CANORA - On the morning of March 6 as organizers were preparing for the Canora Men’s Bonspiel, they received the distressing news that the Canora Curling Club ice plant had failed, said Club President Terry Wilson. After careful consideration, they decided to cancel the Men’s Bonspiel and all other curling activities for the remainder of the 2024/25 season.
“On what was supposed to be the first day of the Men’s Bonspiel there were significant plant issues which were not a quick fix,” said Wilson. “It became apparent the repairs would require too much time to complete and/or reinstall the ice for the last month of the season. We did not come to the decision lightly but it is important to ensure we get mechanical issues taken care of properly so we can provide a great facility for curling.”
Even though the sudden and unexpected end to the curling season comes as a shock to many local curlers, Wilson said the curling rink should be a busy place once again next winter.
“We believe the plant issues will be resolved for next season and we want to thank all our curlers for being patient with the challenges we had this year.”
In spite of the early end to the season, local curlers still have plenty of positives to look back on from the past season.
“Our kids program is stronger than ever and we had a couple teams participate in school curling this year,” said Wilson
The Canora Composite School mixed team won a bronze medal at SHSAA Curling Provincials in Unity on March 7-8.
Wilson said regular weekly curling continues to see strong support at the Canora Curling Club, and the successful bonspiels hosted earlier this season included: Christmas Bonspiel, Senior Bonspiel, Ted Palagian Memorial Two-Person Stick Bonspiel, and the Town & Country Bonspiel.
According to Wilson, there is reason to be optimistic for the future of local curling.
“We have several new board members this year with new and exciting ideas, and look forward to making the Canora curling rink the place to be for the 2025/26 season.
“Given the shortened season from both ice issues and removing the ice for the Hockey Day in Saskatchewan initiative, we will have some announcements in the coming months regarding next year’s curling,” Wilson concluded.
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