BONNYVILLE – The Bonnyville Curling Club is hoping to attract some new faces to throw rocks and learn the sport of curling at the local club.
Alternating between doubles curling and sterling curling, experienced and novice curlers are invited to drop in at the Bonnyville Curling Club on Friday nights at 7 p.m. to improve their skills or be introduced to the sport.
“The whole point of Friday night was just to get a little bit of a fun league started,” said Marcelle Vallee, the Bonnyville Curling Club’s vice president.
No former experience is required for the drop-in evening, but there is a fee of $5 per person for those who take part.
“We have a couple of us that are here that can teach you the basics in order to get you playing a little fun game. And if you're a little more experienced... (you) can get into playing a game right away,” she explained.
Each weekend that the drop-in league takes place it will switch between the standard doubles curling game and a newer variation, sterling curling, both are played with two people per team.
“(Sterling curling) is a newer variation of the curling sports and a lot of other clubs are finding some great success with it, and we just thought it'd be a fun way to introduce our members and the community,” said Vallee.
In sterling curling one teammate throws six rocks, but their partner remains at the other end the whole time. When the one side of players are done throwing their six rocks, their teammates then throw the six rocks back.
Vallee says the first night they held the drop-in, all the participants were brand new to curling, and by the next week there was a bit more of a mix.
“Tonight, we have a few of our members out here and one of the couples from last week came back and a couple other new people. So, it's a nice mix this time of people practicing and getting a feel for what it's like to throw,” she said.
This curling season there is an additional incentive to get community members engaged with the sport.
“Last year, I think we were able to curl maybe four weeks before we were shut down by the government,” Vallee said.
“It's still challenging for the club. We were nervous that we wouldn’t get enough members coming back and we were not sure how people were feeling and then having to implement the REP program (Restrictions Exemption Program). But the majority of our membership came back, which we're super thankful for.”
By introducing new people and families to the sport through activities like the fun league, the Bonnyville Curling Club is hoping to increase participation and awareness of the sport and boost membership of the club.
"The club can't function without members and it's a sport that we don't see a lot of young people in. So, we're trying to build up our junior program again. Hopefully with these Friday nights it encourages couples and families with older kids to come out.”
The next schedule drop-in events will be held on Feb. 4, 11 and 18. In March, the drop-in curling league is scheduled for the 4, 11 and 18 as well.
The curling club will also host two bonspiels. The first bonspiel will take place from Feb. 25-27 and will include both a mens’ and womens’ bonspiel.
“We figure if we can get more people in the building all at the same time and get that bit of a bonspiel vibe back, we might have better success than by separating all of our bonspiels,” said Vallee.
In March, the club will be hosting a mixed bonspiel, which is any combination of men or women teams, during the March 25-27 weekend.
Vallee says the best part of being back on the ice is that “It's just fun to get out and to socialize with people again... The comradery is great and it's great to visit people you haven't seen in a while. Some people come for the competition of it, people come for the fun. I just enjoy that it’s something to do in the winter.”
For those who may be on the fence or who have never tried curling before, she adds, “Come give it a shot – don't be scared of curling because it's fun.”
