The 100 Mile House Curling Club has postponed its season until Jan. 2 due to ice problems.
Club president Eugene Gerwing said the issue stems from a water purification system that was installed incorrectly over the summer. The lines were reversed so the purified water was being sent down the drain while the concentrated mineral content water flowed into the tank and was used to flood the ice.
Tests taken in the middle of November confirmed the issue.
One of the ice techs from Curl BC, Mike Merklinger, had suggested instead of removing the ice, they should scrape it down and flood it several times. Unfortunately, the minerals were bleeding through the ice above, making it too heavy.
On Monday, club officials and Merklinger reached the conclusion that the best solution was to “melt the ice, take it out completely and wash everything down to get rid of the concentrated minerals and start from scratch redoing the ice,” Gerwing said.
He noted there is already a 10-day shutdown scheduled over Christmas and New Year’s but they needed more time to replace the ice. The process should be completed by Dec. 25.
A post on the club’s Facebook page says “all games that have been cancelled by the club will not be played, and no points awarded. We will review this further in regards to fairness to each team of each league, and for all members, based on the number of games cancelled.
“Any game cancelled by one of the teams prior to this date, that has not been rescheduled and played, will be considered as a tie and both teams will be awarded 1 point.”
Gerwing added they are making two improvements to Canlan’s refrigeration system for the rink. They plan to run the circulation pump continuously which should even out the temps across the three sheets of ice. They are also reducing the “deadband” on the thermostat. It is currently at .05 C and has been reduced to .01 C. This will provide a more consistent temperature for the ice.
The club has a men’s bonspiel planned for Jan. 14-15.
fiona.grisswell@100milefreepress.net
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