By examining the social lives and health of female curlers, University of Western Ontario research hopes to recognize how sport and recreation differ for women in diverse rural communities across Canada.
In determining how health, sport and recreation can be better understood in rural areas, lead researcher Beverly Leipert, a professor in the School of Nursing, wants to learn how women perceive the influence of these activities on their well-being.
“Health is much more than physical health, it’s social health and it’s mental health,” says Leipert of the multi-year study, funded through a $134,000 grant from Sport Canada.
“Curling is huge in rural communities and we want to know how it facilitates mental, physical and social health. We’re asking the women how it affects their health broadly. Older women may say it gets them out of the house, which keeps up their mental health, while younger women may say they take part for the physical benefits.”
With little research on rural women’s health – and virtually none on curling – the dwindling population of rural Canadian communities puts greater emphasis on the importance of such activities.
“It is a sport open to all, from children to grandchildren. It’s so central to rural areas, and a sport more accessible to women,” she says. “Other things can close – schools, elevators, grocery stores – but the rink is still there. It does serve an important purpose, so how can we support this.”
The study is the first to explore the effects of curling activities on the social lives and health of rural women in Canada. More than 50 women will take part in the study, including six to eight women from eight rural communities in Nova Scotia, the Northwest Territories, Manitoba, and Ontario.
Leipert is excited about a new research method being used called Photo Voice. Participants, from young teens to seniors, have been given cameras to take photos of how curling affects their lives, writing about this in their logbooks and then sharing the information during focus groups.
“It could be (about) them curling, or simply socializing with friends,” says Leipert, adding, “It’s going to be all things. I don’t think it’s one or the other. It’s the diversity and complexity of the importance of the sport to rural women’s health that we’re interested in. There is really rich data there.”
Leipert has visited one community involved in the study and will be heading into another next week. Her early impression is the sport and its importance to the well-being of women and their community is huge.
“We want to know if it’s important to support these clubs, and from the one group I’ve talked to, it’s important,” she says.
Leipert adds the study has implications for better understanding rural community development and sustainability.
“Rural communities are losing population, young people are moving away,” says Leipert. “The age of the people curling is increasing, but no new blood. How can we sustain this sport in the rural areas? Perhaps we need grants that small clubs can apply for; more media attention given to the sport; we want to move the sport forward for girls and women.”
