By Greg Higgins

Curling club goes golfing to fundraise

Aug 8, 2016 | 7:01 PM

A local curling club came out to play a different sport last weekend in an effort to raise funds for rink repairs.

The Edam Curling Club held its third annual Texas Scramble Golf Tournament at the Aquadeo Beach Golf Club in Jackfish Lake on Sunday, Aug. 7.

The Edam Curling Rink needed a new chiller for its ice plant three years ago at a cost of $25,000. To pay for the replacement, the club took out a loan and was $5,000 away from paying it off before the tournament. Brandon Doom, organizer of the scramble, said the fundraiser cleared the debt.

“I am very excited to have the loan paid off,” Doom said. “Now I can concentrate on putting my fundraising efforts into other worthy organizations.”

Doom said the money was borrowed because the curling rink is a cornerstone of the community and had to be repaired right away.

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“It was essential the plant be fixed because it is always being used. If we didn’t get it fixed the curling rink would just be a used as a hall. People would have to go out of town to curl,” Doom said.

According to Doom, artificial ice is a must when it comes to curling.

“The hockey rink in Edam uses natural ice but it isn’t the same for curling,” Doom said. “The rink has to be really cold, otherwise it’s very finicky.’

Doom said any surplus from the fundraiser will go towards paying utilities at the rink.

The tournament has been held in a different place every year. The first year was in Mervin and the second year was in Meota. The event has been so successful Doom wants to continue holding it each year, cycling between the towns.

Doom said tournament sponsorship has grown and companies have already approached him about next year.

“Northern Edge Tire said they’d like to bump up the hole-in-one prize from $5,000 this year to $25,000 next year so that will be exciting,” Doom said.

The club had $2,400 in sponsorship before the first person teed off. The last two tournaments raised over $5,000.

Greg Higgins is battlefordsNOW’s city municipal affairs and health reporter. He can be reached at ghiggins@jpbg.ca or tweet him @realgreghiggins.