The Preeceville Curling Club was forced to cancel its annual Christmas bonspiel due to a lack of interest and the timing of the holidays this Christmas season, said Tim Olson, a club spokesman.
"It is getting harder to find people interested in curling and to volunteer," he said. "Unfortunately, curling is becoming a sport in which people are losing interest. It is not as popular as it used to be."
Regular curling for the season was scheduled to start this week, he said. There will be regular four-person curling on Monday nights and a two-on-two league playing on Tuesday nights.
The curling club will be purchasing a number of curling sticks to be kept at the rink for anyone to use, Olson said.
The Seniors’ 200-Plus Bonspiel was scheduled to run from January 11 to 15.
CurlSask has proclaimed January 27 as National Curling Day in Saskatchewan. To celebrate it, the Preeceville curling club will be hosting a wing night and a draw-to-the-button competition on February 5.
“Come out and have some wings and fun with club members to celebrate,” Olson said.
Dale Schur, the ice maker’s helper, attended an ice-making course in Whitewood and enjoyed it, Olson said. He said he really learned a lot from it. Sheldon Liuciw is the ice maker.
The club hosted a poker night at the rink on January 2 with 33 participants. It was a great success, he said.
"Players came from across the surrounding areas," he said. Dealers for the evening were: Ralph Ager, Tim Olson, James Bodanr and Sheldon Luciw. Mark Bourassa won the tournament. Barb Leason came in second; Allan Leason, third; Ron Kaminsky, fourth; and Evan Steppan, fifth.
The Preeceville Harvard Air Cadets will be hosting the cadets’ regional bonspiel in Preeceville on February 21.
The annual open wind-up bonspiel will run from February 28 to March 6.
The club is currently selling raffle tickets in which the first prize is a Saskatchewan Roughriders’ bar fridge, complete with supplies. Tickets can be purchased from any club member.
The Preeceville School continues to be a huge supporter of curling in Preeceville. It has junior and senior curling teams and students in grades 4-6 are being introduced to the sport, said Olson.
