Curling club hosting online raffle

The Strathmore and District Curling Club (SDCC) is hosting their first ever online 50/50 raffle with 35,000 tickets available for a chance to win half the prize money raised. 

The SDCC started its 2020-21 curling season in October with four leagues in play – Men’s, Ladies, Mixed and Seniors drop in. But all curling was halted in December, six weeks into the season, due to provincial restrictions on organized sporting events and indoor gatherings.

The SDCC is unsure exactly when and if league play will be able to resume but the board is hopeful that if restrictions are lifted by Feb. 1, teams can finish one round of league-play games during the last two months of the curling season. It is not likely that any bonspiels will be played this year.

With both league play and bonspiels axed, the SDCC came up with the idea of an online 50/50 raffle to help make up lost revenue from the season.

“As you can imagine, the lockdown has eliminated our revenue and we still have the ongoing costs of maintaining the ice surface and the building utilities,” said SDCC president, Ken Shackleton.

Anyone who is a resident in Alberta may enter the raffle so long as they are 18 years of age or older. 

The prize can grow up to $20,000 before it needs to be capped, so a maximum of 35,000 tickets are available for purchase. In the first two days, 700 tickets were sold. 

Tickets can be purchased at strathmorecurling.ca – the last day for raffle ticket sales is Feb. 20. Tickets are three for $15, eight for $10 or 20 for $20. The value of the payout will be updated daily on the club’s website. 

“We will very likely use (an online 50/50 raffle) in the future. Fundraising is a constant activity for us, as it is for many non-profits. This seemed like a good method with a high prize potential for the participants,” said Shackleton. He added he hopes “when COVID is behind us, (people) come out, join a league, volunteer and have a great time with a really friendly group of folks” at the rink.