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New youth programs

Curl BC is excited to announce that we have partnered with Passion Curling to provide curling clubs in the province with two great programs to teach junior curlers. The U12 Blizzard Program, a Curling Quebec resource, is made up of two eight-week sessions – a Level 1 for beginners and a Level 2 for those who have completed the first level. Curling clubs and coaches will receive the U12 Level 1 and Level 2 program guides, templates for registration forms, budgets, and safe sport resources. The U15-U21 Youth Program is a full 20-week youth program designed by Passion Curling.

MORE: https://www.curlbc.ca/passion-curling-programs/

Women in curling grants

Programs and initiatives that support the development of women and girls in curling can receive up to $2,000 in financial support courtesy of a new gender equity project supported by Curling Canada. The Women Curling Leaders’ Circle — a group of Canada’s dynamic female sport leaders, coaches and personnel — will provide five grants of up to $2,000 each to support new projects and ideas that attract women and girls to curling. The deadline is fast approaching - Dec. 31.

LEARN MORE: https://www.curlbc.ca/women-in-curling-grants/

Win a $500 Visa gift card

There is still time to enter the contest that our partners at Connect Hearing have created for Curl BC Members, their friends and family. Enter for a chance to win a $500 Visa gift card between now and January 31, 2021. Visit connecthearing.ca/curlbc2020 for full contest details and to enter!

Funding resources

We wanted to let you know that there is an opportunity to access the Canada Emergency Rent Subsidy (CERS) program, even if you don't rent your building. If you own your building, you can claim for things like property insurance and property tax. Also, if you are a renter and pay a nominal fee, you may also be able to claim for eligible expenses which includes utilities. More details on eligible expenses are from the federal website here: https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/subsidy/emergency-rent-subsidy/cers-expenses-claim.html

Covid-19 latest

Curl BC has put together a fact sheet outlining allowable activities during the Provincial Health Officer's temporary restrictions to slow the spread of Covid-19. These temporary measures came into effect on Dec. 2 and were updated Dec. 9 & 15 and supercede the Phase 2 and 3 allowable activities that were in effect in the spring, summer and early fall. Some measures are in place until Jan. 8, 2021, and some measures have no expiration date. This information is subject to change as Provincial Health Officer orders are updated. Visit https://www.curlbc.ca/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Return-to-Curling-Temporary-Measures.pdf for more.

Kamloops championships

Fifteen women's teams and 16 men's teams have registered for the 2021 Scotties BC Women's Championship, presented by Best Western, and the 2021 BC Men's Curling Championship in Kamloops.
The event is due to start Jan. 26 and run until Jan. 31, 2021, at McArthur Island Sports and Event Centre in Kamloops. A dedicated website has been set up for the event at https://www.curlbc.ca/kamloops-2021/.
You can also stay up-to-date with the event by following the Facebook event page. While current restrictions prevent adult team sports from going ahead, those restrictions may be lifted after Jan. 8. We plan to make the call on whether to proceed by Jan. 8 subject to any announcements made by BC's Provincial Health Officer prior to that time.

Mixed Doubles planned for February

Curl BC has postponed the 2021 BC Mixed Doubles Curling Championship by one month – and monitoring Provincial Health Officer restrictions. The event is now scheduled to take place at Chilliwack Curling Club from Feb. 10-14, 2021. If you have registered already, your entry will be carried forward to this event or be refunded upon request. If the BC event cannot go ahead as planned, the 2020 winners – Steph Jackson-Baier and Corey Chester from Victoria – will be eligible to represent BC.

Competition calendar reminder

A reminder to competitive teams that we have postponed our U18, U21 and Wheelchair curling events until the spring of 2021 and pivoting to open championships in these categories. The national championships in these categories have already been cancelled by Curling Canada.

Curl BC has also made the decision to postpone our AMJ Campbell BC Mixed event, our Connect Hearing Masters event, our BC Club Championship, presented by Original 16, and our Connect Hearing Senior Curling Championships to the fall of 2021. These events will now be open provincials leading to the 2021 Curling Canada national championships in Fall 2021 in each of these categories.

