Registration for the new curling season takes place later this week at the Osoyoos International Curling Club. Learn to Curl lessons begin next week with all regular leagues starting up after the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. Special emphasis is being placed on recruiting junior curlers and volunteer instructors are needed, said outgoing club president John Katerenchuk. A new president will be named at the club’s annual general meeting set for Oct. 6. (Richard McGuire file photo)
Not everyone is disappointed when long summer days drift into cooler autumn evenings, including the dedicated membership with the Osoyoos International Curling Club.
With the end of September just around the corner, the time has come once again for local curlers to grab their curling brooms and sliders and get ready for another long season of curling action.
The local curling club is holding its annual registration during the evenings of Sept. 27, 28 and 29 between the hours of 5 and 8 p.m.
As has become tradition, free learn to curl lessons will once again be offered the following week, with sessions organized for Oct. 3-4-5 from 7-9 p.m.
All leagues will start after the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, said outgoing club president John Katerenchuk, who is wrapping up his second two-year term as club president when the club’s annual general meeting is held the evening of Oct. 6.
“I’ve really enjoyed my two terms and four years as president, but it’s time for some new blood,” said Katerenchuk. “The current executive has been putting out some feelers to try and find a new president and I’m confident we’ll have a great candidate in place when we hold our AGM on Oct. 6.”
The men’s league will take place on Tuesday evenings, while the mixed league will happen on Wednesday evenings. The ladies league will return on Thursday evenings, while the daytime leagues will continue on Monday and Thursday afternoons, said Katerenchuk.
A special emphasis will be placed on promoting the junior league, which will take place after school every Tuesday afternoon from 3:15 to 4:15 p.m.
“We really want to put a special emphasis on our junior program this year because attracting junior curlers will play a big role in the continued success of our club in future years,” he said. “We’ve moved the junior program to after school on Tuesdays because that seems to work the best because once the kids get home from school, many of them won’t come out.
“If we can get them to come directly from school to the club for a one-hour session, we think we can have some success with our juniors. We’re still looking at getting a few instructors to volunteer their time to work with the kids in our junior program.”
A new two-person stick curling league will return for the second season on Monday evenings, he said.
Stick curling is for curlers who might be experiencing mobility issues and for some senior curlers who now have trouble getting out of the hack in regular curling, he said.
“Our stick curling turned out to be a real nice success our first year last year and we’re looking to get more people involved this year,” he said. “Stick curling is a lot different as you have two-person teams with one on each end. You throw six stones per end instead of four … it’s a different game, but it still allows a lot of people who can no longer curl traditionally to get out and enjoy themselves.”
The club membership remains around 150, which is very solid for a town of this size, said Katerenchuk.
“Our membership numbers remain strong,” he said. “This club plays a big role in the social life of a lot of our members during the long winter months.”
The annual men’s bonspiel will be held from Jan. 13-15 in 2017, with the women’s bonspiel set for Feb. 10-12.
The Osoyoos International Curling Club has been selected to host the B.C. Regional Junior Bonspiel in November and members are looking forward to hosting some of the best junior curlers in the province at that event, he said.
Anyone wishing to donate their time and skills to teaching junior curlers, can contact Katerenchuk at 250-495-4008.
Anyone wanting more information about the club can visit the website at www.osoyooscurlingclub.com or by calling 250-495-7733.
KEITH LACEY
Osoyoos Times
