On which ice rink do they play curling in England?

Answer 1

= = Despite having every other facility - sporting or otherwise - England has not had a single dedicated curling rink. And this is despite the fact that Britiain won a gold medal in the sport in the 2002 Winter Olympics. The situation in other countries is quite different with Scotland having a number of dedicated rinks and Canada having a large number for their 1m plus players. There is regular curling in many European countries. = Why has England missed out? = Well, there are not many ice rinks in England - and those that exist are used exclusively for skating and Ice Hockey. Curling has been tried on several of these but it doesn't really work - because insufficient time and skill is available to prepare the ice properly for curling. So when people come to try it for the first time they find it almost impossible because the ice is too sticky and the stones move to slow or stop very short. Curling really needs properly prepared ice in an ice rink dedicated to the sport. The situation changed in November 2004 with the opening of http://fentonsrink.co.uk. The rink has been built exclusively for curling. There is a small number of experienced curlers in southern England and Fenton's rink has created opportunities for them to play regularly and competitively. Furthermore, they have qualified curling coaches available to teach and encourage beginners. Last season several hundred people tried the game for the first time and there are several clubs operating from the Rink with the largest being the South East Curling Club. The Curling in England is managed by the English Curling Association , which in turn is part of the World Curling Federation. Many of Englands 250+ regular players subscribe to a new curling website at http://www.englishcurlingforum.com = About Fenton's Rink = Having been a frustrated curler in England for over 30 years, Ernest Fenton, an exiled Scot, decided to create a 3-lane curling rink on his estate near Tunbridge Wells. The rink opened in November 2004 with an International Bonspiel, which attracted competitors from all over the world. It is now the hub of English Curling and attracts many thousands of players each year.