NOVEMBER/NOVEMBRE 2005

Students in three Manitoba schoolshave an opportunity this year thathas never existed before in the

Manitoba school system. For the firsttime, high schools in Souris and Morriswill award grades in a school recognizedcurling class. Beausejour will also offer anon-credit curling Middle Schoolprogram.

The classes, part of a Manitoba CurlingAssociation pilot project called ManitobaCurling Academy, are optional coursesfor students in the three schools. Curlingis being offered in 2005-2006 as a SchoolInitiated Course (SIC) in each case and isone of the many optional courses thatstudents may elect to take for credit dur-ing the school year. (Others include suchdiverse topics as band, business, indus-trial arts and leadership.)

Former Manitoba Champion KarenDunbar (Manitoba Ladies 1975 & 1976)has supervised after-school curling pro-grams in Souris for most of the 30+ yearsshe has been teaching. A math teacher

during the regular school day, Ms.Dunbar is delighted that the SourisSchool and the Southwest HorizonsSchool Division have become a part ofthe Manitoba Curling Association’s pilotproject.

Beginning Monday, October 24 therewere 14 students in the Souris School ver-sion of the Manitoba Curling Academyon the ice at the Souris Curling Club.Monday, Wednesday and Friday Ms.Dunbar will have her charges at the curl-ing club. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, thesame time slot will be spent in the class-room. A parallel program is beginning in-dependently in Morris.

In order to offer the opportunity to themost possible students, for this year atleast, the Souris program will be offeredto a different group of students each se-mester.

A Manitoba Curling Association com-mittee chaired by retired high schoolteacher Brian Kaleta, developed coursecontent for the Manitoba CurlingAcademy. The committee included MCATechnical Director Bill Biehl and HighPerformance Director Connie Laliberteand Canadian Curling Association’sAssistant National Development CoachPaul Webster. It was Webster who tookon the challenge of assembling existingand original materials into the nearly 600page Resource Manual that has beenmade available to the teachers in thethree schools. Funding for developmentof the Manual was provided through theCCA’s Curling Development Fund.

Looking to the future, the experiencesof the teachers will be used to create amore formal curling curriculum, identi-fying strengths and weaknesses in the

Resource Manual. “In time, we hope to be able to

structure the program as a multi-year program with as many as a3 or 4 different course packagesat the Senior School level,” Kaletasays. “We also look forward to hav-ing students at the Middle SchoolLevel get involved in curling so that theyare eager to enroll in Curling Academywhen they get to High School.”

Souris Principal Bob Young is excited about offering a credit curlingcourse in his school.

“When I came to Souris in 1988, Karenhad already been offering a curling pro-gram for years but making it a creditcourse acknowledges the time the stu-dents put in,” Mr. Young says. “Offeringthe program creates an opportunity forstudents to look at another lifelong ac-tivity. This may be something they canenjoy for the rest of their life.”

The Principal acknowledges that thereare real challenges in staffing as well as infitting a new program into the timetable.While Karen Dunbar’s skills and experi-ence were available in the school, she wasalready fully employed. Proof of BobYoung’s commitment to the program liesin the fact that he offered to go back intothe classroom, freeing up some of Ms.Dunbar’s time to take on the curlingcourse.

While the course is offered this year inSouris as a School Initiated Course, Mr.Young is hopeful it will become a regularcurriculum program. The course contentpackage that has been developed focus-es not only on technical skills. It alsodeals with such diverse areas as fitness,nutrition, injury prevention, ice and rocksand the history of curling in Manitoba.

“I see real potentialfor a complete pro-gram in curling inthe future,” Mr.Young says. “If our

students can be ‘tick-eted’ in icemaking,

coaching and/or officiat-ing, it would make the pro-

gram that much more attractive.”While it is still only in the discussion

stage, it has been suggested that in time,completion of a three or four yearCurling Academy Program could carrywith it Level 1 Ice Tech and/or Level 1Coaching certification. The SourisPrincipal notes that this meshes well withthe Leadership program offered at thePhysical Education Senior 3 and Senior4 levels, another optional program inwhich students are expected to develop,supervise and coach programs in thecommunity.

Dale Peake, Superintendent ofSouthwest Horizons School Division,says it was not a tough sell when BobYoung brought the Curling Academy pro-gram to the Division Board for approval.

“We had three or four years of previousexperience with a hockey academy pro-gram in Hartney (a school nearby in theDivision)”, Mr. Peake says. “This createsanother option that is particularly im-portant for a student not inclined to othercontact type sports.”

Mr. Peake also notes that the CurlingAcademy fits with provincial priorities onvariety of programming and on healthylifestyles.

While he too acknowledges the chal-lenges of staffing and the need to strike abalance between sport-activity programsand arts programs, he sees a good future

An AA+ in Curling

What’s Inside2005 Business of Curling® Club

Symposium ......................................2

Hemmings Visit Fuels Re-Birth ofRivers Curling Club ........................3

A Flea Market Success Story ............4

John Shea Insurance ............................4

Guy Hemmings Rockin’ the House Tour..................5

Results of the 2005 CurlingDevelopment Fund ..........................6

2 Person Team Stick Curling is Gaining Popularity ..........................7

Who is Curley MacBroom?..................7

Kemptville Curling Club Opens ..........8

CCA Volunteer of the Year ..................8

Continued on page 2

By Resby Coutts

Karen Dunbar, Math Teacher and Bob Young, Principal

How can the secrets and strategies of great curlingchampions be learned and taught? Is there more to theirsuccess than technique? Curling champion CherylBernard teams up with curler and writer Guy Scholz touncover the keys to success both on and off the ice.Concentrating on the mental and motivational aspectsof the sport, Between The Sheets spotlights theimportance of team dynamics, mental attitude,coaching, practicing, and more. Drawing onstrategies, experiences, and wisdom from legendarycurlers, great athletes from other sports, and evenmodern cultural references like The Matrix and StarWars, Between The Sheets will help you live, playand perform at your best.

To order your copy today, go to:

www.betweenthesheetscurling.com

for the Manitoba Curling Association’sschool initiative.

Funding will also be a challenge but theSouthwest Horizons Superintendent sayspartnerships with local curling clubs andassociations as well as corporate partner-ships provide potential for innovative so-lutions. He also suggests that, particular-ly in Manitoba’s rural communities, thereis such a strong tradition of curling thatthere is likely to be good support for fund-ing from within the local school system.

As one of the people charged with de-livering the Manitoba Curling Academyprogram, Karen Dunbar is realistic aboutthe future of the program. “It would bewonderful if we can get where they say wecould go – a 3 or 4 year program offeringthose Levels of Certification,” she says. “Idon’t know if it is possible or not buteven a one year program will be great forthe students and for curling,”

Her first class of 14 students includesstudents at the Senior 2 and Senior 3 lev-els (ages 15 & 16). In the group, Ms.Dunbar says there are many who are al-ready curlers. However, she points tothree students in particular.

There is a young hockey player whowants to know how to curl but his hock-ey keeps him very busy after school andon weekends. And there are two youngwomen who have never really expressedany interest in curling.

“If we can introduce students like thatto the sport of curling and give them asound introduction to the basics of thesport, we’ll be introducing them to an ac-tivity they can enjoy for the rest of theirlives,” she says.

