YOU could be forgiven for thinking that curling without ice would be a non-starter. However, an ambitious Maldon PE teacher has brought the spirit of Sochi to the town.
Daniel Rose, who teaches at the Plume School, decided he would use his £750 Jack Petchey Leader Award grant to introduce curling to his pupils and the community by purchasing four sets of indoor curling stones and targets.
The 33-year-old told The Chronicle: "I won the grant around the time of the Winter Olympics and I'd heard a lot of the students talking about the curling, in particular about team GB's success.
"We looked at the option of introducing curling to the curriculum. Eventually we took the plunge and got the equipment and it has been really successful."
Earlier this year, Daniel won the prestigious Jack Petchey Leader Award, recognising his dedication and commitment towards supporting young people.
The Maldon man also ran the 2013 London Marathon in just over six hours, two years after successfully beating testicular cancer.
Daniel's efforts raised £2,500 for Orchid Cancer, a UK charity supporting research and treatment for men's cancers, the organisation that helped Daniel throughout his illness.
"Dan isn't afraid to let the kids know about the tough times he has been through and uses it to inspire them to be better and never give up. He always goes that extra mile," said Marylin Ruston, Jack Petchey coordinator at Plume School.
However, that wasn't enough – Daniel also encouraged his co-workers to take part in Movember, where people don moustaches throughout the month to raise cash for men's health charities.
The PE teacher added: "The kids have loved the moustaches and were disappointed on Monday, December 1, when it was gone – my wife wasn't, however."
Interest in Curling has snowballed after becoming an official Winter Olympic sport since the 1998 games in Nagano, Japan.
Daniel said: "We've had a brilliant response, and it has opened up a different and unique sport to students.
"It gets everybody involved, and it gets students of all abilities involved, and it's quite an even playing field. We have inter-form competitions, which have been really fun, and hope we can engage and compete against other schools in the near future."
