OLDS — The Olds Curling Club decided to proceed with its annual Olds Open bonspiel because total entries fell below the 250-person threshold mandated by the provincial government.
The tournament was scheduled to run March 13-15.
Vice-president of communications Jennifer Lutz said the club undertook extra measures to keep people safe.
“There are 28 teams entered, so with 112 curlers, the event is under the threshold suggested by the Alberta government,” Lutz wrote in an email.
“The club did a lot of extra cleaning and we are asking curlers to clean rock handles after every game.
“We will have extra handwashing signs, 20-second timers in the bathrooms and hand sanitizers on site.
“We are posting posters encouraging a no contact environment (social isolating) which includes asking curlers to break from tradition and not shake hands before and after the games.
We also do not have any buffet-style food service and will offer a steak dinner which is individually plated from the kitchen.
“Our last measure is to encourage people who have any symptoms not to come and we have relaxed our spare policy to accommodate any last-minute changes to teams,” she added.
Lutz said the club planned to continue monitoring the situation and at the time said they “will follow recommendations as COVID-19 response evolves.”