Even if they move away from this com-munity, someday those first studentsfrom Karen Dunbar’s curling class inSouris might come back to a curling clubsomewhere. That is what the ManitobaCurling Association is counting on.

For the students, the results will bemarked at the end of the semester. For theSouris Curling Club and the ManitobaCurling Association, the results might notbe marked for many years into the future.

The mark will be A+ on the day one ofthose students joins a curling club be-cause they learned to curl in theManitoba Curling Academy.

NOVEMBER/NOVEMBRE 2005

2

An A+ in CurlingContinued from cover page

This enthusiasm surged throughoutthree days of creative thinking as the buzzbuilt and participants beamed. Newideas, old ideas, myths destroyed, re-thinking kindled – it didn’t matter be-cause the sparks of positive change ignit-ed for the good of all curling clubs.

From May 13 to 15, 2005, plenty ofdown-to-earthcurling clubboard mem-bers, volunteersand profession-al staff de-voured facts,figures and funto emerge fromthe weekendwith a heightened awareness that thesport they all love could be so, so muchbetter marketed and accessed by so manymore people of all ages.

The 2005 Business of Curling® ClubSymposium took place in Ottawa,Ontario’s Algonquin College. Over 100people left thinking like Montreal West’sKevin Alladin; “I’m going to get my clubas excited as I am.”

The symposium attracted a wide rangeof the area’s curling community and theeager students from Ontario, Quebec andeven New York State probably did morelearning and hard thinking than a lot offull time students at the institution. Allwere equally enthusiastic about whatthey took away.

Said Dalal Abou-Eid, the manager ofthe Ottawa Curling Club “I would rec-ommend this symposium for all man-agers. The sponsorship session openedmy eyes.”

Praise came from the volunteer side aswell. Bruce Harrison from the new NorthGrenville Curling Club, which had yet toopen their doors for the first time, gushed“We’re already getting a lot out of this.”They sent three participants.

Alexandria Curling Club’s FloraPoulton found “lots of value for the dol-lar. There’s lots of information.” She re-marked that the four delegates from herclub paid the fees themselves but theydidn’t mind at all.

So what was the formula forsuccess?

Quality, approachable and expert sem-inar instructors dispensed advice freely.There was also plenty of social time to ex-change experiences, compare notes andattain helpful hints.

Dorothy Poach, the President of theRochester (New York) CC remarked “Weeven found some things out at the cock-tail party that made it worthwhile.”

What did they learn?One’s head would hurt just perusing

the seminar list.Refrigeration plus an ice making ses-

sion by Hans Wuthrich - this was aimedat the Board level with the focus of a bet-

ter understanding ofrefrigeration and icemaking and how itall works.

Board Governanceby Toby Rabinovitz -with 20 years of pro-fessional expertise inboard governance,this session explored ways to create a bet-ter and more efficient board of directors.

The Curling Club Bar by Eric Bishop -this professional, hotel trained food andbeverage manager explored practicaltrends in food and liquor service.

Club Finances by Leslie Kerr & MortCooper - both have extensive curling re-

lated business acumen, and they delvedinto practical ways to organize your clubsbooks with lots of hands-on-tips pre-sented.

Corporate Days and Little Rocks byCooper - showed how a club could prof-it from enticing corporations to becomeinvolved with charity events and also pre-sented a seminar on how to better man-age Little Rocks programs.

Insurance by John Shea - presented themany ways a club can gain a betterinsurance coverage for less cash and feelmore secure about that coverage. Mr.Shea pioneered policies specifically forcurling operations.• Membership Recruiting by DannyLamoureux - with an extensive curlingclub management background, Dannytook participants away from theordinary ways of getting new customersciting practical examples that haveworked across the country.• Volunteering by Cooper - tackled theproblem of always having the samepeople volunteer and how to recruit newvolunteers and keep them!• Junior & School Curling and AdultDevelopment by Rob Krepps - Robused his extensive background in thisarea in turning a faltering club programinto one of the healthiest and destroyeda lot of myths along the way.• Membership Retention by Kerr andKrepps - if you wanted to know how tostop members going out the back door,this was the place to be.• Show Me The Money and Technologyby Brian Cowan - Brian explained howthere is money out there and throughnew technology, clubs can take betteradvantage of the money they have aswell as future dollars they might make.

2005 Business of Curling®

Club Symposium – OttawaBy Joe Pavia

With all of these sessions,how did the participantsreact?

The eager students never displayed anyreticence to offer an opinion, ask a ques-tion, be a group spokesperson or partic-ipate in any way. As Brian Cowan said“We answer the questions they are gen-erally afraid to ask.” The four co-pre-senting organizations – the CanadianCurling Association, the Ontario CurlingAssociation, and the hosts Curl Ontarioand the Ottawa Valley CurlingAssociation – devised a winning formu-la by creating credibility.

Said Gary Fen from Peterborough “I’mfinding there are so many tools availableand everyone’s sharing them that I be-lieve all Boards should be here.”

“I’ve learned quite a lot that I want totake back” enthused Doug McNally fromNavan, Ontario.

The last word goes to the PembrokeCurling Club’s Mary Nelson. “Even with-out the room and meals it was more thanworth the $200.”

In the Spring of 2005, the CanadianCurling Association collaborated with CurlOntario, the Ontario Curling Association andthe Ottawa Valley Curling Association to stagea Business of Curling® Symposium in Ottawa(May 13-15). Previously, we worked with theSouthern Alberta Curling Association and theAlberta Curling Federation hosting a sympo-sium in Calgary April 28-30 and theManitoba Curling Association for a session inWinnipeg April 15-17.

For the 2005-2006 season, the CCA is cur-rently planning symposiums in Edmonton,Alberta in conjunction with the NorthernAlberta Curling Association and the ACF –April 21-23; in Grande Prairie, Alberta withthe Peace Curling Association and the ACFApril 28-30; and finally, a Phase 2Symposium back in Sackville, New Brunswickworking with Curl Atlantic and the four atlantic associations. The sequel to CurlAtlantic’s 2004 symposium will be held May5-7, 2006. Next September, the Symposiumswill stay on the road with a stop in Saskatoon.

For more information contact:NACA – April 21-23, 2006Marylynn Morrisnaca@planet.eon.net780.440.4270

PCA – April 28-30Renee Sonnenbergpeaccurl@telusplanet.net780.532.4782

Curl Atlantic – May 5-7Karen Ouellettecurl.atlantic@ns.sympatico.ca902.229.2689

Brian Cowan presents asession on Fundraising

Kevin Alladin ofMontreal West CC

The best part of the symposium concept- sharing ideas!!

Bruce Harrison of the newly mintedNorth Grenville CC

In theatre at the 2004 Curl AtlanticSymposium in Sackville, NB

That’s a lot of club Board members inone room!

Icemaking 101 - presented by DaveMerklinger to a full house in Sackville

NOVEMBER/NOVEMBRE 2005

3

A visit by Guy Hemmings and hisRockin’ the House Tour is beingacknowledged by curling club

members in Rivers, Manitoba as thecatalyst for a re-birth of the club in theircommunity.

A town of 1,119 people according tothe last census, Rivers is located about 40kms northwest of Brandon. The town isalso the service center for the RuralMunicipality of Daly with a populationof 900. As described by Mayor DaveOakey, Rivers is a typical prairie commu-nity with an agriculture based economybut it is located close enough to Brandonthat some residents commute to work inthat city.

