The ice is in and the leagues are full at the 100 Mile Curling Club.
Last week, league play officially kicked off said Eugene Gerwing, president of the club. Gerwing said that with 135 curlers registered the club is back to its pre-pandemic normal.
“We’ve probably got 50 to 60 more curlers from last year and we have seven leagues involved,” Gerwing said. “It’s actually really good to see. We weren’t sure that some of our curlers would come back but luckily they all did. There have actually been some new people who have moved into the area that are former curlers and wanted to rejoin, so we’re happy the way this season has turned out.”
This year, Gerwing said they had challenges getting the ice set and ready to curl on. The curling club relies on refrigeration from the South Cariboo Rec. Centre and it can be hard to consistently maintain the rink’s temperature. Gerwing said this factor combined with the unseasonably warm weather delayed their season by a week.
“As warm as it was outside when we vented the rink we were pulling in warmer air and moisture. The humidity was causing problems but the weather is getting better, our cooling system is improving and the ice is getting to the point where each of the three sheets is operating normally.”
The club has leagues playing almost every day of the week including an open doubles league and learn to curl drop-in league on Mondays, the mixed league on Tuesdays, the men’s league on Wednesdays, the women’s league on Thursdays, an open doubles league every second Friday and a recreational mixed open league every second Sunday.
Gerwing said the club is already preparing for its mixed bonspiel in November followed by bonspiels for the men, women and a doubles later on in the year. He added that the club’s lounge and sheets are available to be rented for community events.
Registration for the leagues closed on Oct. 31 but Gerwing said they still welcome late registrants early in the season. He encourages anyone interested to come to their drop-in leagues to a feel for the sport. If they like it, Gerwing said they can contact the club at 100milecurling@gmail.com.
“If people just moved to the area and didn’t know there was a league and they want to join we can fit them in wherever we can,” Gerwing said.
patrick.davies@100milefreepress.net
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