The Estevan Curling Club is coming off another good year, and looking forward to the 2019-20 curling season.
The curling club held its annual general meeting on Sept. 18. President Devon Fornwald said the club’s financial picture is in good shape after last year.
The club is still waiting to find out how much money it will receive from Curl Canada for hosting the Canada Cup of Curling event in December of last year. Fornwald said there should be a few thousand dollars more coming in to help with the finances.
“Every little bit helps to help keep that rink going,” said Fornwald. “It`s nice to have in the bank the money to pay for expenses. We like to keep about three years of our regular expenses in the bank.”
It helps them to keep the doors open in those years when they don`t host a big event. The curling club was excited to host the Canada Cup last year, which brought 15 of Canada`s top curling teams to Affinity Place for five days of action.
The curling club also hosted a number of other marquee events last year, including the provincial mixed tournament that had 24 teams and the youth mixed doubles.
They also had an assortment of bonspiels throughout the year, including the Estevan Oilfield Technical Society`s Open Bonspiel in late March.
The curling club also elected its executive for the coming year during the annual general meeting. Leah Moriarty is the vice-president and Shelly Miller-Hertes is the secretary-treasurer. Other members are Amanda Minchin, Tyler McMillen, Beverly Jansen, Frank Elberg, Ron Rittaler and Shawn Meyers.
The city has made some improvements to the rink with some fresh paint and some other improvements. The downstairs bathrooms have been updated, and the area where the ice sheets are located has been painted white instead of baby blue.
“It will make everything nice and brighter looking,” said Fornwald.
The club is now looking forward to the start of the upcoming season. The process of making the ice is already underway, and their assortment of leagues will begin in mid-October. They will also have bonspiels, playdowns and provincial tournaments over the course of the year.
