DIDSBURY – The Didsbury Curling Club is proposing to have a massive stick curling stone monument erected in town to attract curling enthusiasts and other visitors.
A delegation from the club appeared before council on June 11, outlining the proposed $30,000 project.
Gord Leeson told councillors about the project and how once completed, the monument could be the largest stick curling stone in the world.
“Couldn’t Didsbury have the world’s largest stick curling stone?” said Leeson. “Let’s do this before someone else lays claim to it. We need the world to know that Didsbury is the home of stick curling. It’s time to tell the world.”
The curling stone monument would be constructed by welding two steel oilfield tank ends together, the completed stone being a little more than three metres (10 feet) in diameter.
The cost would be $25,000 to construct the rock and another $5,000 for paint, he said.
Local residents Brian Dingman and Carson Schultz created stick curling in 1998.
An article posted on the Curling Canada website states, in part, that, “Sturling is a two-person team variant of curling co-invented by Brian Dingman and Carson Schultz of Didsbury. Originally, it was called ‘Push Broom Curling’ because players used push brooms to deliver the rocks. Delivery sticks soon became popular and thus the name was changed to ‘Stick Curling’.”
The curling stone monument could be placed on a pedestal outside of the Memorial Complex, which includes the local curling rinks.
Coun. John Baswick called the project a great proposal.
“I love this idea,” he said. “It would bring many tourist to town. Stick curling started here.”
Deputy mayor Curt Engel also expressed support for the project.
“We should be celebrating someone local who has contributed something like this to the world,” he said.
Council carried a motion to send the proposal to the service level committee for review and recommendation back to council.
Meanwhile, project organizers have made an application under the community partnership program.
“Policy CS 002 is a program where the Town of Didsbury will consider public recreation, parks and cultural partnership opportunities that enhance current infrastructure and services and are consistent with the Didsbury Recreation and Culture Master plan,” administration said in a briefing note to council.
“Projects may be capital and/or operations in nature and shall fall into two streams: large community projects and small community projects.”
