Hope Curling Club is Open for Business!

Greetings fellow Hope Curling Club members! 

I thought I would take this opportunity to welcome you all back to another season of fun at the Curling Club and to briefly update you about your Club. The ice is in, awaiting shaving and pebbling - Roman informs me that he expects to have a couple of sheets ready to go for the weekend and all four sheets ready for our Open House next week. There was a minor setback when the ice plant was fired up 2 weeks ago requiring a $500 part, but everything appears to be working fine at this time. The Open House will have the Curling Club OPEN TO ALL MEMBERS AND GUESTS from 7:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. each night next week, Monday, Oct. 1 to Friday, Oct. 5. This will provide an opportunity for returning members to come out and practice before the season officially begins on the week of Thanksgiving, and more importantly, provide an opportunity for us to introduce the game to PROSPECTIVE NEW CURLERS. I believe this latter point to be critical to the survival of our Curling Club which has been struggling financially for the past few years. On that note, I urge all our Curling Club members to actively promote the game and our Club when the opportunity presents. I encourage all members to invite anyone they know who might be interested in trying our sport to come out to our Open House next week. Offer to come out with them so they might not feel so intimidated to try. We will have experienced Curling Club members present to help instruct in a no pressure, no obligation environment. It is up to each one of us to do what we can to grow the membership if we want the Club to continue as a valuable recreational facility in our community. League play begins Monday, October 8 - the first week usually being a "fun" week to get back into curling mode and league draws officially starting the following week. For those of you who have not yet registered your team(s), and those of you who wish to curl but are not yet on a team, please contact the following league coordinators or email details to [email protected] as soon as possible to facilitate the organization of the upcoming season: 
Monday night Men's League - Roman Petryk, 604-869-9344 
Tuesday night Ladies' League - Patsy Campbell, 604-869-7281, [email protected] Wednesday and Thursday night Mixed Leagues - Galen Toy, 604-869-2129, [email protected] 

Mostly as a result of poor bonspiel attendance last season (team registrations were down approximately 30%, and thus bar revenues for the year were down as well) and rising utility costs, we are currently into our line of credit. In response to this less-than-ideal financial situation, your Club Executive has resolved to increase league curling fees this season as follows: First night of curling: $230 (previously $200) Second night of curling: $150 (previously $140) Third night of curling: remains at $60.00 The one-time lifetime membership fee for new Curling Club members remains at $75.00 and locker rentals are still $22.40 ($20 + 12% HST). This nominal increase in fees is anticipated to offset approximately half of last year's shortfall. In addition, your Executive is working on initiatives to increase advertising revenue from our signage program, to increase future attendance at our bonspiels, and on fundraising activities which, predominantly, will likely take the form of a cash prize lottery to be launched in January. 

Our Bonspiel dates for this season are set as follows: 
Men's Bonspiel: January 18-20, 2013 
Ladies' Bonspiel: February 1-3, 2013, Theme: Dr. Seuss 
Mixed Bonspiel: March 1-3, 2013 

Mark your calendars and invite your out-of-town friends to come spend a fun-filled weekend curling at our Club. Let's carry on our proud tradition of hosting the friendliest, most welcoming and entertaining bonspiels in the region! 

Any of you who might have ideas and/or concerns regarding your Club, please feel free to let Roman Petryk (Club Manager/Ice-maker) or a member of your Executive know. Your Directors for this year are: Galen Toy (President), Stuart Wise (Treasurer), Sarah Golos (Secretary), Doug Brown (Past President), Steve Harvey (Bar Manager), Diana Scherle, Tom DeSorcy, Craig Traun, Bob Ridgway, and Ken Campbell (we welcome Ken back to the Executive!). 

 Once again, please bring people out next week to give curling a try - let's work collectively on growing our membership to produce a self-sustaining Club. See you around the rink and "Good Curling"! 

Galen Toy 
President