NORTH BATTLEFORD — North Battleford Twin Rivers Curling Club manager, Brandon Hall, says ice is set to be in and ready for the Tuesday after Thanksgiving. Registration will begin in mid September.
“Offseason, we had our annual steak and lobster fundraiser that was a great success as usual. We hosted a lot of different rentals such as the City of North Battleford garage sale, a couple weddings, a funeral, school award ceremonies a grad and liquidation sales every month. We have a very large capacity in the arena for off season rentals and it has been very busy this year.”
Adding tables and chairs was a big asset to Twin Rivers this year as they can be used for rentals, as well as they can be rented to take outside of the building during the winter.
“This was a great upgrade to the rink as the rentals help offset our costs to operate,” adds Hall.
Curling season for Twin Rivers will welcome a number of events to their house. CurlSask is hosting three events at the club. A U18 tour event will take place Nov. 28-20. January will kick off with winter games qualifier. The U20 Mixed Doubles Provincial Championship will be held March 12-15. The local events for the Battlefords Curling Club will include seven bonspiels.
“Last season had many highlights. We hosted our 100th annual men’s bonspiel marking a big milestone for curling in the Battlefords. We also hosted a U20 Tour event and both junior districts and senior regionals,” Hall says.
Hall acknowledges that most rinks are facing the same challenges as Twin Rivers which include rising costs, and attracting new people in the door. The curling manager affirms that offseason rentals are their best way to offset these costs.
“I think if there is something we want the public to know is we have a league for everyone. If your goal is to just get out and have fun for an hour, a competitive curler or anything in between either way we have something for you. Even if you have never played before or maybe haven’t played in years, we can help you out and get you started. If your nervous about trying around other people, no problem give us a call and you can come in when no one else is curling and try it out. We can help you discover curling in a safe non intimidating way.”
Leagues take place every night of the week and vary from recreational, afternoon, competitive, stick league, junior instructional, family league, and social leagues, with the option to sign up for a shortened season.
A community curling club can offer great winter recreation options as well as help the community with economic beneftis as they draw in players and visitors from out of town that benefit the hospitality sector.
