Normally the ice at the Lethbridge Curling Club would be packed in the first week of February, but instead it’s slowly melting away.
With COVID-19 putting a halt to many sports across the province since November, Curling Alberta announced on Jan. 25 that it would be cancelling the remainder of the season.
Lethbridge Curling Club general manager Kirk Mearns says the impact will be felt by more than just those looking to hit the ice.
“It’s a big deal to have to cancel the season,” Mearns said. “We’ve had to lay off over 26 people, there’s a lot of revenue out of the economy (and) we have to obviously take the ice out.”
Mearns says in a typical year the club has anywhere from 600 to 650 members. But due to COVID-19, LCC had 475 for the 2020-2021 season.
Now the club will be handing out more than $125,000 in refunds.
The general manager says LCC is a major economic driver in Lethbridge, including renting its facility at the ATB Centre from the City of Lethbridge, as well as operating the restaurant and lounge upstairs from the ice.
“We spend over $200,000 a year on local businesses for groceries for our restaurant,” he said. “And the wages, it’s over half-a-million dollars a year in wages.”
From a sporting perspective, the cancellation is also being felt in a variety of ways.
“(We have) high school programs, our main leagues, and yes, our seniors’ leagues — our daytime seniors’ leagues — are full,” Mearns said. “They curl four days a week. They are here all the time — it’s where they socialize and have their coffee and see their friends.”
The club is home to decorated skip Casey Scheidegger, who says while it’s been tough for her being off the ice, she really feels for those that will miss out on a year of development and important curling memories.
“Lethbridge has a really big and an awesome high school league, so I think it’s really unfortunate to see that stopped for the year,” Scheidegger said. “I think of all the Grade 12 students that won’t get that experience again.
“I can imagine they’re feeling much of the same feelings that I am about the curling season being cancelled.”
Scheidegger says if there’s any silver lining to be found, it’s that Lethbridge is set to host the Brier in 2022.
“I know that it’s something that the committee was working towards for a while,” she said. “Even when I was on the board several years ago there was rumblings of applying for a Brier.
“I’m so excited that our community gets to show it off and be able to display what world-class events we can hold, and I know it will be really successful.”
The Lethbridge Curling Club hopes to reopen on schedule for next season in October, with the 2022 Tim Hortons Brier championship set for March 4 to 13, 2022 at the Enmax Centre.
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