When asked why a curling club is animportant part of the community, MayorOakey’s answer is probably the same aswould have been the mayor’s response inany of the 10 decades since the club wasestablished in 1908. “In the middle of aprairie winter, a town like this needs acenter and that center is the curling clubor the arena,” Oakey says. “Many peopleuse these two facilities. It is where peoplemeet.”

Half a dozen years ago, people in Riverswere worried about whether or not theircurling club was going to survive. DaveOakey says he had heard the rumours.Curling club past-president Lorne Greensays the word on the street was that theclub was in trouble.

One of a group of people who were notprepared to see that happen, Green tookon the club’s presidency with a mandateto turn it around.

“I don’t think it was ever as bad a peo-ple are saying it was, but we did knowthere was a lot of work to do,” Green says.

The discussions and soul-searchingwere the same as have happened in manycurling clubs. The questions were typical.What have we done wrong? What can wedo different? What do we have to do bet-ter? How can we get more young peopleinvolved?

The dedicated group forged aheadmaking slow progress, thanks mostly tothat dedication. In 2003, they requesteda visit by Guy Hemmings.

“Hemmings’ Rockin’ the House Tourwas being talked about as a program thatwas exciting people in other communi-ties. We thought it would help here too,”Green says.

It almost didn’t happen. Schedulingwas a problem until one day Green re-calls he got a phone call from the CCAsaying that there was an opening in theschedule in April, 2004. ‘We jumped atit,” he says.

The planning and preparation forHemmings’ visit gave the club focus. Theclub executive reached out into the com-munity to recruit the additional help theyneeded to create a very special series ofevents, including the junior clinic, theseniors visits and the fund-raising dinnerthat have become standard parts of theHemmings tour package.

Green and current President LesWedderburn explain that there were sev-eral important results from the Rockin’the House Tour stop in Rivers. “Thewhole town, curlers and non-curlersalike, got involved showing that the spir-it of curling was alive,” they explain. Thespirit has grown from that moment.

The profit generated by the events ofthat day put the club into a stronger fi-nancial position but Wedderburn sug-gests the ideas promoted by Hemmingsmight have been the most importantlegacy of his visit.

“He challenged us to think differentlyabout the sport, to quit doing things theway we always had,” Wedderburn says,explaining that the club now looks atthings they haven’t done before.

As an example, the President points tothe fact that his club will host Manitoba’sTarget Men’s Junior Championship in2007. Rivers had never before even con-sidered hosting a provincial champi-onship event when discussions werestarted with the MCA in 2004.

Wedderburn believes the event will helpkeep the spirit of curling growing inRivers as well as offering the potential forfinancial success.

The Rivers Curling Club is also lookingat different ways to make the sport inter-esting. This season for example, theFriday evening Mixed League will play 2-person games with one player at eachthrowing six rocks – no sweeping untilthe rock reaches the hog line. Supportersof the idea say it makes for a quick game,allowing the players to enjoy their curl-ing, get their exercise and still have timefor socializing.

Immediately after the Guy HemmingsRockin’ the House Tour, the RiversCurling Club immediately began plan-ning for a second annual celebrity din-ner. The 2005 affair was headlined by thelegendary Sam Richardson and also in-cluded newly crowned Manitoba cham-pions Randy Dutiaume and Jill Officer.

The event was another sell-out successfor the Rivers Curling Club, which bynow had a concrete plan for the use ofthe funds they were accumulating.

For some years, there has been talk inthe community about the need to builda new Recreation Facility to replace theaging arena and curling club.

“A Recreation Facilities Committee wasstruck several years ago, first to study thepotential for a new Recreation Centre andmore recently to develop more detailedplans including costs, potential sites anddesign,” says Mayor Dave Oakey. “Thecurling club has played a central role inthe committee. It is due to present its finalreport to the Rivers and RuralMunicipality of Daly councils by the endof the year.”

While Lorne Green is optimistic thatthe plans for the Recreation Centre willgo ahead, Les Wedderburn says he isbeing realistic when he calls it a tough sellright now. Cattle producers in the R.M. ofDaly, including Wedderburn himself,have been seriously impacted by the B.S.Ecrisis in their industry. Low grain prices

and high fuel prices have also made it dif-ficult to anticipate the rural support need-ed for the project at this time.

Even if the larger community projectdoes go ahead, it will be some years inthe future before the curling club wouldbe using a new facility. In the meantime,a $75,000 upgrade has taken place in theexisting club with the complete replace-ment this summer of the header, com-pressor, chiller and electrical panel. Thebrine pump was re-built a year ago andthe electric motor on the compressor wasreconditioned this year.

“Last year, we spent $8,000 on plantmaintenance and since 1999 we havespent over $30,000 on maintenance,”Wedderburn says. “It was time to investin the new plant.”

The $75,000 came from club funds,various grants including a CCADevelopment Find grant, and a signifi-cant contribution from the Town ofRivers that Mayor Oakey called a unani-mous vote of support for the curling clubas an important community facility.

The money invested in the new ma-chinery will not be wasted if the decisionis reached to develop the new commu-nity Recreation Centre. Most of the in-vestment is portable with such things asthe new compressor and chiller readilymoveable to the new facility.

Half a dozen years ago, there were eightmen’s teams playing in the men’s leagueat the six-sheet club. Last year, there were15 men’s teams among the approxi-mately 200 members (including juniors)of the Rivers Curling Club.

Wedderburn says the new spirit of curl-ing in Rivers was most evident at themeeting that discussed the decision toupgrade the ice plant. “I am excited by theenthusiasm I saw from everyone and thesupport for both an increase in fees andfor the decision to go ahead with the iceplant upgrade,” he said.

Three years ago, Guy Hemmings andhis Rockin’ the House Tour came toRivers. The town and the Rivers CurlingClub have been rockin' ever since.

Curling 1.0 - the Mini CD-ROMHere is a funky CD to make that orientation job even easier at your club. Dropped into the CD-ROM drive of anypersonal computer (PC platform), new recruits, prospective curlers and novice players can walk through a collectionof videos, animations, still photography and text that illustrate, in a simple and easy-to-understand format, how toreally enjoy the sport of curling. It is an ideal tool to 'seal the deal' with new customers.

The Mini CD-ROM is sold to curling clubs in packages of 25 mini CDs for a price of $50.00.

Please contact the CCA at 1-800-550-2875 (ext. 101) to place an order or go towww.curling.ca/store/product.asp?id=62

Hemmings Visit Fuels Re-Birth of Rivers Curling ClubBy Resby Coutts

Guy Hemmings in Rivers, MB (April 2004)

left to right: Randy Dutiaume, SamRichardson, Jill Officer, Resby Coutts

Rivers icemaker Marlin Beever with newequipment at the Rivers CC.

left to right: Les Wedderburn, Dave Oakey,mayor of Rivers, and Lorne Greene

NOVEMBER/NOVEMBRE 2005

4

The Gibsons Curling Club, a four sheetfacility located on the beautiful SunshineCoast in British Columbia, had held aflea market each summer for a numberof years with some success as afundraiser.

Then it happened!Juanita Wannamaker became President

in 1999 and soon realized there was lit-tle start up money for the upcoming curl-ing season. By contacting the PacificCoast Curling Association - now Curl BC- she arranged a Phase 1 Business ofCurling® workshop in October of thatyear. One new idea generated by thatworkshop was to increase the revenuefrom the off-season stream.

