Joey Payeur
If Mark Twain was a curling fan, he likely would have said that reports of the Fort Frances Curling Club’s demise have been greatly exaggerated.
That’s according to president Ron Silver, who was adamant in dispelling the notion that the club is struggling to draw participants this season.
“Our numbers are about the same as last year,” he declared.
“In a couple of our leagues, we’re down a bit,” he noted. “But in others, we’re way up.
“We anticipated somewhat of a decline due to the situation at the mill, but it hasn’t really happened and we’re hoping to rebound to larger numbers in the next couple of years,” Silver added.
The Wednesday and Thursday night leagues are full while some room exists in the Monday night league and the Friday mixed one.
The daytime leagues throughout the week also are carrying solid numbers while the U.S. league on Tuesdays also includes rinks that couldn’t fit in on the Wednesday night schedule.
In other news, the club’s ice-making duties have changed hands with Rob Botel having moved to the Maritimes.
It’s now a combined effort led by former club ice-maker Kevin Busch, who is being aided by some local students.
The club also has a new man in charge when it comes to feeding the curlers as Vic Cave will be running the Li’l Amik Grill.
“Vic Cave is a very, very good cook and he’s got the kitchen open all the time,” Silver said of Cave, who also has cooked in Dryden and Kenora.
“He’s always the last guy to leave the place.”
Some major events being hosted at the club this season include the Bantam boys’ provincial playdowns Feb. 6, with no guaranteed spot for a host team.
Skip Chris Silver, third Myron Armstrong, second Daniel Vandenbrand, and lead Davis Jackson will get their first chance to qualify for the playdowns at an event Dec. 19 in Keewatin.
The Bantam girls’ quarter—featuring skip Erin Tomalty and her team of Anika Beaudry, Tory Beaudry, and a still-undetermined fourth member—also will be in Keewatin vying for a provincial berth in Thessalon.
Meanwhile, the Travellers Club Championship (formerly The Dominion) will be contested on the local front by three men’s teams.
Raymond Roy, Don DeBenedet, and Adam Bolen will square off for the right to represent the club at the Region 1 championship Jan. 30-Feb. 1 in Sioux Lookout.
A new winner from the local club is guaranteed as defending champ Lorne Jackson is not participating this season.
On the women’s side, Kathie Jackson and her revamped team will get a free run to the regionals as no other Fort women’s team has offered to challenge the defending champs.
Jackson and her team of returnee Teresa McFayden, along with newcomers Christine Jean and Jacquee Loerzel, also will head to Sioux Lookout at the end of January for the Region 1 women’s playdowns.
The West qualifier for the men’s provincial championship will be held Jan. 22-25 in Geraldton.
A date and location for the women’s West qualifier has yet to be announced.
