Simcoe Curling Club to host Feb. 21 open house

John Amos uses his curling brush as a guide for his teammate’s next shot.

Chris Abbott

Editor

Local curling club will launch its first-ever food drive

The Simcoe Curling Club is looking for ways to become more involved in the community.

“The curling club is a community, within a community,” said Simcoe club president Craig Thompson. “So, we’re looking at other ways, through the year, to be more effective in our community.”

On Saturday, Feb. 21, from noon to 6 p.m., the Simcoe Curling Club is inviting the community to discover the sport of curling during an open house at the club’s home at the Fairgrounds on South Drive.

Visitors will have the opportunity to get on the ice with the help of club members, learn how to throw a rock, and take part in interactive skill stations set up on every ice sheet. Activities will include beginner-friendly challenges, such as traditional sliding delivery and/or stick curling.

“Our goal is to introduce people to this great sport and show them what our club is all about,” said Thompson. “We want to make it as easy as possible for people – we provide the equipment, including sliders. All we ask you to bring is clean indoor shoes. For the people throwing their first curling rock, or first curling rock in 30 years, we’ll have everything you need except for the footwear.

“We do have a Learn to Curl program (starting in November), where people register, but this is the first time we’ve really opened the doors to the public and said ‘Come on in and check us out! Get on the ice and throw some rocks.’

“We are not a private club,” he noted, “We are open to everyone.”

FOOD DRIVE

The Feb. 21st open house will also mark the launch of Simcoe Curling Club’s first-ever food drive. Admission to the ice requires the donation of a non-perishable food item, which will be distributed to food banks in Simcoe, Port Dover, Waterford, and Delhi. Thompson said the club hopes to make the initiative an annual tradition and a meaningful way to give back to the community.

“We want to make this food drive a forever type of thing. We all have the opportunity to ‘give back,’ so let’s leverage our opportunity to give back to the community. That’s the goal. With the open house, we want to make sure the community knows we are here, and with the food drive we want to be able to make a difference where we can make a difference.”

CURLING IS FOR EVERYONE

“We’re doing the food drive, the Olympics are on, so we figured let’s try to use all of this momentum and hopefully get the community out, because a lot of people don’t know there is a curling club in Simcoe. We have a lot of people who are new to the area… and we want to say ‘Hey, this is for everyone - all ages, all skill levels. Everyone can enjoy this game.’ We’re just hoping that people take advantage of this opportunity.

“We want people to talk about curling. We want people to see what curling looks like.”

Founded in the 1950s, the Simcoe Curling Club welcomes curlers from across Norfolk and Haldimand counties, offering leagues and programs ranging from beginners and recreational players to competitive curlers, as well as senior, women’s, youth, and teen leagues.

The club’s bar will be open during the open house event, and the Olympic men’s gold medal curling game will be shown on television.

“It’s another great reason to come out and visit us,” Thompson said. “Hopefully, we’ll be watching Canada take gold.”