Juanita, with the help of CarolHickman, decided to hold more thanone flea market each summer. With a lit-tle research and a great deal of energy,four flea markets were scheduled for thespring and summer of 2000. With an ad-mission fee of one dollar, $10 charged foreach vendor table and the sales from curl-ing club tables where members donateditems, the initial flea market successfullyyielded a profit of $905 and the first yearproduced a total profit of $3,379 fromthe four flea markets.

Juanita and Carol were pleased decid-ing to increase the number of flea mar-kets in subsequent years. It was a timeconsuming challenge as neither had priorrelated experience and, for the next cou-ple of years, they begged and pleadedwith vendors to book tables catering totheir needs by often giving them addi-tional space to make it look full.

The payoff!From 2002 to 2004 there were five flea

markets each summer and profits in-creased annually. Then in 2005, with thecurling club requiring a new roof and anice scraper, seven flea markets were heldproducing $11,743.

The total profit from the past 5 yearshas reached over $43,000!!

The bottom lineThese flea markets are a lot of fun for

the community, the volunteers and thevendors selling their items. In fact, somepeople just come for the amazing ham-burgers made from freshly ground meat.Several volunteers are needed the day ofthe sale which now runs from 11:00 AMto 2:00 PM. Why only 11:00 AM until2:00 PM? Previously with extendedhours, they found the same people lin-gered longer with no increase in vendorsales. The later start did not interfere withlocal garage sales and the patrons wereready for lunch by the end.

There are at least 10 club volunteers ateach sale requiring only a four hour com-mitment. The duties range from collect-ing the loonies at the door, cooking in thekitchen, looking after sales at the clubtable and monitoring the exit doors.

Some vendors lay out their merchan-dise in very creative displays which pro-duces an appealing, retail shop-like ap-pearance in the ice enclosure. By leavingthe tables set up from sale to sale, thelabour involved for volunteers is reducedand the club gets table rental money andspace confirmations a month in advance.

The key to planning successfulsummer flea markets

By February, the Gibsons Curling Cluborganizers set the dates for the summermarkets and then telephone the regularvendors, many of whom have been al-ready calling looking for dates.

Advertisements go in the local news-paper for two weeks prior to each sale.The final set-up for each flea market is onthe Thursday night before the sale. Thisdate is the deadline for all vendors to payfor their table(s) to avoid confusion onthe sale day.

Street pole signs are made in advancewith each date stapled on top of the prior

market date so the same signs can beused repeatedly. In addition, by laminat-ing the notices (keeping them dry!) andby taking them down immediately afterthe sale, they can be used for at least acouple of years.

The curling club answering machine ischecked every other day for table rentalrequests and general inquiries.

A local business - Gibson’s BuildingSupplies - kindly donates and delivers alift of plywood to use for tables and picks

it up at the end of the summer. Saw hors-es are used to support the plywood andthese are stored at the curling club for thenext year.

Due to limited space and increasing de-mand, the table rental in 2005 was raisedto $12.00 and identification tags weremade for the vendors so they could beeasily recognized.

Juanita, as the coordinator, spends aminimum of 25 hours and approxi-mately 80 additional volunteer hours arerequired to organize and operate eachflea market.

As a further sales incentive, during thelast hour of each event patrons can “fill aplastic grocery bag for a buck” with do-nated items from the curling club tables.A bargain hunter’s bonanza and straightprofit for the club!

In the spring of 2005 the GibsonsCurling Club board of directors request-ed a Phase 2 Business of Curling® work-shop to create a five year strategic plan.As the facilitator of the workshop held atthe curling club the weekend before thefinal flea market of 2005, I can personal-ly attest to the success of their flea mar-kets. The club telephones were ringingwith requests for space but the ice enclo-sure was already full with vendor’s tables.It’s no wonder they realized a profit of al-most $12,000 this summer alone!

Jack Bowman is the former Executive Director ofthe Pacific Coast Curling Association andconducts Business of Curling Workshops onbehalf of Curl BC and the Canadian CurlingAssociation.

Action from a summer flea market atthe Gibsons Curling Club

Getting ready!A few of Gibsons CC’s finest volunteersleft to right: Samantha Drinkwater, JimFitzsimmons, Evelyn Roth, Mary-EllenTurner, Elaine Tattrie - front row: left toright: Francine Moriessette, Anika Webb

Gibsons, BC - home of Molly's Reachand the set of "The Beachcombers"

A Flea Market Success StoryBy Jack Bowman

Marlene Longman - Vendor at every fleamarket Gibsons CC has held

For John Shea, curling club insuranceis about love of the game and piece ofmind for the clubs.

Ottawa based Shea is the owner of JohnShea Insurance Brokers Ltd. Eight yearsago he developed a comprehensive in-surance program specifically tailored tocurling venues. They are buildings heknows well. “The reason I did this” hesaid “is because I love curling. If a curlingclub burned down I would hate to see aclub close because it didn’t have the rightcoverage.”

He also realised the budget restraintsunder which clubs operate so he set outto design a coverage program where bulkbuying power results in an attractive pricebreak for his target market.

How can his policy be more cost effec-tive? Shea has partnered with Dominionof Canada Insurance Company to be ableto offer curling clubs a group plan. Thismade all the difference regarding priceand helped the individual clubs ration-alize the need for adequate insurancecoverage.

“Clubs can save 10% to 50% on theirexisting policy by joining this program.A $15,000 premium can cost only$9,000 under the program.” With 160Canadian curling clubs now participat-ing in the program, Shea feels he hassaved clubs $300,000 annually.

What’s included in the plan? • Replacement Cost. He cautions thatmany curling clubs are under-insured inthis category. This clause covers all riskssuch as fire. The same site clause isremoved as well meaning that a club canbuild on another property.

• Liability. The coverage should be up to$2 million per occurrence.

• Crime. Robbery, break-ins, counterfeitmoney, employee dishonesty andincludes volunteers.

• Equipment Break Down. Includes theice plant equipment and computers.

• Directors and Officers. Covers allexecutive for individual and groupactions.

• Blanket Bylaw Coverage.

• Flood, Sewer Backup and EarthquakeCoverage.

• Business Interruption. For a 24month period.

John Shea Insurance Brokers will assessa club’s individual needs.He says: “Everyclub is like a fingerprint. Everyone is dif-ferent.” He hopes he can save you someof the scarce dollars a club has however,the object of the assessment is not onlyto save money but to provide insurancecoverage specifically designed for curlingclubs.

For instance, if a club uses an inde-pendent icemaker, does he or she havetheir own liability insurance? He can offerliability for individual icemakers. Hiscompany can also tailor packages for aclub that rents or leases a facility. He evenhas a product for rental leagues!

With the reach of Dominion Insurance,Shea has brokers available in every partof Canada ready to assist clubs developtheir insurance program. For more in-formation contact:

John Shea Insurance Brokers Ltd.203 – 2625 Queensview Drive Ottawa, ON K2B 8K2Toll Free 1-800-281-9476Fax 613-596-2247E-mail: bking@johnsheainsurance.com(Belinda King)

“My best advice (about insurance)”remarks Shea “…ask the questions. It’slike school. There are no stupid ques-tions. When you put your head on thepillow, you should feel comfortable.”

