the young curlers.  The focus is on developing the player's skills and to satisfy their inherent desire to learn more. There is a nominal additional fee for the Peashooter Program.

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Sunday 3 PM-5 PM Program

 for Curlers aged 10-14. 

This program is designed for both novice and experienced junior curlers, and runs similar in format to the Saturday 3 PM to 5 PM program, with the exception that the full length of the ice sheet is used. In addition, the kids play under the 4 rock free guard zone rule in their game play.

Curlers work on drills and skill development during the first 5 weeks.  They also play a Skins game for cash prizes, and a Hot Shots competition and banquet the week before Christmas.

Typically the players pick their own teams and play different positions within the first 5 weeks of play.  Program coordinators will assist individual players in finding a team to play with.

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The SVCC Junior Program Gunfighters

The SVCC is pleased to offer the Gunfighter Program which is an advanced skills program designed to meet the needs of curlers keen on preparing for competitive junior play and bonspieling.  It's a 5 week program that runs during the timeframe that the pre-season play is happening for the rest of the young players.  The program focuses on skill development, correcting faults in delivery, advanced strategy, team building, and scrimmage play and lots of one on one coaching.  We also start 30 minutes early for the 5 week duration in order to take part in off-ice classroom activities, which leaves them the full 2 hours of ice time to work on skill development as well as maximize scrimmage time.  The size of the group is limited to 16 players and participants will be chosen according to skill, ability, desire and participation in bonspiels.  Typically the Gunfighter program is composed of teams, but individual participants can be selected to participate. There is a nominal additional fee for the Gunfighter Program.    

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Sunday 5:10-7:20 PM Program - aged 11-20 yrs old. 

This league is run just like a normal adult league.  Team entries are preferred but individual entries will also be accepted.

- The program runs with an “A” and “B” groups and play 3 round robins with the last round being the group prize round.   

- As an added bonus, each team is automatically entered into our FREE pre-season Cash Spiel which runs the first weekend of the season.  Each team is guaranteed at least 3 games and gets a chance to compete for the FREE CASH.  This year our prize purse is $1200!  It's a great pre-season warm up and a good time!

- Another feature of this league is “ON ICE TIMEOUTS”.  This rule is to help ensure continued learning and strategy growth.  Each team will be allowed a maximum of two - two minute timeouts per game, where an adult/coach can come help you with any required strategy decisions.  EITHER the players OR the coach can call the time out.

The SVCC provides a supervisor every week to ensure everyone is observing appropriate behaviour and to give strategy assistance as required.   

-  We have a windup after the season with great food and BIG CASH prizes for the winners.