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What was a bustling club is now dark in the middle of a weekday afternoon.
Rocks which would normally be in play now sit inside the viewing area.
The hacks, normally embedded into each sheet, sit on the backboards.
And the most telling sign?
What was ice – is now concrete.
It’s official.
The season is over for members of the Penticton Curling Club.
“We’ve taken out the ice,” confirmed club manager Chris Jones. “I’m going to get the building prepared for possible rentals. Who knows what’s going to happen.”
The club had been closed to all curling since the final week of November due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Taking into account Dr. Bonnie Henry’s Jan. 8th renewal of stringent COVID-19 protocols which had sidelined adult league play across BC until at least Feb. 5, the board of directors met Jan. 11 and decided not to continue the 2020/21 curling season effective immediately.
“It’s frustrating,” admitted Jones when asked how disappointed he is that the curling season is officially over. “Disappointing? Disappointing is when a bonspiel goes bad.
“When you don’t have bonspiels it’s frustrating. That’s where all the fun is at.”
Jones and his crew turned the plant off Jan. 11, two-plus months earlier than normal. In-ice banners are now rolled up. The curling area is now a pressure-wash away from dry floor usage in the middle of January.
“I’m here everyday and it’s hard to see no one here enjoying the facility and what we have to offer,” added Jones. “I get people dropping by to say hi, and they’re bored as heck, because the golf courses really are not open, and this is what they do all winter.”
So, instead of preparing the six curling sheets for regular evening play, Jones can be found at his computer these days, connecting with club members and giving them the bad news.
The club is in a bit of a quandary, as are many other groups hit hard by the pandemic.
They need the funds generated through league dues more than ever, given there have been no revenue-generating bonspiels and bar sales are down significantly.
“The board decided it would offer up refunds to all members if they had paid for a full season. We are offering 50% back for the season. It’s a members option whether they want to take the money or not,” explained Jones. “I’m looking at about 60%, or two-thirds saying just keep our money, and make sure the club opens next year. And in these times right now, I understand that people do need the money, no matter how much it may be.”
Jones says the club has been in the black financially in recent years. However…
“This year, we’re not going to come out ahead,” he admitted. ”Yeah, it’s going to hurt. With people saying they don’t need their refunds, we may come out breaking even before next season starts. And that would be our goal. We don’t want to go in the hole after we’ve worked so hard to get where we’re at. But we understand if we do.
“Considering this was our biggest year ever, it was disheartening to see it end the way it did.”
There was one positive about the season, believes Jones, pointing to the World Curling Tour Ashley Homestore Classic, routinely held in November. All the big names showed again in 2020, however only a few fans could watch live.
That’s where technology helped.
“I got the numbers in on that, and we had just under 40,000 viewers watching it online. Each equated to about 2.5 million minutes of viewing,” said Jones. “For them to see what Penticton offered was pretty good. Hopefully next year we’re going to come back stronger with that event. That was the highlight of our year.
“Now all we can do is look forward to curling next year, next season, and get ready for that. We want to start next year and come back hard.”
The Summerland Curling Club has also removed its ice, resulting in an early closure for curlers in that community.
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