The timing couldn’t be worse for curlers at Rossmere Country Club.
Just weeks before the first rocks of the season were set to be thrown, the club’s Board of Directors has decided to suspend operations for the 2018-19 campaign because of facility failures.
In a letter to members, RCC president Cam Moskal outlined recent equipment failures that will be too costly to repair in a timely fashion.
“The curling rink pipes endured a major fault and dumped brine solution into the floor,” Moskal wrote.
“Very old galvanized pipes are located within the concrete floor and we are told by experts that these pipes, along with the header system connected to these pipes, have failed and cannot produce ice for curling.”
Moskal said that the curling infrastructure was well past its useful life but the club was able to keep the equipment running until now. The cost for a temporary replacement has been estimated at $55,000.
Moskal also said that the temporary solution would take until at least December to be completed, so faced with those options, the Board of Directors decided to sit out the season and go back to the drawing board.
“Over the course of the next 6-8 months, we will actively explore the options available to us going forward, including access to possible funding and government grants, which do exist but will take some time to materialize.”
Moskal wrote that the club will do everything it can to make sure those who wanted to curl will be able to do so at another club in time for the start of the season, which for most clubs begins right after Thanksgiving.
Curlers from 17 different leagues that will be affected.
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