Editor’s Note: The Dominion of Canada GeneralInsurance Company has recently joined the CCAas an official supplier and they are theunderwriter to a curling club based insuranceprogram delivered by John Shea Insurance ofOttawa. The CCA encourages all Canadiancurling clubs to contact John Shea Insurance tofully review their coverage and to ensure that theclub is protected at an affordable rate. (Thisarticle is partially reprinted from the BofC -October 2004)

October 4-6. . . . . Lower Mainland Vancouver, BC

October 17-19 . . . . . . . Labrador City, NL

October 28-30 . . . . . . Fort McMurray, AB

November 20-22. . . . . . Charlotte County

November 29-30. . Ouatouais Region, QC

December 6-8 . . . . . . . . . . . London, ON

December 15-17 . . . . . . . Thompson, MB

January 17-19 . . . . . . . Regina & area, SK

TBA . . . . . . . . Iqaluit & Rankin Inlet, NU

Canadian CurlingAssociation Rockin'the House TourStops

Canadian CurlingAssociation Rockin'the House TourStops

For more details on how your club or region can

book a Guy Hemmings Tour Stop, please contact

Danny Lamoureux at danny@curling.ca or call

1.800.550.2875 (106).

October 4-6. . . . . Lower Mainland Vancouver, BC

October 17-19 . . . . . . . Labrador City, NL

October 28-30 . . . . . . Fort McMurray, AB

November 20-22. . . . . . Charlotte County

November 29-30. . Ouatouais Region, QC

December 6-8 . . . . . . . . . . . London, ON

December 15-17 . . . . . . . Thompson, MB

January 17-19 . . . . . . . Regina & area, SK

TBA . . . . . . . . Iqaluit & Rankin Inlet, NU

Getting elementary school-aged kids on theice to experience their 'first end' of curlingis a critical component of the Rockin' TheHouse Tour. This enthusiastic group is onthe ice for the first time at the Marpole CCin Vancouver, BC (Oct 4, 2005)

This group is practicing their firstslides on the ice at the OilsandsCC in Fort McMurray, AB (Oct 29, 2005)

Bill Tschirhart, the CCA's National Development Coach, joined the Hemmings Tour thisyear to assist with intermediate development and enhancing the skills of the club curler.So far the new addition to the team has been a big success! (Gibsons, BC - Oct 4, 2005)

Everyone gets a turn at sliding thenthrowing a stone.

Getting an autograph from the folks atthe Carol CC in Labrador City, NL (Oct 18, 2005)

Behind the counter atthe local Tim Hortons,Double-double anyone?(Labrador City, Oct 19,2005)

Andre Proulx, an Ottawafirefighter, is the unofficial"bodyguard" and assistant of theRockin' The House Tour. He hasbecome somewhat a celebrity in isown right. Here he visits with thefire chief in Labrador City (Oct17) and, in Fort McMurray at theclub's Halloween party, a membercame dressed as Proulx completewith a blow-up Hemmings doll.

If we can't get the kids to the curling club, we try and take thecurling club to the kids. The Tour expects to visit with 10,000students this year - many of them at school assemblies.

Scotties Little Softie - the mascot of the Scott Tournament ofHearts - tours with Guy Hemmings visiting schools and hospitals.

Personal AppearancesPersonal Appearances

NOVEMBER/NOVEMBRE 2005

5

Friday, August 5th . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Warren, MB

Wednesday, August 17th . . . . . . . .Maxville, ON

August 23-24 (Tues/Wed) . . . . . . . .Mattawa, ON

August 25-26 (Thurs/Fri) . . . . . . . .Curling Beasejour, Inc, Moncton, NB

Wednesday, September 28th . . . . . . . . . . .Oilfields CC, Black Diamond, AB

Tuesday, October 25th . . . . . . . . . . . . .Oyen, AB

Wednesday, October 26th . . . . . . .Fox Valley, SK

Wednesday, November 2nd . . . .Sherbrooke, QC

Thursday, November 3rd . . . . . .Alexandria, ON

Wednesday, November 23rd . . . . .Almonte, ON

Sunday, December 18th . . . . . . . . . . .Morris, MB

Saturday, January 14th . . . . . . . . . . .Border, QC

Friday, January 20th . . . . . . . . . . .Hamiota, MB

Saturday, January 21st . . . . . . . .Brookdale, MB

Monday, January 23rd . . . . . . . . . . .Consort, AB

Thursday, January 26th . . . . . . . . .Canmore, AB

Saturday, January 28th . . . . . . . . . . . .Ituna, SK

Thursday, March 9th . . . . . . . . . . . .Arborg, MB

Friday, March 10th . . . . . . . . . . . . .Tyndall, MB

Friday, April 7th . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Liverpool, NS

Saturday, April 8th . . . . . . . . . .Greenwood, NS

Saturday, April 22nd . . . . . . . . .Minnedosa, MB

June 14th to June 18th . .CCA National CurlingCongress, Gatineau, QC

Friday, August 5th . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Warren, MB

Wednesday, August 17th . . . . . . . .Maxville, ON

August 23-24 (Tues/Wed) . . . . . . . .Mattawa, ON

August 25-26 (Thurs/Fri) . . . . . . . .Curling Beasejour, Inc, Moncton, NB

Wednesday, September 28th . . . . . . . . . . .Oilfields CC, Black Diamond, AB

Tuesday, October 25th . . . . . . . . . . . . .Oyen, AB

Wednesday, October 26th . . . . . . .Fox Valley, SK

Wednesday, November 2nd . . . .Sherbrooke, QC

Thursday, November 3rd . . . . . .Alexandria, ON

Wednesday, November 23rd . . . . .Almonte, ON

Sunday, December 18th . . . . . . . . . . .Morris, MB

Saturday, January 14th . . . . . . . . . . .Border, QC

Friday, January 20th . . . . . . . . . . .Hamiota, MB

Saturday, January 21st . . . . . . . .Brookdale, MB

Monday, January 23rd . . . . . . . . . . .Consort, AB

Thursday, January 26th . . . . . . . . .Canmore, AB

Saturday, January 28th . . . . . . . . . . . .Ituna, SK

Thursday, March 9th . . . . . . . . . . . .Arborg, MB

Friday, March 10th . . . . . . . . . . . . .Tyndall, MB

Friday, April 7th . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Liverpool, NS

Saturday, April 8th . . . . . . . . . .Greenwood, NS

Saturday, April 22nd . . . . . . . . .Minnedosa, MB

June 14th to June 18th . .CCA National CurlingCongress, Gatineau, QC

Here is an example of a well-written application to the 2005 Curling DevelopmentFund. The Whitehorse CC received a program and services grant of $3000 towardsthe proposed project budget of $17,600. Wereprint – in part - their application with theirpermission. ~ editor

Whitehorse Curling ClubMarketing Plan & FutureDirections

‘it's all about the Kids!’The Whitehorse Curling Club is no dif-

ferent from any other club in Canada. Weall face issues surrounding an agingmembership base, and competition forattention of those under 21 years of agein a world of video games, TV, and othernew extreme sports.

The Whitehorse Curling Club is work-ing to develop its membership. We willcontinue to work with programs that wecreated within the last three years; how-ever, we wish to tweak the programs andmarketing of those programs to increasetheir effective nature.

