After some repairs to the ice, stemming from a breakdown late last year, the Power Dodge Curling Centre is open once again, and young curlers are on the ice for practices.
Under-18 curlers returned on Saturday. Manager Pauline Ziehl Grimsrud said the Co-op Kids Program, the youth program and the high school curlers and able to practise.
The provincial guidelines allow for athletes under the age of 18 to practise, as long as there are no more than eight on the surface at a time, so the kids will be spread out over the six ice sheets. They also have to be at least three metres apart and they have to be wearing a mask.
“There will be some changes in the format and how we do our drills and practise out there,” said Ziehl Grimsrud. “We’re just focusing on the next two weeks.”
Practices will continue at least until Jan. 29, when the current provincial restrictions expire. The curling club doesn’t know whether stronger restrictions will be enacted that would prevent them from opening their doors to young athletes after Jan. 29.
Young curlers aren't able to have league games.
The athletes are eager to get back on the ice. Everyone Ziehl Grimsrud has talked to is eager to play again, as there are about 60 kids between the three programs. They’ll be practising after school and on weekends.
It means there will have to be more on-ice sessions to accommodate all of the kids.
Ziehl Grimsrud said she has missed the kids, and she is excited to get them back on the ice.
“There’s the enthusiasm when you see the kids, and you tell them ‘We’re working on it, we’re going to get going again,’ and they’re excited to come, and they’re already asking ‘Can we curl more?’ ‘Can we only curl three times a week?’” said Ziehl Grimsrud.
The curling club had been closed since the provincial government imposed restrictions at the end of November that halted games for team sports.
Even if the curling rink wasn’t closed due to the pandemic regulations, it would have been shut down for several weeks in late 2020 and early 2021 due to a breakdown in the chiller on Dec. 13, 2020, that resulted in damage to the ice at the west end of the rink.
“When it went down, we had some leakage going to our compressors. We have two compressors, and those were also damaged at the same time, so those had to be repaired also, so that was an extensive project,” said Ziehl Grimsrud.
The chiller, which is an essential part for the ice and has been replaced, was 21 years old; it will typically last for at least 25 years. The chiller and compressors were inspected last fall to ensure they were in good shape before the plant was fired up. It passed inspection. The curling rink was able to save the ice through the efforts of the ice-making committee by keeping the rink’s doors open at night, or during cold days.
But they have repaired the ice, and while it’s not as pretty as it was at the start of the season, it is usable.
“We’ve done a full flood, and we’ve done the pebbling, and we’ve thrown a few rocks just to make sure it was in curlable shape, and so it’s ready to go. It looks good. It’s quick, so we’re happy with that, and it has good curl,” said Ziehl Grimsrud.
