Curling Club ups interest with bonspiel

Times Reporter   

 

With 16 teams and 64 players, the Strathmore Curling Club kicked off their first shorty bonspiel of 2014 on Jan. 4, with first and second place in sections A, B, and C taking home cash prizes.

“When I grew up in Regina, we used to run these shorties every once in a while, for people that aren’t regular curlers, to give people a chance to come out and play once or twice a winter,” said Craig Koch, Strathmore Curling Club president. “It went over great.”

Koch had the club’s bar and kitchen open for service, and also offered a few door prizes along with the 50/50 draw.

“It was fun, everybody had a good time. We had a lot of people out to the rink that we’ve never seen before, which is great. Hopefully these little shorties will increase our membership as the years go on,” Koch said.

Koch has been president of the club for just over 90 days, he joked.

“It’s been quite a learning curve,” he said. “We’re hoping to make the rink a lot more accessible to the community than it has been because other than the members and the schools, it’s being underutilized. From advertising and these little shorty events, hopefully we can generate more interest.”

The club plans to hold another event on March 29.

“Near the end of the season, we’re going to try and bump up to 32 teams and do an all day-all night event,” Koch said.