One of the best things about curling is it’s a sport geared for any age group, whether you’re young, middle-aged or into your senior years, says Williams Lake Curling Club Manager Laura Ball.
And her sentiment rang true at Tuesday night’s sponsor league, as curlers of all ages took to the ice to compete in friendly, but also monetary competition.
The sponsor league is one of five different leagues that the curling club hosts at their rink on the upper level of the Stampede Grounds.
Although the Tuesday night league is the smallest, with only four teams registered for the season, it is the only league that has sponsors and therefore a money prize for winners.
With five main leagues, including a social league, men’s night, ladies night, and open league, the club is busy every night during the week. Despite that, curler Ron Bisario says attendance is way down.
He notes that now, all leagues start at 7 p.m. and there is one draw, that is, all the teams start and play at the same time. It used to be they had a second draw almost every night, meaning they had more curlers than room on the ice.
“Years ago we used to have to run an all-nighter,” says Ball, referring to the yearly men’s and ladies bonspiel held in February. “We had so many teams but now the numbers are dropping and that’s obviously something that we would love to build on.”
She says there used to be a waiting list to get into the curling club but this year the club only has about 115 members.
“We’re always trying to improve the club so that it’s nice and comfortable for the members and the newcomers that hopefully would like to come in,” says Ball.
In the past few years, the club has re-done the painting and flooring on the inside of the building as well as putting up new windows and refreshed the exterior. The most exciting upgrade this year was inserts for the curling rocks, an update that will enhance the performance of the rocks and help curlers see an improvement in their game.
Next on the ticket is a new compressor worth about $5,000, notes Bisario. The compressor will help keep everything nice and cold for the season which runs from October to March.
Aside from physical upgrades to the facilities, the curling club is also making an effort to engage more people in the sport.
“We have an 89-year-old fellow who curls,” notes Bisario. “He throws with a stick and he’s out here having a great time.”
The stick league is a form of curling geared towards seniors and those with some mobility issues. The games have only two players per team and only six ends are played, as opposed to the 10 played in a regular game. The league gets its name from the device used to “deliver the stone and not actually have to get into that yoga positon to deliver their rock,” says Ball.
The club is also trying to engage young curlers in the sport. There is a junior curling program Mondays after school from 3:30 to 5 p.m. and Bisario notes that he’ll sometimes take part in the Rocks & Rings program.
Rocks & Rings is an initiative by Curl B.C. to visit elementary schools and teach students all about curling. Bisario says that when there is interest from a teacher, they’ll bring students in grades five through seven down to the rink for some ice time.
Despite an overall downward trend in curling’s popularity, manager Ball says curling really is fun, great exercise and a sport for everyone.
Her advice?
“Don’t be afraid to come and try out the sport.”
Tuesday Night Sponsor League Scores
Lake City Collision (2 wins, 0 losses)
Purdy’s (1 win, 1 loss)
Credit Union (1 win, 1 loss)
Tim Horton’s (0 wins, 2 losses)
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