Melville City Council heard from the Melville Curling Club about how the season has been so far. Among the Curling Club delegates were Vice-President Darlene Canning, Board Member Keith Canning, Secretary Gerri Martin, and Treasurer Lori Syca.
Financially, the Club is reporting a deficit of over $18-thousand at this point in the season, including $10-thousand spent to fix the ice plant. Board member Keith Canning told Council ice wasn’t in place until mid-October, and about a week into the season, the brine pump on the plant started to cause problems, but it was eventually fixed.
The delegation followed-up on its request for financial assistance made last September. At the time, they requested money to cover at least 75 percent of its utility expenses. They are concerned that dipping into their savings too often will result in the Club’s closure. Acting City Manager Chris Bruce answered there will likely be $100-thousand in community grants set aside, for groups to apply for, in this year’s budget.
“There are many that are vying for this 100-thousand dollars, but that’ll be part of our discussions that will occur at a later date.” said Mayor Walter Streelasky, while also praising the Curling Club for the time and effort they put in everyday of the season.
Melville isn’t the only community dealing with a decline of interest in the sport; it was noted in the Club’s presentation that the Town of Grenfell is providing assistance to the curling club there, and in the City of Winnipeg, two clubs are merging into one due to a lack of interest.
The Club currently has 151 adult curlers registered but are looking for new members, as well as looking at growing youth curling by purchasing youth stones for $45-hundred. They continue to run a rookie league, and super league, in addition to bonspiels.