World championships, Olympic medallists, and a wheelchair league on a Wednesday. Welcome to Curl Aberdeen

11th March 2026

Every time you play the National Lottery, a share goes to good causes. Curl Aberdeen is one of them - a community venue built with National Lottery funding, where wheelchair curlers compete as the Winter Paralympics unfold in Italy.

Wide view of the main ice hall at Curl Aberdeen, showing all six international-standard sheets in use. A wheelchair curler in the foreground reflects the club's fully inclusive offer, with members of all abilities competing together in the regular league. Image credit: Curl Aberdeen

Curling might not be the sport you think of first when you think of the National Lottery and sport. But the National Lottery has been backing it for decades - and this month, with the Milano-Cortina 2026 Winter Paralympic Games under way, one National Lottery-funded venue in Aberdeen is a vivid example of what that investment makes possible.

Curl Aberdeen opened in January 2005 as the only purpose-built curling facility in north-east Scotland. It was made possible by a £2.4 million project developed by Aberdeen City Council, with National Lottery funding through sportscotland — the national agency for sport in Scotland and a distributor of National Lottery funds.

Before it opened, curlers in the region had to share ice in venues not designed for the sport. The new building gave curling its own home: six international-standard sheets, year-round, capable of hosting elite world competition and community sessions in the same building on the same day.

Today it is a not-for-profit members’ club with over 600 members aged eight and over. Layla Al-Saffar, the club’s development and events co-ordinator, says the Games always bring the community together: “We’re always really happy with the Olympics and Paralympics and what it brings to the rink. The interest in curling is always really high. It’s really nice to have the sport get such a good highlight — our members love to see that. We always want to bring back medals, because it’s great for everyone.”

The exterior of Curl Aberdeen, the only purpose-built curling facility in north-east Scotland. The venue opened in January 2005 following a £2.4 million project backed by National Lottery funding through sportscotland. Image credit: Curl Aberdeen

What wheelchair curling is - and why it matters

Wheelchair curling is one of the headline events at the Milano-Cortina 2026 Winter Paralympic Games. It has been a full medal sport at every Winter Paralympics since Turin 2006. Teams of four compete on standard curling ice, using the same stones and the same strategic format as Olympic curling - the difference is that players deliver stones from a stationary wheelchair, using a cue or pole rather than sliding. No sweeping takes place. The sport is entirely about precision, tactics and teamwork.

At Curl Aberdeen, wheelchair curlers are full members of the club. They have dedicated sessions and they compete in the regular club league alongside able-bodied members — the same competition, the same evenings, the same sport. Delivery aids are available for anyone who needs them, adapting how a stone is played without changing what the game is.

“All ages and all abilities are able to play,” says Layla. “We’re able to adapt the sport to allow for that. In winter, during the not-so-nice months - especially up north in Scotland - it gives everyone a place to go, a community to belong to.” “Without National Lottery investment, a venue like Curl Aberdeen simply wouldn’t exist in the way it does today. Scottish Curling has been proud to work in partnership with them on inclusion projects, and the results speak for themselves - hundreds of members, world-class competitions, and a programme that welcomes everyone from eight-year-olds to wheelchair users competing at club level.” - Eilidh McCall-Lawrie, Head of Sport & Communities, Scottish Curling.

Club members in action at Curl Aberdeen, with young and older curlers competing side by side. The club has over 600 members aged eight and over, and has hosted the European and World Curling Championships. Image credit: Curl Aberdeen

A venue that has already produced an Olympian

Curl Aberdeen’s track record at elite level is remarkable for a community club. It has hosted the European Curling Championships (2009 and 2023), the World Junior Curling Championships (2018) and the World Mixed Curling Championships three times (2019, 2022 and 2023). Its facility manager, Tom Brewster, is a 2014 Sochi Winter Olympic silver medallist. Its Curling Convenor, Jackie Lockhart, is a 1998 Nagano Olympian and world champion — currently commentating on the Winter Games for UK television audiences in Italy. And Rebecca Morrison — who picked up a curling stone for the first time at this venue at the age of eight, when the new rink was built — competed for Team GB at her first Winter Olympics at Milano-Cortina 2026. The National Lottery helped build the facility where her journey started.

Building a wider community

The club has recently partnered with Scottish Curling to run introductory floor curling sessions for people with intellectual disabilities, in preparation for curling’s first-ever inclusion in the 2029 Special Olympics World Winter Games in Switzerland. A four-week block has been completed and a new eight-week course is under way.

Layla describes what she witnessed: “It was really nice to see a small community group grow. Some of the comments we heard from people coming along were just really lovely. One woman said she hadn’t done a sport in a long time, and now it was nice to have something to come along to and meet new people.” She reflects on what curling does that few sports can: “Even when I’ve curled, I’ve been maybe ten years old, playing with someone who’s 70. We spoke like normal - because we both had a common interest.”

Every time you play the National Lottery, you help fund projects like this one. National Lottery players raise £32 million every week for good causes across the UK. In Scotland, that investment has reached over £4.2 billion and more than 83,000 projects since 1994.