The club survey is still open and we would love to hear from as many curlers as possible, if you could take 5 minutes and complete the online survey would be very much appreciated. The link is below: https://abbotsfordcurling.com/2021-survey/
If anyone or team is looking to improve there curling skills be it your stick delivery, slide delivery and release or sweeping technique we have room and time on Wednesday nights from 6 to 7pm with certified coaches. Just email the office to book your lesson, the cost is only $10 per 1 hour session which also includes 1 complimentary beverage from the lounge.
As you are aware, we are asking all curlers and former curlers to participate in a survey to advise the Board about our future. The link to the survey is included below. I ask that you read the Background information distributed at the rink last week or included below this link before you complete the survey. The survey only takes a few minutes and there is space for you to make comments and suggestions. We appreciate your thoughts and input. Please click submit at the end of the survey by Feb 13. Thank you for your time.
https://abbotsfordcurling.com/2021-survey/
Cheers
Gord Wallington, President, Abbotsford Curling Club
It is with great pride and humility that I write this letter to you. Our club was very surprised and most pleased to be chosen as the training site for the Canadian Men’s Curling Team as they prepared to represent Canada at the winter Olympics in Beijing in February 2022. There are many fine curling facilities in Western Canada so to be chosen was both a privilege and an honour. We truly appreciate the recognition.
In light of the rapidly spreading covid pandemic and in keeping with your wishes, we have tried to keep our interaction with the team to a bare minimum. However, we have appreciated the opportunities where our curling community has been able to watch some practices from the upstairs lounge. The limited interactions with the players, from afar, has formed a bond that will be remembered long after the Olympics. Our icemakers, Kent and Nic, have enjoyed their late evening/early morning interactions with the team, especially Nic’s birthday which will be a memorable one for him. While it has been a largely unheralded event in our community in general, it has been a much-needed positive experience for our curling community in particular.
I trust that Abbotsford has been able to provide a positive training experience for the team. I hope that the community has made you feel welcome and at home. I assume that our little curling club has made you feel comfortable and has been able to meet your needs. We have always been very proud of the quality of our ice. I hope you had a great surface on which to practice your craft and hone your skills.
Like all Canadians we will be following Olympic curling with great interest during the month of February. This year there will be a little extra tug of the heart strings when we see Team Canada take to the ice.
Please accept these club pins as a token of our appreciation. On behalf of the members of the Abbotsford Curling Club and the Board of Directors, I wish you the Best of Luck.
My apologies for not being clear in the newsletter yesterday.
We are “suggesting” the use of one sweeper, this is not a rule or another mandated policy. Feel free to have 2 or 3 sweepers or just throw the rock better and you shouldn’t need any sweepers 🙂
The survey I mentioned will be coming out soon and we look forward to as many responses as possible.
Let’s hope the current restrictions are removed on February 16 so we can get back to having more events and more fun at the club again.
Well the new year has come and gone but the covid is still here. Some of us have been lucky enough to get through the vid without too much suffering, yours truly included.
Just wanted to remind everyone that we are still in full covid safety protocol with wearing masks as much as possible, social distancing, only 6 people per table, staying home if not feeling well. If you want to wear a mask while curling please do so, try to have only 1 sweeper again (the other sweeper can get the drinks) but most importantly keep having fun, that is what life is all about so stay safe and have fun everyone.
The Board of Directors has developed a survey looking for input and feedback from it’s members on how to improve and grow the club. We have been through a very difficult and challenging last 2 years as we all know so what direction we choose now will define the future of YOUR club.
The BC health orders end February 16th. Our Ladies Bonspiel at the Abbotsford Curling Club is scheduled for February 18-20. The bonspiel fee will be collected only when it proceeds, and you walk in the building on Friday of the event. No risk to you! So if you want to curl show your love and sign up for a good time of curling and tea!
Curling will be cancelled Thursday (all leagues) due to inclement weather. The heavy snowfall last night combined with icy roads and ice rain expected today we should stay off the roads as much as possible.
Stay safe and we’ll see you back at the club soon!
With the fall season ending and the Christmas holiday approaching, we cannot help but reflect upon the events of the last four months. As a curling club we went from expectations of a normal curling season to one of continued covid restrictions, restrictions that now seem pretty routine and maybe even a new “normal” for some time to come. Though our membership numbers were down and our leagues were reduced, we were having fun, the ultimate object of the endeavor after all.
Then the atmospheric rivers arrived. We lost our motors and our ice but like a phoenix we rose again, postponed events, resumed curling, and completed this most unusual season. We lost 3 weeks of a sport, a past time, a leisure activity. But many in our community lost a life time; their homes, their farms, their livelihood, their treasures. There is no comparison. Hats off to our members who helped during the emergency, donating their time, their resources, their energy to help their neighbours and friends. It showed the Abbotsford spirit in the community and was reflected at the club.
Many people worked long hours to get the plant back up and operating again. The machine room had to be cleaned. People donated equipment. It took hours to reinstall the ice and now it is being groomed back to its prime condition. We thank Kent for the many hours he has spent working to make this happen and to all those who have helped him. Our many volunteers have worked countless hours to ensure that our events have been successful and safe. It has been a long fall. They all have earned a well deserved holiday.
The Board of Directors wishes all members and their families a wonderful holiday season filled with all the magic of Christmas. May 2022 be your best year ever. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!
