Curling season a success

By Melissa Piche Times Contributor

As the last rock was thrown at the men’s bonspiel last month, it once again signaled the end of the curling season.

“(It was a) really good season.,” said Ken Shackleton, president of the Strathmore and District Curling Club.

With close to 300 active members, Shackleton is confident that the number will continue to rise to pre-COVID levels. While that the number is still down about 30 per cent, with the introduction of new programs, the club remains optimistic to draw new members.  

The newest addition to the already successful curling club is the Sterling League. Sterling involves two players only and the teams play six ends and only throw six rocks … and no sweeping!  In a regular game of curling, there are four players, eight rocks and eight ends. 

“There is no sweeping, which is one of the things that make it popular,” said Shackleton. “The typical standard curling game lasts about two hours, but a Sterling game is over in about an hour. A lot of people expressed interest, so we’ll probably expand next year.”  

Member Mike Molnar has expressed an interest in starting a mixed doubles league. More research needs to be done on the exact details of the game, but essentially, it’s two players and five rocks. This league would require sweeping, so after you throw your rock, you have to get up and sweep your own rock, which can be quite a challenge to say the least.  

The curling club also hosts a learn to curl clinic every year. 

“In years past, we had just one evening, but this year we decided to run it every night for a week,” said Shackleton.

The clinic is run in early October when the ice goes in, prior to but leagues starting up.  

“We had a number of people come every day,” said Shackleton. “It was very popular, so I think we’ll try that again.” 

The board starts their first planning meeting in May and another one in August to prepare for the upcoming season. The board works diligently to try to make the season as much fun as possible for each league.  

“We do everything we can to encourage people to continue to come back,” said Shackleton. “Of course, we are always looking for new members and new curlers that’s where the learn to curl week come into play.” 

The public is invited to the AGM on April 26 at 7 p.m. at the curling rink and there are some board positions opening up. 

If you would like more information on The Strathmore and District Curling Club you can find everything you need by visiting their website (https://strathmorecurling.ca).