Elementary, middle and high school curling, which will determine the future of Korean curling, is shaking.
The student department curling is showing signs of a ‘domino phenomenon’ called the dissolution of the curling club as the difficulties in securing new players and the door to advancement and employment are narrowing.
First, the Seoul Sports High School curling club was in danger of disappearing due to difficulties in securing new players.
An official from Seoul Physical Education High School said, “There were no freshman applicants for the curling team this year, so we decided to disband the team.” I’m stepping on it,” he said.
Uijeongbu High School, a prestigious curling school in Gyeonggi-do, is also facing a crisis as it struggles to secure new players. Coach Shin Yong-yong of Uijeongbu High School said, “This year, we are leading a team with 4 players: 2 3rd graders, 1 2nd grader, and 1st grader. I was sorry.
At Uijeongbu High School, the players of Gyeonggi-do’s G-Sports Curling Team, which have achieved excellent results in national competitions, were scheduled to go on, but as the players changed their career path to focus on studies rather than curling, it is reported that only 1st and 2nd year middle school students are currently active.
In addition, the Chuncheon Yubong Girls’ High School curling team, which was founded in March and completed the systematization of curling from elementary school to middle school to high school to business team in Chuncheon, Gangwon-do, the mecca of winter sports, is also facing a crisis.
Yubong Girls’ High School went through internal trouble two months after its founding due to a problem between the parents of the players and the coaching staff. Recently, one player dropped out and the team is maintained with 3 players and 1 regular student. I’m being sloppy, and I’m raising my anxiety.
Seoul Hanyang Elementary School is barely maintaining the elementary school, which is a dream tree of curling, but the future is uncertain due to difficulties in entering the department. Previously, players from Hanyang Elementary School went to Singu Middle School located in Gangnam, but now they do not accept new students, so players have to go to Suyeongmyeong Middle School located in Gangseo-gu.
Regarding this phenomenon, middle and high school leaders in the field are complaining that the Korea Curling Federation does not care about student curling and ignores the suggestion.
A leader I met at the site said, “The Curling Federation only cares about the unemployment team and the national team and doesn’t care about the student department at all.” I was sorry.
He said, “The idea that the establishment of a university team will solve the problem of supply and demand of players is an idea that does not know the reality.” “, he asserted.
Korean curling caused a curling syndrome by winning the silver medal for the first time in Korean curling history with ‘Team Kim’ at the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics.
Although it failed to win a medal at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, it confirmed its unwavering popularity, such as being relayed as a major event.
However, domestic competitions are not enough to be counted on one hand, so it is emerging as a fundamental problem in activating curling.
On February 8, the Korean Curling Federation president Han Sang-ho, who was elected in the by-election following the resignation of former chairman Kim Yong-bin, ambitiously announced the Korea Sports Association weekend league contest project, which was allocated to billiards, squash, and ice hockey, and curling was eliminated.
Since the number of competitions in which players will be active is absolutely insufficient, the supply and demand of players and the systematization of curling from elementary school to middle school to high school to university/business team are far away.
Regarding the crisis of school curling due to a lack of players, a high-ranking official from the Korea Curling Federation said, “The supply and demand of players is the responsibility of the leaders, but the leaders only ask the federation and do not do their job, so it is frustrating.”안전놀이터
“If the leader silently supplies and demands players, the atmosphere that drives the atmosphere of being bullied strangely is also a part that needs to be eliminated,” he said. is important,” he stressed.