CONNECTHollywood Curling- Building the San Fernando Valley Curling Center in Los Angeles
Since 2007, we have grown the sport of curling in Los Angeles under poor ice conditions and limited availability from local hockey rinks. We are in the process of building the San Fernando Valley Curling Center by adapting an existing building that would be dedicated to the specific requirements of this sport. A dedicated facility will enable us to realize our mission of being inclusive, expanding youth and wheelchair programs, as well as promote lasting social connections in the community.
In what areas of Los Angeles will you be directly working?
San Fernando Valley
City of Los Angeles
LAUSD
San Fernando Blvd, City of San Fernando; Los Angeles County
How do you plan to use these resources to make change?
Engage residents and stakeholders
Implement a pilot or new project
Expand a pilot or a program
How will your proposal improve the following CONNECT metrics?
Rates of volunteerism
Adults getting sufficient social & emotional support
Attendance at cultural events
Number of public transit riders
Participation in neighborhood councils
Percentage of Angelenos that volunteer informally (Dream Metric)
Total number of local social media friends and connections (Dream Metric)
Attendance at public/open streets gatherings (Dream Metric)
Describe in greater detail how you will make LA the best place to CONNECT.
Curling is one of the fastest growing sports in the world. Last year, we taught over 1500 people how to curl during and after the 2014 Olympics, with most of our events selling out, and the demand outpaced our limited ice availability from local hockey rinks.
Accessibility & Equality
Accessibility is what makes the sport of curling uniquely social, connecting people from all walks of life. Anyone can learn how to curl, including kids, seniors, men, women, and those that are wheelchair bound. The unique social aspect of the sport encourages connections with fellow league players in your own community, as well as fellow curlers from across the country at various tournaments. Curling is a sport where a CEO can be captained by a college student, where men and women play on equal footing, and wheelchair curlers can play alongside those who are not. A person who learned to play last week can end up playing with an Olympian in a tournament next week. Curling is a catalyst to enable people to come together, gain emotional support, and create lifelong friendships and bonds.
Youth Initiatives
In our dedicated facility, we plan on expanding our School of Rocks program, where we first teach the game to kids in school gymnasiums using a floor curling set up, and then we get them on the ice to participate in a safe, challenging, and rewarding sport. In our current arrangement with local hockey rinks, we lack the ability to offer after school programming at times suitable for our younger members. A dedicated facility would allow us to offer youth leagues, family programming, and afterschool mentorship programs to local kids and young adults.
Volunteerism
As a volunteer run, 501-(c)-3 non-profit organization, we rely on our members to volunteer their time and energy to promote the sport through teaching beginner Learn to Curl classes, assisting with corporate events, and assisting with community outreach events. Past community events where we have brought our portable street curling set up include CicLAvia and the recent inaugural San Fernando Chile Festival. Additionally, our volunteers will be encouraged to participate in activities with partner organizations, via community outreach, youth coaching and supervision, and accessibility programs.
Please explain how you will evaluate your work.
Goals:
Open a dedicated curling facility. The completion of this task is our first evaluation marker.
Introduction and exposure of the sport to local Angelenos. Success of this goal will be measured quantitatively by:
- The number of members
- The number of active leagues
- Attendance at tournaments & intro lessons
- Learn to curl attendance
- Number of private events
- National and regional events hosted
Increased Annual Growth: Goal of 400+ members within 5 years through marketing and outreach efforts.
Expansion of Specialty Leagues: In addition to our open and skills specific leagues, we plan to have youth, college, LGBT, municipal, and studio leagues. Additionally, corporate team building events and private parties. This goal will be evaluated based on the variety of programming achieved within the first 3-5 years with outreach into those respective communities.
How can the LA2050 community and other stakeholders help your proposal succeed
Money (financial capital)
Volunteers/staff (human capital)
Publicity/awareness (social capital)
Infrastructure (building/space/vehicles, etc.)
Education/training
Technical infrastructure (computers, etc.)
Community outreach
Network/relationship support
Quality improvement research