Barbara Roden
The Journal
The Ashcroft Curling Club is trying to attract new members and new sources of revenue.
Hilda Jones, President of the Club, appeared at a Committee of the Whole meeting of Ashcroft Council on Feb. 22, requesting that the club be allowed to take $5,000 from the Capital Asset Reserve (CAR) it has with the Village. The CAR was set up to cover capital costs associated with running the building, with an agreement for both the Village and the club to contribute $2,500 each per year. Over the last two years the club has only been able to contribute $1,250 per year to the fund.
“We have 45 members and $688 in the bank,” said Jones in making her request. “But we don’t want the Curling Club to close.” She said that the club has raised money by various means, including renting out the facility to a silviculture business last summer to store seedlings. The club is currently in discussion with the same business to provide even more storage space this year. “They only used two of the sheets, and this year we’re hoping they use all four.”
Jones said that they’re planning another raffle, and are looking for grants. The club had been slated to play host to a Legion playdown this season, but it was cancelled. Had it gone ahead, she said, the club probably wouldn’t be asking for the $5,000.
She said that the club has a coach interested in starting a junior curling league, and she will be liaising with local schools in the fall. The club is also going to try to get the Rocks and Rings program into area schools, so that children have an opportunity to learn about curling before they hit the sheets. “We’re aiming to get some juniors in, and get some young blood,” she said, noting that most of the club members are seniors. “We can’t keep raising the rates; some seniors can’t afford it.”
The request for the $5,000 will be on the agenda for the Council meeting on March 14.