The Haliburton Curling Club closed its doors on Saturday April 30, 2022 after a fun filled two week bonspiel that is adoringly called, "The Best Ever Bonspiel". Sixteen teams and sixty-four curlers delivered rocks, swept rocks and counted rocks for at least four games. If you were lucky enough, you got to go further with the finals on Saturday, April 30th. Many positive comments came out of playing in this spiel as it was the only one we have had in two years! Hopefully, we will be back on track next season with the pandemic behind us.
Congratulations to our first place team - Neil Darby, skip, Stephen Orr as vice, second, Barry Hughes and lead, Carol Krieger. Second place went to the team of Don Hillaby, skip, vice, Garth Krieger, second, Nancy Hughes and lead, Scott Childs. Third place honours went to Steve Colliver's team of vice, Eva Griffith, second, Bill Keevil and lead, Karen Howard-Tripp. Fourth place was secured by skip, Dave Ablett, vice, Lance Payne, second, Curtis Eastmure and lead, Megan Orr. Dave DeLyzer helped the team in the finals as a spare for Curtis.
Many thanks to everyone who participated in this great spiel: all the spares that were needed to cover players, our "Spare Queen" Wanda Stephen, Kent Milford, ladies in the kitchen, Jackie Bradbury, Brenda Eastmure, Ferne Taylor, Sue Mason and Mary Hillaby and barbequers, Glenn Scott and Curtis Eastmure.
Many thanks to Eva Griffith for designing and baking a delicious cake for the final day.
Hope to see everyone at the Home Show on June 2-4th. There are many new vendors that will be participating in the show and we would like to welcome the community to come and visit. The curling club will also have a booth so please come and see us.
Here are some pictures from the event:
The Home Show
Friday, June 3 - Sunday, June 5, 2022
The Home Show is back the first weekend in June.
After a two year hiatus, it’s almost time for the next show! We are really excited about getting on the go again. The booths are filling up with great exhibitors who are ready to show their products and services.
Now, to make this event as successful as in past years, we need all of our members to participate as volunteers. Over the three days of the show itself, plus set-up and take-down tasks, we need at the very least 150 volunteers. From security detail, food prep, ticket sellers, door greeters, and more, your help is needed. Keep in mind that the income from these shows is a major source of financial support for our club. We need to work together to keep it that way!
Sign up sheets are posted in the Curling Club lounge. For those of you who are not curling at this time, please let Norma Kennedy know your choice of task and shift via email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or phone 705 286-1963.
Our county is large and weather conditions vary by lake. We do our best to make a decision to play or not that will apply to as many peope as possible. If bad weather is expected, please check here or on Facebook by 7am for day leagues and by 4pm for evening leagues, for possible cancellations. Daytime cancellations don't necessarily affect evening play, and vice versa.
Here we go again! The latest series of Provincial restrictions have closed all community indoor sports and recreational facilities for three weeks.
There is no doubt however, this closure is different. Unlike past closures it seems like many people are sick all around us although most are experiencing symptoms similar to a bad cold. We can only hope this situation abates quickly.
Where we go from here is unclear to say the least. The Provincial government tells us that it is hospital visits now that matter not case counts (which cannot be measured effectively anymore) and the Federal government is promising many more rapid tests in the near future. The Health Unit has not really said anything lately. All we can do now is be prepared, keep our options open and act appropriately when the time comes.
We are planning on reopening Jan 26th or Jan 27th (depending on precisely when we are allowed to do so) with appropriate protocols in place.
We will deal with sessional matters and timing etc in future updates when the path is a little clearer. We will likely extend the season to the end of April and we will do our best to accommodate the needs of those who wish to travel and of those who now are not travelling. If we can we will make it work for you.
We will keep you informed as usual. Please don’t take unnecessary risks and stay as safe as you can.
Kent
Curling Update
So Now What Do We Do?
Hello again everyone! I hope that your Christmas was enjoyable and safe.
I suspect you are fully aware that it has been a chaotic two weeks since our decision to close early for the break. During that time the quantified daily COVID cases count has increased from 1k -13k and we have had four southern Ontario curling clubs forced to close with outbreaks (one with as many as 40 curlers affected). Furthermore, the demand for COVID tests went through the roof and supply dried up as the case count mounted and Christmas drew close.
Clearly things are changing extremely quickly and the risk of contracting this virus is significant even for those who are vaccinated and boosted.
Your Board pledged to keep you as safe as possible and with that in mind we will remain closed next week and will re-evaluate the situation weekly. We need to have things cool down and ensure a viable plan is in place to make sure we are all safe when we resume and can stay that way.
We expect that Provincial and Health Unit protocols will change again over the next few days as the full COVID aftermath of the break becomes known and the authorities come back to work.
Suffice it to say we are all over it and want to get you back ASAP.
On behalf of the Board allow me to wish you all a Happy New Year and please stay safe and don’t take risks over the remainder of the holiday season.
Kent
Important Update!
Extended Christmas Break
I need to take this opportunity to update you on the latest COVID developments as they relate to the curling club.
During the past week things have escalated very quickly as the Federal and Provincial governments plus the Health Units have attempted to combat the Omicron Covid variant. The astonishing speed of transmission of this variant has resulted in a rapid series of somewhat chaotic and confusing directives and guidelines.
So where does that put us?
Throughout the entire pandemic we have pledged to keep you all as safe as possible at all times and this will not change. As it stands today we believe that legally we could continue to curl at 50% capacity if we choose to adjust a few protocols and split some draws down to 2 sheets.
The larger issue facing the Board is that we have 3 factors working against us over the next few weeks. The rate of transmission, the fact that fully vaccinated people are still at risk of infection and the probability that each of our personal contacts is likely to increase from now through the end of the holiday season means that we have a diminished ability to make sure you are safe.
It was a difficult and not unanimous decision but your Board has passed a motion to suspend operation of the club next week and through the Christmas break. This means we are losing 4 days of curling. We will look at extending the session and the season if we can.
We plan to re-open January 3rd (if we can legally) with a revised set of protocols relevant at that time which include asking all curlers to take a rapid test (and obtain a negative result) immediately prior to your first game back after the break. Presently the club is attempting to procure these tests but we are not sure if this is possible now given the developments and demand over the past 48 hours. It may be necessary for individuals to obtain their own test kits. We will advise you further on this as we know more.
I know this is an inconvenience and frustrating but hopefully it’s just one more obstacle we will overcome. Your support throughout this entire pandemic has been phenomenal.
On behalf of the Board I wish you all a Happy and safe Christmas and New Year!
Kent
Curling starts October 4, 2021.
Haliburton Curling Club will be following Provincial Step 3 reopening guidelines. All members and guests must be fully vaccinated and will be required to show proof of vaccination. Masks must be worn at all times in the facility unless on the ice curling or seated in the lounge. Social distancing must be practiced at all times. As bar and restaurants are permitted to open for food and beverage services under Stage 3 reopening we will be offering these services following the Health Unit protocols with limited capacity in effect. For a full list of protocols please visit the link on the member’s page.
RETURNING MEMBERS