Therefore, we submit the attached planto the CCA with the hopes of receivingfunding. We wish to use these funds toincrease our marketing efforts to achievethe following: increased awareness of thesport of curling, specifically theWhitehorse Curling Club and its pro-grams; increase the membership by 15%with new members to the WhitehorseCurling Club; retain the current mem-bership, with only losing 10% of our cur-rent membership due to relocation, re-tiring, etc..

In the attached programs, we have in-cluded descriptions of what we are at-tempting to achieve, and will keep CCA ap-prised regarding our efforts on working withthe Yukon Government to supply low-in-come kids with curling as a safe alternativeand other endeavours that we have begunsince the development of this plan.

Programming Description:We plan on achieving each of the three

(objectives) through the following:• Increased use of facility duringdaytime by an in-school program. Wewish to contact all schools inWhitehorse in early June, 2005 to beginthe process of including curling as aregular activity during their PhysicalEducation program. • Increased use of facility by schoolteams for territorial championships.The Whitehorse Curling Club will begina school championship program thatwill see similar tournaments that arecurrently being offered in sports such asvolley ball, basketball, and soccer. • Increased awareness of the sportthrough education. The WhitehorseCurling Club is the proud host of the2006 Canadian Mixed Nationals and wewill be asking schools to work with usthroughout this program on an "Adopt aTeam" project.• Increased level of instruction anddevelopment. We will be working withschools, parents, Kids Recreation Fund,and the City of Whitehorse on ways wecan work together to potentially see anincreased instruction level in our futureprogramming.• Increased transference of juniorsfrom In-school to Tuesday or Saturdayleagues. The Whitehorse Curling Clubcurrently charges $100.00 per child forthe season of Junior Curling. We plan onworking with the Kids Recreation Fundto sponsor up to twenty spaces in ourjunior program, as well as discountingall further rates from $ 100.00 to $50.00- all based on a certain amount ofsupport from the Kids Recreation Fund.

NOVEMBER/NOVEMBRE 2005

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Here are the results of the 2005 Curling Development Fund inalphabetical order.

We received 124 applications requesting $760,000. Forty-one curling facilities and oneMember Association shared in grants totaling $148,750.

The Canadian Curling Association would like to extend a sincere thank you to the hostcommittees and volunteers from the Tournament of Hearts and Brier for their unselfishefforts in the success of their events which led to the financial contribution to this Fund.

CLUB NAME PROJECT AMOUNT

Amos, QC compressor $6,750Atlin, BC brine system $4,000Bala, ON condenser $3,500Bathurst, NB Phase 2 - Business of Curling tbaBeaver, Moncton, NB heating $6,750Blaine Lake, SK brine pump $2,000Caledonian, Regina, SK adult instruction $1,200Capital Winter, Fredericton, NB compressor $6,750Carstairs, AB little rocks $2,700Chauvin, AB ice scraper $1,250Copper Cliff, N.Ont ice scraper $3,500Delta Thistle, BC membership recruitment $2,400Englehart, N.Ont compressor $4,000Etchemin, Quebec City, QC ice scraper $3,500Fenelon Falls, ON heating $4,000Foam Lake, SK membership recruitment $2,000Gananoque, ON ice scraper $3,500Garrison, Calgary, AB ice scraper $3,500Gladstone, NB refrigeration $4,000Goose Bay, NL little rocks $3,000High Park, Toronto, ON ice scraper $3,500Kinistino, SK ice scraper $1,250Kirkland Lake, N.Ont ice scraper $3,500Manitoba Curling Association school curling curriculum $8,000Minnedosa, MB ice scraper $3,500North Grenville, Kemptville, ON ice equipment $8,000Oilfields, AB ice scraper $3,500Orangeville, ON ice scraper $3,500Ormstown, QC membership recruitment $2,000Outremont, QC compressor $3,000Parksville, BC condenser $5,000Pointe Claire, QC little rocks $3,000Red Deer, AB little rocks $3,000Rivers, MB compressor $5,000Russell, ON little rocks $3,000Sept-Îles, QC heating $4,000Springbank, Calgary, AB membership recruitment $1,200St. Catharines, ON little rocks $3,000Thistle St. Andrews, Saint John, NB ice scraper $3,500Welland, ON little rocks $3,000Whitehorse, YK membership recruitment $3,000Williams Lake, BC chiller $4,000

www.curlingclub.ca

Web site hosting offer to membercurling clubs.

It is almost a daily occurrence where aCanadian curling club launches a website to promote their business and thebenefits of membership. To help saveyour club some money and get free ac-cess to a dedicated web site address –without those annoying banner ads orpop-up windows – we can help.

The Canadian Curling Association canprovide paid web hosting and services toany member curling club for a one timeset-up fee of $40 and a monthly hostingcharge of $6.

(Year One cost would be $119.84 – GSTincluded. Year Two cost would be $77.04– GST included)

You do not require a domain name (orthe annual costs of owning your own domain name). The CCA has registeredwww.curlingclub.ca and any club can usethis domain with our hosting package bysimply adding the club name, i.e.www.winnipeg.curlingclub.ca.

You will not be connected in any wayto www.curling.ca or any other CCA affiliated site nor will you be required tohost banner ads or any other form of advertising.

The package includes 10 e-mail addresses which, for example can be usedfor your staff and or board members: i.e.manager@winnipeg.curlingclub.ca orpresident@winnipeg.curlingclub.ca oreven jane@winnipeg.curlingclub.ca

In addition, the following is list of serv-ices that are included in this package:

• data transfer of 2000 MB/month• disk storage of 25 MB/month• 10 e-mail Aliases• a sub-domain name featuring the

name of your club <www.your-club.curlingclub.ca>

• e-mail technical support• unlimited FTP updates which allows

you to make changes to your site 24/7• custom ASP/CGI scripts allowed –

this is for advanced users, applica-tions like guest books, bulletinboards, etc. are allowed.

• detailed web statistic reports• Microsoft FrontPage extensions for

users who develop websites withMicrosoft FrontPage

• daily tape-backup of your site – youwill never lose more than one day ofinformation!

• Windows Media (audio/video)• MS Active Server Pages• Free CGI Script Library• MS SQL Server 6• ODBC database support• SSL Secure Server 7

For more information go towww.curlingclub.ca.

This is one of the promotional tools used by the Whitehorse CC inbuilding their junior programming. Notice the partnership withMcDonalds and where they held their registration. The WCC received$3000 from the CCA Curling Development Fund towards their project.

Who said the ‘rings’ in curling had to beplain blue and red! (Madison, WI, USA)

And now for somethingcompletely different!

And now for somethingcompletely different!

NOVEMBER/NOVEMBRE 2005

7

Every curling club in Canada has at leastone member like him.

He loves the game, knows it inside-outand never misses a shot, especially frombehind the glass. This fun-loving curlerwould never be late for a game. He’s ascomfortable in competitive games as heis in the regular draws, and he’s as muchat home in the clubhouse as he is on thecurling ice.

He is Curley MacBroom. He isa bit of a wise-cracker but a realsociable chap just the same.

Curley is a fictional charactercreated by members of theMaple Leaf Curling Club inO’Leary, Prince Edward Island,but his passion for the gameis too big for just one club.

So Curley’s Gifts, a not-for-profit company ownedby the Maple Leaf CurlingClub, has found a way toslide their (trade-marked/patented) car-toon character, Curley,into the homes andclubs and hearts ofcurlers all over Canada.

