MELFORT, NIPAWIN 鈥� After the release of CurlSask guidelines, local clubs have begun to plan ahead for a November season start.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 think our plans are much unchanged from the year before, we鈥檒l forge ahead just like we have in the past,鈥� said Mike McClelland, secretary and treasurer of the Nipawin Evergreen Curling Club. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 the fortunate thing about curling, is there鈥檚 about 2,000 square feet on a curling sheet and there鈥檚 only eight of you out there.鈥�
McClelland said a big part of the extra work will come from disinfecting surface areas.
According to CurlSask, there must be a thorough cleaning plan that involves disinfecting of common areas, washrooms, locker rooms, ice shed, rocks, equipment and employee/volunteer workstations.
In addition, there must be established community safety measures such as public hand washing or alcohol sanitizing stations.
鈥淲e more or less rent the space from the Town of Nipawin, so the Town of Nipawin staff will obviously have to spend some extra time with some disinfecting of the handles.鈥�
Kerrie DeGooijer, board member with the Melfort Curling Club, said on Sept. 2, that the club will be meeting to discuss how to best adapt to the CurlSask guidelines on Sept. 9 鈥� but a season go-ahead is expected for November.
鈥淲e know there will be curling, so we鈥檙e excited for that because a few months ago I didn鈥檛 know what was going to happen with that,鈥� DeGooijer said.
鈥淔or the most part, there are different protocols and things like that, but curling in our facility, we鈥檙e kind of in a good position because the square footage is really huge.鈥�
CurlSask stated that they support Curling Canada's recommendation of one sweeper in recreational play.
DeGooijer said this will be one of the biggest challenges for the Melfort Curling Club.
鈥淲hat we鈥檙e used to is having two sweepers. If you have two sweepers and we continue with that you can carry the rock further or help a curl. If you鈥檙e stuck with one sweeper, maybe that changes your strategy a little bit,鈥� DeGooijer said.
鈥淚 think our board鈥檚 going to be meeting to discuss some flexibilities. If everybody is in a household on a team, you can probably sweep together. We鈥檙e going to discuss what our specific protocols are.鈥�
For Nipawin players, the most difficult part of adjusting, McClelland believes, will be avoiding touching other players' rocks.
鈥淭he way you play the game, they鈥檙e talking about how the only two rocks you touch as a player are the two you鈥檙e going to throw, you鈥檙e not going to touch anybody else鈥檚 rocks with your hand,鈥� McClelland said.
鈥淪omething as simple as putting the rocks in the corner at the completion of an end, most people obviously use their feet or their brooms to push to a corner, but there was never anything that said that you couldn鈥檛 touch them with their hand.鈥�
Due to this, McClelland said it is likely the club will encourage players to wear gloves.
鈥淎 lot of players do wear gloves, because it鈥檚 cold out there, but some people like myself like to throw my rock with my bare hand 鈥� always have. So maybe I鈥檒l have to learn to throw with my glove on.鈥�
Players of opposing teams and those on other sheets are expected to maintain a minimum of six feet of distance from each other.
Under current CurlSask guidelines, mandatory mask use is up to each club, subject to change. While masks should be required by coaches, instructors, facilitators, and staff when physical distancing measures cannot be maintained.
DeGooijer said Melfort鈥檚 own approach will be brought up in discussions starting Sept. 9.
McClelland said the Nipawin club will not be making masks mandatory when physically distance can be maintained, unless guidelines change.
鈥淚f that鈥檚 something the provincial government mandates, that we can鈥檛 be playing without a mask on, we鈥檒l have to look at that,鈥� McClelland said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e obviously not going to break the guidelines the province set out. It鈥檚 also a game that鈥檚 exerting some physical effort and the last thing you want is a mask over your mouth.鈥�
Tournaments and inter-provincial competition are not permitted, while local Saskatchewan tournaments are.
McClelland and DeGooijer both believe this won鈥檛 have a significant impact, as neither clubs host inter-provincial tournaments.
鈥淥ur club itself, we don鈥檛 have a lot of competitive players in our curling club,鈥� McClelland said.聽 鈥淲e鈥檙e more a recreational or social kind of thing.鈥�
DeGooijer said it would be a concern for Melfort鈥檚 club if local provincial tournaments get cancelled, as that鈥檚 a method for how they make funds.
鈥淲e like hosting these events, we do a good job hosting these events, we get sponsorship money. It鈥檚 a way for the club to make money,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e don鈥檛 really host inter-provincial events, but we would host provincial.鈥�
