The Twin Valley Flyers youth hockey program isn’t totally disbanding after all.
Citing a healthy enough infrastructure and the desires of athletes, parents and coaches, the Meriden-based Flyers will continue with U13 and U10 girls teams as well as learn-to-skate and learn-to-play programs for 4- to-8-year-olds.
Flyers president Eric Russman suggested last spring the Flyers might completely dissolve amid declining participation. The Flyers, which practice and host home games at Kimball Union Academy’s Akerstrom Arena, did not field Squirt or Peewee co-ed programs last winter while many athletes and their families sought enhanced competition playing for neighboring outfits such as the Upper Valley Storm, Woodstock Youth Hockey and the Hanover Hockey Association. Even Russman’s daughter, Kyra, skated for Hanover’s U14 team last year.
Yet the Flyers’ girls teams were relatively healthy, suiting 30 total players among their U10, U12 and U14 programs. This winter, Twin Valley’s U10 team will remain, while its U13 program will play a hybrid schedule combing U12 and U14 opponents.
“We tried to stay ahead of what was happening last year, recognizing that players were moving on to teams where they could skate more with their peers in terms of ability,” Russman said. “When the dust settled, we realized the girls pretty much had an ideal season last year. They enjoyed playing together, skating together, and had some good success. Parents, coaches and kids all wanted to keep going.”
Woodstock Youth Hockey has agreed to enlist the remaining players from the Flyers’ Bantam program, its lone co-ed team from last year, Russman said in the spring.
Having fewer programs will mean less conflict with KUA teams, which added a girls junior varsity team several years ago and whose programs as a whole have scheduled more midweek and evening games in recent years.
Russman, who doubles as Kimball Union’s associate dean of students, said Twin Valley’s ice-time viability will be bolstered by a $7,000 grant it received from a non-profit this year.
“Twin Valley is actually in good shape,” Russman said. “We have good financial support, an experienced board and dedicated coaches and parents.”
Russman also felt it important to keep available the Flyers learn-to-skate and learn-to-play programs, which for decades have helped introduce hockey to youngsters in the area. The program began in the early 1970s as the Claremont Flyers.
“A lot of young families south of Lebanon, in places like Claremont, Cornish, Newport and, obviously, Plainfield, have had the Flyers as an option for several generations,” Russman said. “We don’t want to lose that connection.”
Curling Coming to Hartford: Upper Valley Curling will practically double its total ice time this season by offering weekly games at White River Junction’s Wendell A. Barwood Arena.
UVC will stage outings at Barwood on Saturday evenings from 6 p.m.-8 p.m. beginning Oct. 29 and running through Dec. 17 for the fall season, then resume play Jan. 6-March 11.
That nearly mirrors the group’s two-season slate at Union Arena in Woodstock, where it had played exclusively since forming nine years ago. Union Arena’s Sunday-night fall season starts two weeks earlier, on Oct. 16.
“We’ve been hovering right around 25-30 members for the last several years, so we’ve been looking for new avenues to attract more people,” said Todd Allen, Upper Valley Curling’s vice president. “We felt like being close to places like Hanover, Lebanon and Norwich might help us do that. At some point, we’d like to have our own facility dedicated to curling. We’re going to have to grow the club in order to do that.”
For newcomers, the club will offer for $50 participation in a “learn to curl” session, plus three casual games designed to improve skills, Allen said. Those players may then decide whether to commit to Upper Valley Curling’s ice-time-related fees, $220 per person for each of its fall and winter seasons.
One of the more popular sports in Canada and some European countries, curling players slide large, flat stones down the ice toward a target while teammates use brooms to sweep the ice surface ahead of it to help control speed and direction.
The game gets ample attention in the U.S. during the Winter Olympic games, and Allen thinks it’s appealing enough to continue to catch on locally.
“It’s a really fun game, which is why our hard-core group members keep coming back,” Allen said. “It’s a very social game. After every game we barnstorm a local bar. They stay open for us.”
For more info, visit www.uppervalleycurling.org or email uppervalleycurling@gmail.com.
World Cup Coming to Killington: The FIS Ski Alpine World Cup is making a stop at Killington (Vt.) Ski Area this season, staging women’s slalom and giant slalom events on Nov. 26-27. It’s the first Alpine World Cup competition in the eastern U.S. in 25 years, according to the resort.
General admission, including parking and shuttle service, will be free on both days as the women’s G.S. kicks off Nov. 26 and slalom the following day. The first and second runs for both events are scheduled to begin at 9:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m., respectively.
Killington staff are recruiting 300 volunteers to assist with the festivities, duties ranging from meeting-and-greeting, course crew work, registration duties and media headquarters assistance.
For more information or to apply for a volunteer position, visit www.killington.com/worldcup.
River Clean Up in South Royalton: The White River Partnership is leading a cleanup of the White River on Sunday from 9:30-11 a.m. as part of the White River Resilience Festival, a series of community service projects, foot races, slide shows and other events in recognition of the fifth anniversary of Tropical Storm Irene.
River cleanup volunteers will meet at the Chelsea Street bridge and should wear closed-toe shoes and long pants. Gloves and bags will be provided.
For more information, visit www.whiteriverpartnership.org.