For many in the north, throwing stones on pebbled sheets in the comfort of man-made cold is what winter is all about, and a group in the Timmins area is doing its best to entice young people to the sport.

Recently, the McIntyre Curling Club was home to its first-ever “Little Rocks Bantam Bonspiel.”

Hundreds of youngsters from across the northeast gathered in the Schumacher neighborhood in Timmins last weekend to test their curling skills, hoping for a chance at provincials.

"We're pleasantly surprised. We had twenty teams in total and then all of a sudden we had an influx from three towns and had twelve more teams show up." said organizer Darrell Sarrasin.

It was a good turnout for an inaugural event, and organizers say bonspiels like this help to foster a new generation of curlers.  They say these types of events get people interested, help them get comfortable and show them that they can compete in the sport.

According to Sarrasin, the McIntyre club has about 45 kids in their youth program, which he says is encouraging because adult numbers are falling in area clubs.

To hear the young athletes at the club tell it, curling isn't going to die out any time soon.

"Curling is my favourite sport; I wouldn't give it up for any other sport, and the people? Curling is such a nice etiquette game and a gentleman's game that is enjoyable for everybody." said youth curler Justin Francoeur.

"If you're playing a sport like soccer, you get like all sweaty, and if you're out there it's like colder, so you can always get not too hot and sweaty." said participant Gabrielle Gibson.

Many of the curlers travelled hours to attend and while victory was certainly on their minds, other aspects of the game came into play as well.

"I enjoy the roar of the rocks, every time I hear a rock roar on the ice, that's my favourite sound. I like that sound so much, I can't explain the feeling I get when I hear that sound on the ice." said Francoeur.

From little rocks to big rocks, these young curlers say they've found a sport for life.

Chuck Durrant is a curling coach and says that mentoring youth in curling is all about continuing the tradition.

"When you get them early, they stay members a long, long time. It's a lifelong sport, and if you can catch them, give them that love early, they'll keep playing until they're 100 years old if they can." said Durrant.

As the youngsters begin to learn the fine art of brushing and throwing stones, there's no telling how far they'll take the sport.

Perhaps a future Olympian is standing on those sheets.