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By Crickett Gibbons
If watching the winter Olympics this month sparks your family’s interest in the featured activities, take advantage of area opportunities to try a few, including ice skating, hockey and even curling.
Take a spin on skates
One of the best ways to see if you and your children like ice skating is to attend a public session, according to Randy Lee, general manager of Polar Ice House in Cary, Garner and Wake Forest. Even if you’ve never set foot on ice before, area ice rinks are prepared to help.
Cyndi Glatfelter, the general manager at Raleigh IcePlex, advises beginning skaters to keep their hands in front of them for balance and lean forward. Buckets are available for kids to push in front of them at first to help with balance, she says. Helmets are also provided at no charge.
Glatfelter and Lee both stress that learning how to fall safely — and how to get up — are important.
“If you’re going to fall, relax and fall. Don’t try to stop yourself, “ Glatfelter says. To get up, get on all fours with your hands in front. Put one foot between your hands and then the other. Then get your hands back in front of you, quickly,” she adds.
When first starting out, Lee advises parents not to carry a child because of the risk of falling on the child if the parent falls.
Other pointers to have a fun first outing include:
Dress warmly, including gloves. “Once kids’ hands get cold, they won’t want to skate anymore,” Glatfelter warns.
Choose options such as warm-up or water-resistant pants. Jeans are not recommended since these get cold and heavy once wet, Lee says.
Be sure skates fit properly and lace them all the way up for ankle support. “They should be snug from toe to heel without wiggle room,” Glatfelter says. Generally, start with a skate one size smaller than the normal shoe size.
Choose a figure skate instead of a hockey skate. Figure skates have a longer, thicker blade instead of the rocking blade on a hockey skate, Glatfelter explains.
Check the Web sites of local rinks for public skating days, times and prices. Another option is to take skating lessons. If hockey is the goal, Lee still recommends starting with a learn-to-skate class, noting that group classes are the least-expensive way to learn. Classes are available for children as young as 3 and up through adults
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Hesitant to strap metal blades to your – or your children’s feet – and slide across a hard, frozen surface? “It’s not as traumatic as you think,” Lee reassures.
Come out and curl
Wondering what curling is all about? Get your questions answered and give it a shot with the Triangle Curling Club. The club is gearing up for the expected increased interest in the sport with open houses and learn-to-curl sessions.
Curling is a game of strategy, explains Kathy Jackson, a club board member who has been curling for many years. “You play your game as to how you expect the other team to play and how you want the game to go. It’s a little like chess,” she says. But it’s also physical. “It takes a lot of energy to sweep and to slide the rock,” she adds.
The public can learn about the game, go through stations, throw a rock and get general information about curling during open houses March 5 and 12 at 9 p.m. and March 7 at 4:30 p.m at Polar Ice House in Wake Forest. Cost is $10 per person.
During learn-to-curl sessions, participants get more time on the ice learning and practicing proper form, delivery and sweeping. “After a learn-to-curl, you are ready to join our league,” Jackson says.
Learn-to-curl sessions are March 14 at 4 p.m., March 18 at 8 p.m. and March 19 at 8:30 p.m. There is a limit to the number of participants, so pre-registration is necessary. Cost is $20 per person, but the cost of open house attendance is credited toward this fee.
Families are welcome, although children much younger than 10 may have a hard time getting the stone down the ice, according to Jackson. Participants should dress warmly in clothes that allow easy movement and wear gloves with a grip. Also wear rubber-soled sport shoes with a good tread that grips (such as running shoes). The club provides all equipment.
For more information and to sign up for the open house and learn-to-curl sessions, go to www.trianglecurling.com. Wake Forest Polar Ice House is at The Factory, 1839 S. Main St., Wake Forest.
By Tania Cowling
Athletes from more than 80 countries will compete in the 2010 Winter Olympics Feb. 12-28, hosted in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Take advantage of this quadrennial event to introduce your children to the winter sports and traditions associated with the Olympic games.
Meet the mascots
The Vancouver Olympics’ mascots are a fuzzy team. Miga is a young sea bear; Quatchi is a sasquatch dressed in hockey gear; and Sumi, the Paralympic mascot, is a chimera (an animal spirit with the hat of an orca whale, wings of a thunderbird and runs on legs of a bear). The mascots represent the people, geography and spirit of British Columbia and Canada.
These mascots also have a friend called Mukmuk, who is a marmot from the mountains of Vancouver Island. Read more about these mascots on the Olympic Organizing Committee Web site, www.vancouver2010.com. Look for “Meet the Mascots,” for videos, online games and a mascot store.
Fly the flags
Flags play a large role in Olympic ceremonies with a representative from each country participating in the games carrying a flag into the arena for the opening and closing ceremonies. They also are displayed during the games.
View flags at www.flags.net/index.htm and help kids make their own flags. It’s easy to make a personalized Canadian-style flag using a handprint instead of the center maple leaf. Simply cut white poster board into a rectangle and cut two equal blocks of red construction paper to glue on either side. For the center maple leaf, trace around your child’s hand on red paper. Cut out the handprint and glue it in the center. For a more realistic representation, draw or trace a maple leaf onto red paper.
Play ring games
The official Olympic symbol consists of five rings, one each in red, green, black, yellow and blue. These five multicolored Olympic rings stand for the five continents where the athletes traveled from to take part in the sporting competitions of Olympic events.
To play some ring games of your own, purchase hula hoops, one of each of the five colors (or spray paint them). In addition to using the hoops in their standard way, here are some other activities that will get your kids up and moving:
Have children hop in and out of the hoops. How many times in a minute can they hop in and out?
Let children stand inside the “Olympic” rings to do any exercise (jumping jacks, hops, toe touches).
Invite children to toss beanbags into the rings. As they become skilled at the game, have them move farther away.
Eat fire and rings
Make your own edible Olympic torch to celebrate the night the Olympic Flame reaches the host site for the opening ceremonies. Fill pointed sugar ice cream cones with a scoop of lemon, orange or raspberry sherbet and have children sprinkle on baking sugar crystals in yellow, orange and red to make a cool, “flaming” treat.
You can also celebrate with Olympic ring cookies. Purchase round-ring butter cookies. Make or buy vanilla frosting (or cream cheese) and separate the frosting into five bowls. With food coloring, tint the frosting for the five Olympic ring colors. To make black, combine red, green, blue and yellow. Kids can frost the cookies with these colors and make an Olympic ring on their plate.
For more information
At www.vancouver2010.com you can track the Olympic Torch Relay, find resources for teachers, learn about the different sports, and much more to build interest and understanding about this year’s games.
Tania K. Cowling is an author, former teacher and mother living in Plantation, Fla.
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