Shane Doddridge is hoping to drum up excitement for the upcoming curling season.
Doddridge, the Williams Lake Curling Club’s new president, comes from a curling family himself and said he’s looking forward to seeing new, as well as familiar faces back at the club this season.
“My grandfather Jack Doddridge started curling in Burns Lake in 1955,” Doddridge said. “‘That was the coldest winter I’ve ever seen. Even my beer froze,’ he always says. He taught my dad, Phil, and after they got married, my mom Joanne picked up the broom, too.”
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Doddridge started curling at the age of 10 in Quesnel. At 29, he’s now got 20 years of curling experience under his belt.
“I actually learned the game in the early 90s when curling first became widely televised,” he said. “My mom would put on the Scotties or the Brier, and then fall asleep on the remote. There was nothing my brothers or I could do but watch. That was the golden age of curling, with names like Stoughton and Schmirler dominating Canada and the world.”
He said in those days, his parents played in many bonspiels, and he and his brothers spent many winters playing hide and seek throughout dingy curling rinks across Northern B.C. “It was only a matter of time before we started curling, too,” he said.
After curling with his brother throughout high school, and during university in Prince George, Doddridge first began curling in Williams Lake in 2014 when he moved here for work. “It was a friendly, welcoming club, excited for a new face,” he said, noting he spared for Brian Purdy at first before finding a team with Bill Garrett in 2015. “I’ve curled on other teams since then, but now am skipping my own on Tuesday nights. Williams Lake curlers have taught me a lot about the game, and reinvigorated my passion for being out on the ice.”
He said he’s thankful to follow in past president Robert Gudbranson’s footsteps.
“His dedication and hard work helped to bring the Williams Lake Curling Club from just another dingy old club to the vibrant modern facility it is today,” Doddridge said. “If you haven’t been to the club in a few years, you’d hardly recognize the place with all the improvements. Not only do we have an immaculate facility, we have the best curling ice in Northern B.C. If you don’t believe us, come to our bonspiels and see for yourself. Playing on such good ice makes us all better curlers and prepares us for competitions in larger centres.” He said the club has Ken Kvist, Bill Rand and Rick Miller to thank for that. “These guys are artists,” he said. “And now that we have a state of the art facility, we need to focus on filling it up with curlers.”
This year’s leagues at the WLCC will include: Monday Social League, Tuesday Sponsor League, Wednesday Ladies League, Thursday Men’s League and Friday Open League (mixed).
There will also be drop-in stick curling Thursday afternoons, and the club’s junior program running on Monday afternoons.
“This year we wanted to mix it up so we’re adding two new leagues,” Doddridge said.
The Friday Day Curling league will run for six weeks in the fall, and then a second season of six weeks after Christmas. “This league is for those who can only commit to half a season, or shift workers, or those who want to get out on the ice before noon,” he said.
The WLCC is also starting a double pool, as most of the club was inspired by the Olympic doubles curling in Korea last season.
“Doubles will also be broken up into two seasons: one before Christmas and one after,” he said. “Doubles won’t be at one set time. Teams will book ice times for each game and play their way through the pool. That way those of us curling in other leagues won’t miss out on doubles.”
READ MORE: Junior curlers learning to rock the rink
Also new this year, Doddridge said the WLCC is setting up a mentorship program where experienced curlers will volunteer to give lessons to newer curlers.
“We’ve got two lists going at the club: those who want to learn, and those who want to teach,” Doddridge said. “Williams Lake has a lot of curlers who are strong in the game, but we also have a lot of curlers just starting out.”
Doddridge explained it’s been a theme for curlers new to the sport to being playing in the Monday Social League where they learn the ropes before their teams move up to the Wednesday, Thursday or Friday leagues in a year or two. “Some of the older guys tell me stories of when the Williams Lake men’s bonspiel had so many teams there would be games on all six sheets going 24 hours a day,” he said.
“We hope the good old days aren’t over, and we can do what they’re doing up around Terrace and Prince Rupert — getting young people back in the game.” He said curling is a social sport during a time of year when it can sometimes be hard to get up off the couch.
“It’s competitive for some of us, but most people just love being out on the ice, throwing rocks and shooting the breeze,” he said. “Afterwards, everyone’s upstairs for a well-earned beer, to debrief the game and to solve all the world’s problems.”
Registration week at the WLCC is Oct. 9-12 from 6 to 8:30 p.m. During that time, drop-in curling is free. Teams will be out practicing and teaching when they come in to register, Doddridge said.
“If you’re a curler, or interested at all, that’s the time to come down to our club and see what all of the fuss is about,” he said.
The WLCC is located at 800 Mackenzie Ave. S at the Williams Lake Stampede Grounds.
For more information, visit www.williamslakecurling.com or contact the club manager, Laura Ball, at wlcc@shaw.ca, or by phone at 250-392-4636.
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