Medicine Hat Curling Club

By Lisa Parent

Medicine Hat curlers on their quest to return to the ice

Sep 8, 2023 | 12:14 PM

MEDICINE HAT, AB – Usually around this time of year, ice would be getting pebbled and brooms taken out of the closet for curlers to kick off their season. However, as the lack of curling in Medicine Hat continues, decisions are being made on how to get curlers back on the ice.

“My primary goal is to have curling going by next year. It’s definitely been a goal for the board to have our building up and running again, have our members back, have our junior program rolling, our senior program out on the ice and have a lot of fun again,” says Bryden Smith, president of the Medicine Hat curling club.

Shareholders of the club met last night, voting on whether they would officially sell the club to the city. Smith says they voted to approve the sale but he’s not sure if the ice will be ready by January. Smith is more confident the ice will be ready by fall of 2024.

However, for many junior curlers curling season has already started, meaning curling parents will put extra kilometers on their cars getting their kids to events.

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“Well it’s certainly been challenging, but I would say the surrounding communities the last year have been very helpful,” says curling dad Connelly Sherwick, when asked about difficulties that come with travelling for events.

He adds, “you can’t get on the ice near as much, the accessibility is very difficult. It’s been a challenge, that’s for sure.”

Connelly Sherwick is the father of a young curler who plays on a U15 and U18 team. His son Lyndon Sherwick says his team is gearing up to do lots of travelling, just like last year.

“We went to about five different cities, Edmonton, Okotoks, and places pretty far away,” says Lyndon. “They’re mostly like three to six hours away,” he adds.

His team also travelled to Irvine to practice often. Both Lyndon and teammate Drinnen Mack are hoping the ice is back sooner rather than later. The Medicine Hat club is where they grew up, learning how to curl in the junior program.

“I’ve been able to advance my skills to way better than I was before when I started, and then to now. It’s just been amazing to see the growth of me of what I can do in sports,” says Drinnen.

The juniors aren’t the only ones struggling with the lack of ice. Sheila Rumberg has seen it affect the senior program too.

“I belong to the senior club as well, and that’s where I’m really concerned. We’re losing members. Those members that were maybe in the last maybe three to five years of their curling, we’ve probably lost them already,” says Rumberg.

“Our youth program feeds into our adult leagues, which feed into our senior leagues, and so on and so forth,” explains Smith.

While the shutdown has been a frustrating experience for many curlers, many say they feel hopeful for the trajectory of the club.

“It’s been a trying time, but I think the worst part’s behind us and we’re excited and looking forward to the future,” says Smith.

The next steps for the club now will be negotiations with the city, drawing up the framework for the sale of the building. The curling club will also start fundraising extra money they need for renovations, repairs and maintenance.