OTTAWA -- A quintessential Canadian sport, curling, has the go ahead to resume this winter during the COVID-19 pandemic.
After some clubs were hit hard by the closures, one Ottawa club is hurrying hard to get players on the sheet, even with new rules and regulations in place.
The Royal Canadian Navy Curling Club is back in the hack. Closed since March, on Monday, they reopened.
However, there are a host of new rules at the club for the new curling season. Starting with a digital check-in, members must scan their card before entering and arrive no more than 15 minutes before the game.
Teams will be assigned areas in the clubhouse, all the tables have been removed and chairs are set up two meters apart. Lockers are also off limits.
Club president Stephanie Duggan says they lost nearly 40 per cent of their membership; a financial impact the volunteer run, not-for-profit club had to deal with. Duggan says they had to decide whether or not to reopen in the end, it was a wash and that the club was financially stable.
"Our returning members are thrilled to be back on the ice," says Duggan. "We are going to use some of the capital reserve fund to deal with some of the operating losses."
On the pod, there are a bond spiel of new rules by Curling Canada.
Games are now 90 minutes and six ends instead of eight. Players have to stay separated, they are assigned two rocks each and only one sweeper can travel down the ice at a time. Each team has to assign one player to operate the scoreboard.
Masks must be worn indoors however regulations would permit a player to remove it during physical exertion for example delivering a rock or sleeping. At the Royal Canadian Navy Curling Club, masks will be mandatory at all times.
And what's curling without beer? Duggan says for her club, beverages will flow starting next week. She wants to ensure that all of the members are comfortable with physical distancing.
Members will have to pre-order their drinks online and will have one hour after their match, to safely socialize.
