With the hockey season well underway at the Eddie in downtown Invermere, its getting to be that time of year for action to pick up across the street at the Invermere Curling Club.
The Curling Club will be hosting its annual general meeting on Thursday, September 29th at 7 p.m. Its open to the public to sign up for any of the leagues or activities going on at the club.
This year there will be a variety of leagues for interested curlers to register for that will keep the Curling Club busy every night. On Monday there is the mixed league open to teams with both males and females; Tuesday is the mens league with the womens league on the following night.
Curling Club President Rick Luyendyk said they will be changing up the format for womens night this year, re-drawing teams every week for the women in hopes of creating a more balanced playing field.
We were having our numbers drop off and this is what some of the other ladies teams have done in other areas and found it to be quite good, he said. It gets it mixed and you dont end up with one extremely competitive team because everyone likes to curl on competitive teams generally, unless everyone is about the same level.
On Thursday there will be seniors league during the day with a Fun League in the evening. Mr. Luyendyk said this league is geared toward people who are not competitive curlers and are looking to learn more about the sport. He said that many of the people curling in this league use it as a learning ground for the sport before advancing onto more competitive and higher experienced leagues.
Friday nights will be dedicated to the Curling Clubs Learn to Curl program that is taught by Jack Keshen. Mr. Luyendyk said they have run the program in past years but this year will ensure that it is operating every Friday to help newcomers to the sport build their knowledge of the game.
A lot of people are scared to go because youre standing on ice. Youre slipping and sliding and if you dont know how to come out of a hack properly or slide properly and what the rock is supposed to do, youre going to fight it, he said. Weve had a lot of curlers go from never throwing a rock before to being good curlers real quick.
Prices for registration for each league vary depending on the league and the number of leagues that curlers are interested in registering for. Mr. Luyendyk said if people want to know more information, they are invited to come out to the AGM.
He added that curling presents a perfect opportunity for people to remain active in the wintertime and escape the suboptimal weather that often accompanies it.
Its also a lot of fun, he said. Not only the game itself but the camaraderie during the game but also after the game.
With the ice set to go in the curling rink on October 1st, the days will be numbered before the first rock is thrown at the Invermere Curling Club on October 15th as part of the opening Link to Rink weekend where people golf one day and curl the next. For more information, people are encouraged to visit www.curlinginvermere.ca, call 250-342-3315
or email [email protected].
