The Twin Rivers Curling Club has been busy this season, with a strong community turnout. (submitted photo/Doug Fehr)

By Martin Martinson

Curling going strong

Local curling club sees success despite pandemic

Nov 24, 2020 | 1:58 PM

About a month and a half into the curling season, the Twin Rivers Curling Club is going strong.

Featuring league games nearly every weeknight – and some week days – from Monday to Thursday, general manager Doug Flasch, said it’s been great to see so many within the local area choosing to get involved in the sport this season.

“Everything’s been going really well, and I think our curling numbers are even up a little bit from last year,” Flasch said. “Every one of the leagues is either filled or at least what we had last year.”

Due to the unique circumstances this year, the club decided to split the season into two halves: before the New Year and after the New Year. This first half will wrap up Dec. 21, and following the Christmas break, the leagues will start up again in early January.

Flasch said the splitting of the season has been done before, for the afternoon 50+ league. He said it’s worked really well this year, due to the flexibility it creates for both the club itself, and their members.

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“Just in case the season was cut short or something, if you have to refund money it just makes it a lot easier if it’s just a half-season,” Flasch said. “And we’ve found our members have actually said they quite like that and were really happy to hear that we did it that way too.”

Much like with the splitting of the schedule, Flasch said the players have all been very mindful of the other minor changes put in place this year as well, including the in-game adjustments.

“We only have one sweeper this year [per team], and all the teams have been abiding by that really well,” he said.

“It’s not a rule, but it’s a recommendation, so other than the skips complaining that it’s a little cold because they don’t get to sweep behind the tee-line anymore, it’s all be going pretty well,” he added with a laugh.

Flasch said from participants to sponsors, he is grateful to see so many still supporting the club during this unprecedented time, adding that the Twin Rivers Curling Club is happy to provide an outlet for locals from around the area to come and take part in the sport.

“The community has been fantastic, we can’t complain about [the support] at all,” Flasch said. “We haven’t lost any sponsors and it’s been great to see the turnout.”

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Martin.Martinson@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: MartyMartyPxP1