December 2009 Newsletter
Check out our web page for league info, contact info, sponsors and news.
President’s Message – Brian Maurer
It has been an exciting and challenging fall. We have a lot to look forward to in the New Year. As you read on you will see that it is a dedicated group that makes the SalmonArm Curling Centre successful. I wish each and every one a very festive holiday and fun curling in the New Year. It has been my pleasure to serve you in 2009 and I look forward to great things in 2010. I wish a special thank you to the staff, board of directors and League Representatives for your time and dedication in making this a great Curling Centre.
Managers Corner - Lori Petryshen
In October the ice machine decided not to produce anymore, forcing us to purchase a replacement. We purchased a new one from Epic Foods out of Vernon. This has been a great asset to the bar with its production of perfect little ice cubes.
We have introduced some new Munchies items to the bar menu: Veggies and Dip, Pickled Eggs and Nachos with cheese sauce. We have also introduced an alternate bottle of red and white wine, Naked Grape; this appears to be a very popular addition.
Our inventory of shoes and clothing has been greatly reduced. We are no longer carrying these items but we still have a few selections available at discount prices.
The Curl for Cancer was a success even though we were down a few teams. Thank you to all the sponsors, organizers and players to this event. Thanks to Brenda Kurtz – tournament organizer.
Congratulations to the Gord Duplisse team on winning the Legion Zones November 28/29. Gord’s team with John Danks, Eric Breitkreuz and Randy Jenkins won the best of 2 out of 3 games against the Dennis Robertson team.
Our first Grey Cup party with our new TV’s had a good number of curlers and spouses attend. With more notice and advance preparation, we hope next years party will be even more successful. Thanks to Gord Duplisse and crew who were instrumental in making sure the large screen TV’s purchased from City Furniture with M&M money were installed in time for the Grey Cup. Thanks also to Sun Country Cable for setting up the HD receivers.
The Senior Ladies bonspiel was very successful. Fun and great curling was shown by both local and out of town teams. Thank you to tournament organizers – Mary Mathews and her team of dedicated volunteers.
Have a great Holiday Season.
Ice Technicians Corner - Gary Ritchie
To all my fellow curlers, we have all had the frustrating experience of that good looking shot that pics for no apparent reason. In my many years of experience, these can be caused by flat spots on the ice that are created when the pebble has been damaged by the players themselves.
Examples:
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Placing body parts on the ice surface after delivering your stone, hands, knees, etc.
(It doesn’t take long for warm body parts to melt the ice. Try it sometime, behind the hack of course, and observe if your knees are wet during the game, or your hands are a bit wet after you throw, that’s a good indication you might be causing pebble damage).
Worn out shoe grippers that shed rubber.
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Not enough rotation on the stone can also cause erratic behavior. A stone will curl too much. Spinners and not enough handle may finish with too much curl or change handles. 2 – 3 revolutions are considered ideal for our newly sharpened stones.
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Old worn out hair brushes can also cause a sudden change in direction or handle.
It has been suggested I may not be cleaning the carpet as often as needed thereby tracking loose carpet fibres and debris on the ice. Our old worn out vacuum has been replaced recently and will help in this regard.
I would also like to acknowledge the volunteer help on the ice maintenance of Tom Carson. He’s learning the trade very well and is very keen. Thanks Tom.
In closing, please feel free to approach me if I can help explain anything of concern that you may wish to discuss further. It’s been a pleasure providing each of you a quality curling ice surface to play this great game.
Kitchen Corner – Grace and Dennis Cook
Feature Menus Friday – come and enjoy one of the chef’s specialties every Friday Evening (a different specialty each Friday) or order off the regular menu. You can enjoy your meal along with your favorite beverage in the lounge.
Hot soup and Sandwich specials are always available for the lunch menu.
Junior Curling Corner – Dick Mann (Wednesday), Darryl Horne (Thursday)
Former Salmon Arm Junior Curler Jen Gerow with team mates Kelsey Schwindt, Vanessa Samborski and Karly Kirby have won a berth in the Junior Women’s Provincials to be played over the Christmas Holiday’s. Congratulations and good curling at the provincials.
Wednesday Little Rockers
The season got off to a grand start with 22 registered young curlers ranging from 4 to 11 years old.
Approximately half are returning from last year. All the curlers are enthusiastic and really enjoy learning new skills. They also like Dennis’ French fries for an after school treat.
Some of the parents are helping out on the ice which is much appreciated by the coaches, Dick and Miki Mann and Lori Petryshen.
Hallowe’en came and went with some treats for the curlers and we are looking forward to the Christmas Potluck on Wednesday, December 16th.
In the new year watch for Stuffie Curling on January 27th – a day when the Little Rockers bring their stuffed friends to watch them curl and enjoy juice and cookies.
Also coming up is the Junior Bonspiel. The Little Rockers should be able to enter at least three teams. Happy Curling.
Thursday Junior League
Junior Curlers having fun and getting ready for men’s and ladies leagues!
Thursday Juniors has 19 curlers; some are ready to participate in men’s and ladies leagues. Others are working on skills and will be ready in a year or two.
All of our curlers curl for fun. While some want to curl in competitions, others are happy to only play the game as most of us do - the greatest social game in the world.
Regardless, all are improving skills through playing and on-ice instruction. You might want to come down, take a look and recruit a junior for your team next year. This is a WIN WIN WIN situation: good for the juniors, good for you, and good for the club!
The curlers will join the younger 'Little Rock' juniors on Wednesday, December 16 for a Christmas celebration and finish their first round robin on December 17. The second half begins on January 7th.
While we had no Junior Curlers from the club entering BC Junior zones this year, we can see there’s a future there. And, we are supporting the Salmon Arm Secondary School entry into High School playdowns that run December 12 & 13 in Kelowna. Members of the team: Jackson Calvert, Brian Ennis, Jared Jenkins, Kristie Leschuk, and Travis Siemans. We’ll let you know how they make out in Kelowna!
In addition, Anna Siemans is coaching a Juvenile team (16 and under) from our Junior league. This team consists of Brandon Boyd, Jackson Calvert, Jesse De Sousa, and Travis Siemans. The team will compete January 8-10 in Kamloops for a spot at the BC Winter games in March. The team is working hard to prepare and we’ll be following the competition closely!
If any adults are interested in helping out with the program or getting involved in a coaching certification program, we can help make that happen. In fact, new member Dave Smith has just joined us on ice on Thursdays! Please call Lori and we’ll get you involved, too.
