MELFORT — Melfort hosted a national celebration of curling.
On Feb. 24, TSN hosted Curling Day in Canada at the Northern Lights Palace.
The day started at 2 p.m. and it had an arena ice surface packed with locals enjoying the festivities from bouncy castles, curling games, all free to the public. The live TSN broadcast was hosted Bob Weeks and Brit Dort.
Kerrie Degooijer, a Melfort Curling Club board member, said the day went extremely well.
“The sheer number of people that attended the various activities at the event was so great to see. Both the curling rink and the palace were packed, with so many smiling faces. It was awesome.”
The Melfort Curling Club's rink held an afternoon and evening of curling clinics and games to the public. Saskatchewan professional curler and two-time Brier champion Pat Simmons taught some of the lessons. Degooijer said there were more than 100 youth and adults that attended the curling clinics.
The rink hosted a community showdown of games.
- Team Redhead Equipment defeated Brandt.
- The City of Melfort defeated the Town of Tisdale.
- Champion of Grocery stores was Prairie North Co-op who defeated Cindy’s Independent.
- Winer of retailers was Canadian Tire over George Home Hardware.
- Melody Motors beat Cheyenne Motor Products in the vehicle dealership game.
- Pederson Pharmacy beat Pharmasave.
The Melfort Curling Club also had a sendoff for Team Saskatchewan National Special Olympics Curling team featuring Mitchell Anderson, Scot Earl, Danny Fiedelleck, Garnet Gerski, Rodney Mitchell. They are headed to Calgary.
The grand total fundraiser from the event is yet to be determined. The 50/50 take home was $16,870.
The Melfort Curling Club is in phase 2 of their revitalization project. The interior will undergo renovations once this curling season is over. An accessible front entrance and modernized interior will be proceeding.