Duncan Curling Club in need of support after equipment failure

Since 1967, the Glen Harper Curling Centre has been the home of curling in the Cowichan Valley.

“If you’ve curled out of the Duncan area you’ve curled out of this curling club,” says Duncan Curling Club president Brent Dellebuur.

On Jan. 5, the club members were given an unwelcome surprise when they found that the ice at the centre had melted due to a catastrophic failure with their chiller system.

“It was a really sad day when that happened,” says Dellebuur. “Our ice staff had worked really hard to get us where we were this year and then for all of their work to go out the window as it was, it was pretty sad.”

It was also costly.

The club now has to find $180,000 to repair the damage. Couple that with a nearly non-existent season in 2021 and the non-profit has taken a huge hit.

“Last year we were sweeping with masks, only one sweeper, no events and then got shut down within two months,” says club member and fundraising coordinator Susanne Grundison.

“This year we were super excited and we were looking forward to events in January and then we had the catastrophic failure so we were all disappointed.”

With yet another season coming to a premature end club members have switched their focus from curling to fundraising with events like music trivia and an upcoming silent auction and dinner.

“The majority of the money has come from our membership for the first six weeks,” says Grundison. “Now the business community and the grant writing and our events are all starting to kick in.”

“We’ve been positively overwhelmed by the success we’ve had to this point,” adds Dellebuur.

While there’s still a long way to go, the club is cautiously optimistic that they will meet their goal and have the centre ready for next season.

To find out how you can help support the Duncan Curling Club, visit their website.

csorenson@cheknews.ca

Editorial Policies Report an Error