There will be curling in the north Island after all.
While the Fort Rupert Curling Club in Port Hardy is undecided on whether they will open this year or not, the Broughton Curling Club in Port McNeill has given the green light to the upcoming season, with Mixed Play starting Nov. 2 and Men’s Play following Nov. 4.
The club is also hoping to start an afternoon league for retirees, with more information about that coming in the future.
Broughton Curling Club president Clint Fiske stated they didn’t want to “shut it down for the whole season — we get our brine from the Regional District of Mount Waddington so our costs to run aren’t that high. We would welcome any of the players from Port Hardy to come down and join this season.”
He noted they will be following special rules that Curl BC has adopted due to the COVID-19 pandemic, such as only one sweeper at a time and cleaning the rocks after every use.
As it stands right now, bonspiels (tournaments that feature teams from all over Vancouver Island coming to play) are not happening, and likely won’t be scheduled at all this year at the Port McNeill curling rink.
Fiske added that if a second wave of COVID-19 does hit during flu season, they will most likely have to shut things down.
In other news, the Broughton Curling Club’s building has been painted, and it’s looking in fantastic shape.
“Shana Marshall started the fundraiser and the people of Port McNeill who donated really helped get the ball rolling with the new paint job,” added Fiske.
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