Is curling in Prince George really dying?
We're about to find out.
Tomorrow and Sunday - and continuing next weekend - the Prince George Golf and Curling Club will hold registration for its abbreviated season. And, if not enough people sign up for the various leagues, the season may be canceled altogether.
Given the long and proud history of the game in this city, cancellation seems unthinkable. But if it happens, it would be the latest indicator that curling here in P.G. is on a slippery, downward slope toward extinction.
The possibility of killing the curling season was raised last week by PGGCC president Dan Martin. He told The Citizen that the weekly price tag for operating and maintaining the eight curling sheets is in the range of $6,000 to $8,000 (surprisingly, the numbers had never really been crunched before). For the club to recoup those costs, Martin said about 450 curlers need to register for league play. Leagues include Monday night men's, Tuesday and Thursday senior mixed, Tuesday ladies, Wednesday doubles, Thursday elite open, Friday night mixed and Sunday open recreational.
Based on the number of players who register, Martin said the club's board of directors will make a decision on Dec. 16 as to whether or not the season will go ahead.
For local curlers, this fall has already been an unprecedented disaster. The season normally starts in October but not a single game has yet been played.
The club's problems began in September when a work crew attempted to start up the ice plant and it broke down beyond repair. A new ice plant had to be ordered, at a cost of $163,000, and is now being installed. If everything proceeds on schedule and the season gets the green light, curlers would be on the ice starting Jan. 5 and would play until the second week of February, at which time the PGGCC will host the Canada Winter Games curling events. League curling would resume after the Games, in early March.
But will there be league curling at all?
Over the past several decades in Prince George, interest in the game has been slowly declining. The most clear indication comes from the men's side, where the Kelly Cup bonspiel has gone from being one of the most popular and well-attended tournaments in Western Canada to one that is struggling for its very existence.
Some numbers for thought: in the heydays of the Kelly, more than 100 teams threw stones in the event each year. By the year 2000, that number had dropped to 64. In 2012, just 29 teams signed up. Then, last year - for the first time ever - the Kelly Cup was canceled when it ran into organizational challenges and the cold, hard fact that very few people wanted to play in it.
Here in P.G., curling is in better health on the women's side and is still popular among the seniors.
Prince George is not alone when it comes to declining curling numbers. It's a problem in many communities across Canada.
But, locally, the PGGCC has at times been its own worst enemy. All those years of having a "members-only" mentality have hurt the club. In the not-too-distant past, it even turned away potential players for one of its recreational leagues by not having a spares list. Players were told they could only take part in the league if they already had a full team.
Out of necessity, the cash-strapped PGGCC is much more welcoming these days. Last season, it offered a beginners league and even started a doubles league. And, at the kids level, it ran an excellent program that had strong participation levels. As well, the club is currently home to some of the better juvenile/junior players in the province.
Youth is the future of the game, so the number of youngsters who have shown an interest in curling does give the club hope for the coming years.
As for the present, the registration numbers over the next couple weeks will tell the story.
Stay tuned.