As the central charac-ter, Curley appears onevery page of Curley’sGifts’ inaugural curling calendar. TheCurley MacBroom gift calendar is forcurlers by curlers.

“We think curlers, especially, will get areal kick out of Curley,” says John Martin,a director of the Maple Leaf Curling Club.It was Martin who assembled a group ofvolunteers to produce a gift calendar thatwould appeal to curlers all over Canada.“It had to be funny; that was our first ob-jective,” said Martin. “It also had to be in-formative and it had to be a quality prod-uct. We think we’ve achieved all of theobjectives.

Once Curley has been introduced tocurlers nation-wide through calendarsales, Curley’s Gifts will start building onits base of novelty products, Martin vol-unteered.

He sees Curley’s Gifts becoming a fund-raising arm for the Maple Leaf Curling

Club. He points out, though, that thecompany has not lost sight of the fact thatmany curling clubs in Canada sharesomething in common with the O’Learyclub: “They rely on volunteers and fund-raising to keep going from year to year,”he suggested. Curley’s Gifts, he said, canbecome a fund-raising tool for clubsacross Canada. Individual clubs, and clubprograms, will be given the opportunityto pre-sell calendars at a mark-up. The

larger the order, the lower theper-calendar

costs willbe, and, themoremoney theywill raise fortheir curlingprograms,Martin ex-plained. Healso suggestedCurleyMacBroom giftcalendars wouldmake ideal prizesfor club bonspiels,and would be wel-comed Christmasgifts for many acurler.

Information onwholesale and retail

sales is available on the company’s web-site, www.curlingproducts.com.

Besides reminding curlers why theylove the roaring game so much and giv-ing them something to chuckle aboutevery month of the year, the CurleyMacBroom gift calendar also highlightsthe dates and locations of Canada’s pre-mier curling events and several worldcurling events.

Curley MacBroom will help keep thegame in the forefront of curlers’ mindsthroughout the year, Martin offered.

Maple Leaf Curling Club home page:www.mlcclub.com/portal/index.php

Who is Curley MacBroom?

I n this competitive world for recreationdollars, the savvy club executive willwant to take a look at this new sport

and what it can do to increaseparticipation at their local club.

Each sport, or version of a sport, has itspurpose and 2 Person Team StickCurling is attracting a large and diversegroup of individuals into this variationof the great sport of curling. Stick CurlingCanada - www.stickcurling.ca - has beenformed to help promote Stick Curlingand has taken the first steps towards thecontinued development of the sport andits competitive play.

Stick Curling leagues have been startedacross Canada and many locations, likethe Carstairs, Garrison and Stony PlainCurling Clubs (AB), have seen rapidgrowth in their Stick Curling leagues.

In the town of Didsbury, (AB) popula-tion 3800, there has been tremendousgrowth in the sport. The Stick Curlingleagues have continually increased from44 to 76 to 96 memberships, making itthe largest league in the community. Thisrepresents a 50% increase in club mem-berships as a direct result of the imple-mentation of Stick Curling leagues.Besides the impact on the increase ofdues received, the bar and cafeteria saleshas also correspondingly increased; keynotables for any club executive, especial-ly those struggling with the business sideof running a curling club.

The success of the sport can be credit-ed to the Stick Curling rules which are at-tracting participants of all ages, couples,former curlers, as well as individuals whowould never have tried curling if not forthe inherent rules of Stick Curling. Thelater group includes those who wantedto try curling but were not inclined to trythe slide delivery, and those people whosimply get enough sweeping at home.

What are the rules?The teams consist of 2 players. Each

team member plays at opposite ends of

the rink; one team member will deliverall six stones for the end while the otherskips. When the end is over the roles arereversed, thus the team members are eachperforming the most interesting aspectsof the game, delivering stones and skip-ping. The no sweeping rule is in effect be-tween the hog lines to increase the chal-lenge of shot making. The games are 6ends long taking under an hour to com-plete so participants do not have time toget cold or bored. Is it any wonder thesport is attracting so many participants?

Stick Curling Canada, a group of vol-unteers, has been organized with the mis-sion of developing and promoting thesport of 2 Person Team Stick Curling, en-couraging active participation for peopleof all ages and capabilities, and, con-tributing to the development of highly

competitive champi-onship play.

“We are happy withthe progress we havemade so far”, reportsCarson Schultz afounding member ofthe dedicated group,“We have madeprogress on all three ofour missions, and wehave taken the firststeps towards truechampionship play byinitiating provincialand national opencompetitions.” Thewebsite has been an ex-cellent means for com-municating the sport,its rules and benefits, as

well as broadcasting upcoming events.Some of these events include:• 2nd Annual “Canadian Stick Curling

Classic” – Garrison Curling Club,Calgary AB, Feb 21-23, 2006.

• 2nd Annual “Manitoba Open” StickCurling Bonspiel – Grand MaraisCurling Club, Grand Marais MB, Feb24-26, 2006.

• 3rd Annual “Alberta Open” StickCurling Bonspiel – Vulcan CurlingClub, Vulcan AB, Feb 7-9, 2006.“Another benefit we have seen from

Stick Curling is an increased sense ofcommunity, within our town and withour neighboring towns. People are curl-ing with their parents and grandparentson an equal and competitive basis, prov-ing that this is truly a sport that the wholefamily can enjoy”, states Carson.

2 Person Team Stick Curling is sure tohelp your business of curling and in-crease the vibrancy of your curling com-munity. More information on the sportcan be found at the Stick Curling Canadawebsite at www.stickcurling.ca.

If you have not tried Stick Curling takea short hour and give it a try, and we’resure you will stick with it?

2 Person Team StickCurling is GainingPopularity by by Vince Schultz

Ray Thomas (Middle) and Glen Haase (Right) are presentedwith trophy sticks after winning the 2004-2005 CanadianStick Curling Classic

by Lori Provost

Here is an exciting new fundraising initiative for the Sandra Schmirler Foundation.

The Travel Gallery of Regina has pledged a $10 do-nation to the Sandra Schmirler Foundation for everyWestJet or Air Canada flight booked via their web-site, www.mytravelgallery.com.

It's as easy as 1 - 2 - 3!!1. Go to www.mytravelgallery.com2. Click on the appropriate link, either Air Canada

or WestJet, and book your flight3. The Travel Gallery will donate $10 to the

Sandra Schmirler Foundation on your behalfNo professional fees will be charged. It's thatsimple!

Whether traveling for curling events, family va-cations or business purposes, it’s an easy way tomake a meaningful contribution.

In order to spread the word about this program, I am askingfor your help. Shown here is an ad that can be reproduced and hung on your Club'sbulletin board, included on member newsletters, distributed to commercial leaguesand included in team packages for bonspiels held at your club. Any help you can give

to create awareness of this initiative would be greatly appreci-ated. (Please send an e-mail to danny@curling.ca and we

will forward you an electronic version of the ad.)Please feel free to contact me if you require any

additional information. On behalf of the SandraSchmirler Foundation, and families with seriouslyill children, thank you for making a difference!!

Sincerely, Jan Betker

Over and above all the politics, every-thing that had to be done to get a curlingclub operational had to be taken care of.Ice, rocks, score boards, fundraising, fur-nishings, locker rooms – everything acurler takes for granted wasn’t granted.

