(File photo/Canadian Press)

By Jeff D'Andrea

Hurry hard back to the rink

Curling a go despite COVID-19

Sep 30, 2020 | 3:00 PM

Despite COVID-19 concerns, curling will be a go in Prince Albert.

According to the Prince Albert Golf and Curling Centre’s new coordinator and ice maker Glenn Rubuliak, league play is expected to start on Oct. 19 and registrations are open.

Curling may be back, but it’s going to look a little bit different.

The biggest change will be the constant rotation they will have to learn on the ice. While one team is shooting, the other will have to stand on designated spots on the left side of the ice. Only one player on the shooting team can sweep, and neither skip can sweep at any point. In fact, the skip of the non-shooting team has to stand in a designated spot well behind the house.

Although old habits usually die-hard, Rubuliak said the changes are not that difficult to learn.

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“I’ve been curling for too long, but I get it pretty much. Sometimes people get a little blank in their head and they don’t think but they have teammates to remind them ‘oh hang on, you can’t go over there yet until the other team moves,’” Rubuliak said. “Or ‘oh skip, you can’t go back to sweep.’ It’s going to be a learning curve for everyone.”

Rubuliak is coming from Fort McMurray and is still in contact with various Alberta clubs that have opened in the summer like the Saville Community Sports Centre at the University of Alberta.

“We all learn from those kinds of clubs. We’re looking forward to it,” Rubuliak said.

There will be 11 leagues being run at the Prince Albert Golf and Curling Centre, in varying levels and times of the day. Rubuliak also expects the club to host a number of their traditional bonspiels as well as a tour doubles event and a qualifying event for the mixed doubles provincials. Dates have yet to be finalized as of yet, but the mixed provincials will likely be set between January and March.

Rubuliak also expects a lot of last year’s members to return to the pebbled ice this year.

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Jeff.dandrea@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @jeff_paNOW