In the house during the Ladies Galantine's Bonspiel. The Twin Rivers Curling Club is looking to expand its membership. (Submitted Photo/Brandon Hall)

By Julia Lovett-Squires

Curling Club

Twin Rivers Curling Club looking for new members

Jan 3, 2024 | 3:22 PM

Stepping out into a cool rink with nothing but a brush, a pair of shoes, and a set of lungs to yell ‘Hurry, Hard’ as they prepared to take to the sheet and throw stones to outwit opponents through clever strategy was once a rite of passage for Canadians across the country.

Now, however, the roaring game is seeing a shift in popularity, and Twin Rivers Curling Club has had to grow and evolve to ensure its future in the Battlefords.

“The younger generations aren’t competitive,” said General Manager Brandon Hall.

Hall explained the new up-and-coming curlers are more interested in making memories and enjoying their experiences without the pressure. To encourage the next generation of stone throwers, the club has created leagues that are focused on recreational and as a result, has become one of the fastest-growing clubs.

“We are having quite a successful year, we are up about 40 per cent in numbers but of course, we’re always looking to grow that,” he said, noting they have 270 adult members across seven leagues – three of which are looking for members.

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Currently, they are welcoming new people to their Monday Recreational League and it’s open to curlers of all ages and of all experience levels who will play six ends as opposed to the full 10 ends.

“It is a non-competitive night of curling, little shorter games, and…we could use a few more teams on that night.”

A renewed emphasis on the recreational side has spurred interest from both young and old. However, it hasn’t always been that way, however.

The club was first established in 2012 when the Northland Power Curling Centre opened.

“Actually, it’s been dropping in members like every other club across [the] country for the last 10 years. COVID was a large hit and we’re not alone,” he said.

While the club attracted new members following some marketing, the true growth factor was the creation of the FFUN Dodge Social League.

“It’s very low commitment so, six weeks at a time we run it, you don’t sign up for a whole year,” he said, noting teams have options as to how many members they have.

“We actually do half years on everything as well,” Hall added.

Another issue stems from the fact that curlers are aging out, schools aren’t taking students out as they once did and, there are more options available to young people.

“All the smaller rinks are closing in the smaller towns so, as these people start having kids that never curled, generally the kids curl because their parents curled or they learn it in school,” he said.

To help combat the decline, Hall has been working with local schools to get the youngsters out.

“It’s definitely grown here, we’ve almost doubled in size,” Hall noted.

“If you don’t have kids curling, then you don’t have adults curling.”

Meanwhile, for the older curlers, there are the New Horizons and the Carol Christopher 50 Plus leagues that run in the afternoon.

“The way those work is you enter as a single and then the teams are kind of drawn out of a hat,” he said, adding they could use more participants.

The club is open to everyone, and they encourage anyone interested to call 306-937-2431 or email manager@battlefordscurling.com.

“If you don’t have a team, it doesn’t mean you can’t play. We have teams all the time looking for a single player or two players,” he said.

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julia.lovettsquires@pattisonmedia.com

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