Curl BC has also decided to hold our U15 event in fall 2021.

Our new deadlines for our 2021 open championships are as follows:

Juniors - Jan. 15
Wheelchair - Jan. 15
U18 - Jan. 15
Seniors - Mar. 15
Masters - Mar. 15
Mixed - Mar. 15
Club Championships - Mar. 15

Registration links for all the above championships are here: https://www.curlbc.ca/events-results/playdown-event-registration/

Message from the CEO

As I write this last message for 2020, it’s great to see the seven-day rolling average of Covid-19 cases drop down to 580 per day for the first time since mid-November. This is 30% below the record high average of 832 cases per day recorded at the end of November. Thus, the restrictions implemented by the Provincial Health Office (PHO) at the beginning of December are paying off, but, as you know, there is still a long way to go. Many thanks to all of you who either restricted activities at your club or closed entirely for a few weeks to support the efforts of the Provincial Government to “bend the curve”. And to those of you whose clubs have had to close for the season, we hope you are staying as active as possible and look forward to seeing you back next Fall.

As mentioned elsewhere in this issue, Jan. 8 looms large for an announcement from PHO regarding whether restrictions on adult, non-contact team sport will be relaxed. Fingers crossed this will be a fairly straight-forward decision. However, with Christmas and New Year’s Eve coming up soon, please use your influence to ensure socializing outside your household is done virtually or physically distanced this year so the Covid curve keeps going down.

All the best to you and your family for the Holiday Season and please take care.

Scott Braley
CEO

Events

The Events and Results page on the Curl BC website has been updated for the 2020/21 season. The events listing is subject to change.

Membership deadline

Deadline for membership reports and affiliation fee payments if you have been open since September/October was Nov 30. If your club hasn't already submitted theirs, get your report in ASAP. Email msim@curlbc.ca for more information.

Nominate a curling hero

Curl BC is now accepting nominations for the 2020-21 awards season. This has been an extremely challenging year for all of us because of the Covid-19 pandemic. But despite all the challenges, a wonderful group of dedicated professionals and an army of volunteers worked tirelessly to make it possible for our curling clubs to open safely. Without their extraordinary leadership, we would not have had curling this year. We are committed to recognizing the hard work done by these heroes. But we need your help. Let us know who among this fantastic group deserves a special thank you. Visit http://www.curlbc.ca/awards/curl-bc-awards/ to nominate someone in your community. Nominations are open for all categories until Mar. 31, 2021.

Level 1 & 2 Officiating Courses now online

Did you know? Our Level 1 & 2 Officiating Courses are now "officially" online! To access the course visit: https://www.curlbc.ca/programs/officials/

We are also excited to announce that a virtual Competition Coach course will be coming in 2021. Watch for registration to open January 2021.

Need a stocking stuffer? Buy your Optimist raffle tickets!

Tickets for the Optimist Clubs of BC/Curl BC fundraiser with a grand prize of $5,000 are now on sale!
The raffle supports youth curling development. Only 2,000 tickets are sold with a $5,000 grand prize and ten $500 prizes. Tickets are $20 each. To purchase, fill out the form and you will be sent a picture of your ticket(s) each with their own unique number.
Al Kersey, the license holder, is also encouraging people to order tickets in bulk to sell in your community. Email akersey@telus.net. No upfront purchase is necessary.

Curl BC Office closed for the holiday

The Curl BC Office will be closed from Friday, Dec. 25 to Monday Jan. 4.

Curl BC Safety Plan

Curl BC has now published its office safety plan. Please note, the safety plan stipulates that visits to the Curl BC office should be prearranged and visitors must wear a face mask when they are in the office. If you would like to review our safety plan please visit: https://www.curlbc.ca/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Curl-BC-Covid-19-Safety-Plan.pdf.

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