OLDS — Olds Curling Club is hoping to obtain new members through a couple of events designed to introduce people to the sport.
One, held this past Saturday Feb. 5, was Curling Day in Canada.
About 30 people tried curling for the first time that day. Many were in town for a hockey tournament in the Sportsplex. They received help from volunteer coaches.
Several club members also got in some extra practice time.
Among those who gave curling a try were Cali Tysoski, 6, of Rimbey and Blake Schenk, also 6, of Leslieville, near Eckville.
U-13 coach Kali Richardson showed them the basics: how to start out from the hack and how to properly throw a rock.
Tysoski and Schenk tried throwing the rock a couple of times, but that was that.
Cali said it was “fun” and Blake said it was “OK.”
But neither wanted to do it again.
Cali said she prefers gymnastics and Blake said he likes hockey better “because you score goals."
Blake’s dad, Matt was asked what he thought of the experience for his son.
“It’s good for him to try it, try other sports, see what happens,” he said.
Cali’s mom, Michelle, echoed that thought.
“It’s good for her to try, try new things. And it’s a good sport for a girl to get into; glad she got the opportunity,” she said.
Matt was asked if he might try curling, given this experience.
“Maybe when I retire from hockey,” he said, noting he still plays the game and coaches his son’s initiation team, the Eckville Eagles.
Michelle said she would have liked to have curled when she was growing up, but “we never got into curling back in the day. It wasn’t very popular like it is now.”
Another introduction to the sport, Sheets and Beats, occurs this Friday, Feb. 11 at 7 p.m.
OCC treasurer Tammy Schwass says no experience is necessary.
The event will be followed with a performance by local musician Dustin Farr in the Hack and Hammer Lounge in the Sportsplex. The deadline for registering is Feb. 6.
Schwass says these are just a couple of ways the club is trying to grow membership. She said it’s all part of an effort by the club to “recruit new people and just be open and welcoming.”
Another attraction is Play Along in the Snowball, where participants enter a toonie each week with a chance to win a prize, which “snowballs” each week.
Another fun event is the Kevin Koe silent auction which offers a chance to obtain a curling jersey signed by Calgary curling great Kevin Koe. The window to do that closes March 14.
Koe is a two-time world and four-time Canadian champion. His team finished fourth overall in the 2018 Winter Olympic Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea.
The club is also gearing up for the Ladies Bonspiel, which will be held March 4-6 and the Olds Open Bonspiel, March 11-13. Schwass says any combination of players is acceptable for the open, including juniors, ladies, men’s, or mixed teams.
Schwass said so far, to her knowledge, the club has no plans to offer a men’s bonspiel.
“We just didn’t have any volunteers step up to organize an event. So at this point in time we’re not aware if anyone’s going to take that on and so there won’t be a men’s bonspiel,” she said during an interview.
In an email, OCC president Jennifer Lutz said the club had planned to host a senior bonspiel “but the January dates were at the height of the fifth wave COVID case numbers.
“Our senior members decided to cancel the event as they didn't believe the curler or volunteer turnout would be significant enough to run the event. It was really disappointing as normally, it's a fantastic event,” she wrote.
Currently, the club operates under the provincial government’s Restriction Exemption Program (REP).
Under the REP, in order to enter the facility, patrons must show proof of vaccination, a negative COVID-19 test or a valid medical exemption.
Last year was a tough one for the club, Schwass said.
She said they were only able to get in five weeks of the season, due to COVID.
"This year’s been fairly good that we could be up and running with the REP. At least we knew sort of the guidelines of what we could do,” Schwass said.
“Last year we could only get five weeks of curling in. That was really hard on the club because we left the ice in, which of course (means) you incur all the costs with operating the power plant and that sort of thing.
“So we had left the ice in and finally decided that we didn’t know if we were going to be able to be back by the spring, so we decided to take it out in January. So that was pretty hard financially and it’s also taken a hit just with not knowing.
“We did save a bit of the operations that way and the Town helped us out there as well,” she added.
This year, Schwass said, the club has been “a bit conservative” when planning events to ensure they can balance their books.