Over three years, the volunteers met,planned, re-planned, learned and pouredsweat equity into the new club. They re-ceived lots of advice, ideas and contactsfrom the Canadian Curling Associationand “Shorty” Jenkins came on board afull two years prior to their opening tofashion ice, help attain rocks, sharpenrocks and get the ice and plant up tospeed. “I did this for the challenge”mused Jenkins. “It’s not everyday you geta facility like this, an arena to work in.”Imagine curling every night of the weekin Brier conditions!!

Was it all worth it? On their September16 registration night people lined up atthe door prior to the 6:30 pm opening.380 people signed up for curling with themajority being rookies.

It may have taken awhile but, this curl-ing facility will not be white elephant.

NOVEMBER/NOVEMBRE 2005

8

signed by the Club President or their designate.)Eligible volunteers will have contributedin any of the following areas:• Special event (i.e. championship

hosted at the club, anniversarycelebrations);

• Building construction, renovations orupgrades (unpaid work);

• Program development for adults,juniors, youth or schools (elementary,secondary, collegiate, university);

• Specific fundraising campaign; • Successful membership recruitment

campaign;• Successful volunteer recruitment;

Note: eligible contributions are notnecessarily restricted to these six areas. Ifyour club has a deserving and eligible vol-unteer who contributed in an area notlisted here, please send it in. It will beconsidered equally.

The deadline for nominations isDecember 31st.

Nomination ChecklistBefore sending your nomination to the

Canadian Curling Association office,please check that you have included thefollowing information.

A 750-word essay outlining your nom-inee’s impact on the club’s operation dur-ing the 2004-2005 curling season and en-sure the President of the club or theirdesignate has added their signature to thenomination.

The volunteer’s:• Name• Home address and contact information• Employment• Hobbies & other interests• Provincial/Territorial or CCA training

(i.e. Business of Curling, Technical,Coaching)

• Sweater size• 5” x 7” Colour photo (head and

shoulders) or high resolution jpeg(300 DPI) is acceptable.

• Reference letters (maximum of 3 up to100 words each).

Send your nomination to: Canadian Curling AssociationVolunteer of the Year Award1660 Vimont CourtCumberland, Ontario K4A 4J4Attention: Rachel Delaney

For more information, call 1-800-550-2875(106) or, e-mail danny@curling.ca.

2005 National CurlingClub Volunteer of theYear Award

The CCA’s Business of Curling©workshop program promotes volunteerdevelopment as a vital component tocurling club operations. Your facility isencouraged to formally recognizevolunteers and that recognition is asignificant tool a club can use to retainand re-motivate its volunteer ‘workforce’.

The CCA’s Volunteer of the Year Awardis based on the nominee’s contributionsfrom the previous curling season only.The winner of the 2005 award will be rec-ognized for their efforts during the 2004-2005 season. We are not looking for alifetime of contributions since that wouldpreclude members who have been at theclub for a short time.

One volunteer from each provincial /territorial member association will beidentified from applications receivedfrom any club in the respective associa-tion. From that group, the review teamwill choose the national winner.

The winner will receive an all-expensepaid weekend trip for two to the 2006Tim Hortons Brier in Regina where theywill be recognized during one of the play-off games.

Provincial / Territorial finalists will re-ceive an exclusive embroidered sweater

and all finalists, including the winner,will be profiled in the Spring 2006 issueof the Business of Curling magazine.

How do you enter?Every affiliated club in Canada is eligi-

ble to nominate a worthy candidate forthis award. Simply provide a short essaydescribing your nominee’s contributionand how that contribution had a signifi-cant impact on your curling club’s oper-ation.

This essay will describe exactly how thecurling club benefited from the volunteereffort and must include measurable out-comes. For example, describe any finan-cial benefit, boost in membership, or anew program developed (please restrictthe essay to 750 words or less).

The essay may be written by a memberof the Board of Directors, a club com-mittee member, a club staff member or,a representative of the member associa-tion. The application form must then be

The 2001 winner of theNational Volunteer ofthe Year Award, JakeLynka, PentictonCurling Club, Penticton,British Columbia.(shown with CCABoard Member DianneBarker at the bannerpresentation at thishome club)

Only elephants have a longer gestationperiod.

Kemptville, Ontario’s North GrenvilleCurling Club finally opened to much fanfare on October 14, 2005 after being con-ceived in 1988.

Kemptville is the largest populationcentre in the recently amalgamated mu-nicipality called North Grenville. Locatedabout 20 minutes south of Ottawa, manyof the 14,500 people living there havecurled for years in neighbouring jurisdic-tions.

Since 1988 at least four groups havebeen active in the quest for their owncurling facility. The closest anyone got tothe goal was when $165,000 was raisedthrough house, vehicle and calendar raf-fles. That last group hoped to acquiresome funds through an Ontario govern-ment recreational facility grant programcalled Wintario. Their luck ran out whenWintario folded.

Then along came a saviour. MayorBruce Harrison had a vision for the newmunicipality that amalgamated onJanuary 1, 1998. The vision included aspanking new recreation, tourism andmunicipal office all rolled into one.

While the new structure would featuretwo ice pads, what was the city to do withthe 37 year old hockey rink?

Suggestions included a fire station or ameeting hall, however, Harrison felt, with$165,000 in the bank, the curling peoplemight just make a go of the old building.“Over all the years they did fundraising”Harrison mused “the will to have a curl-ing facility has been here for 15 years.”

But opposition to his project might justscuttle the plan.

Some felt the new arena complexmight just be too expensive for a town of14,500. Undaunted, the Mayor perse-vered. He managed to attain a Canada-Ontario Infrastructure Program grant an-nounced in October, 2002.

The press release read “The Township

of North Grenville will construct a newsports, recreation, culture and tourismcomplex and will facilitate the conversionof the existing community arena into acurling rink.” As Harrison recalled “Thewhole thing hinged on that grant.”

Public/Private PerilsThe curling enthusiasts were that much

closer to their dream. But a lot of work re-mained and government doesn’t movefast. They also suffered through theNovember 2003 defeat of the energeticMayor.

Beginning in late 2003, the curlers hadto meet regularly with a municipal com-mittee that oversaw the plans for the newbuilding. The curling rink fell under itsterms of reference.

The curlers had to produce viable busi-ness plans, budgets and a lease. This alltook months and months, spilling into2004 until matters were settled later in2005. They got the building for $1 peryear for five years.

All operational and building expenseshad to be borne by the curling club. Overand above that, a five year escrow fundhad to be established just in case curlingfailed. In their first year of operation,$35,000 has to be deposited in that fundwith an additional $10,000 annuallythrough the next four years.

The official ribbon cutting ceremonyincluded: (left to right): Shorty Jenkins,Bob Runciman, provincial MPP, GordBrown, federal MP, Mayor Bill Goochand club president Brian Cassidy

President Cassidy delivers the very firststone of the new building.

It was some busy on Registration Nightwith hundreds of people signing up -many of them rookies to the sport!

NGCC President Brian Cassidy introducesthe first ever Board of Directors.

Kemptville Curling Club Finally OpenBy Joe Pavia

The first winner ofthe NationalVolunteer of theYear Award, StuartParrott, BeausejourCurling Club,Beausejour,Manitoba.(shown with CCAPresident Zivan

Saper at the 2001 Nokia Brier in Ottawa)