The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Membership at Willowpark Curling Club is down dramatically, as divisions over a controversial vote caused dozens of curlers to join the Uptown rink. Willowpark members were left split over the August vote to keep their rink open rather than amalgamating with the Uptown Curling Club. Consequently, Willowpark membership is down by about half over last season, but curlers remain optimistic the club will continue to be viable. "We're running and we're going to do business as usual," said president Jamie Switzer. "We're just going to go about it and see how things go. Hopefully next year, things will work themselves out again." Willowpark this season has 36 teams, according to members, with most of the decline taking place on the men's and women's teams. Despite the drop, some Willowpark members said that several curlers were prepared to quit the sport altogether if the rink had closed. Switzer noted that the club is operating one draw each game night instead of the usual two. Meanwhile, membership at the Uptown Curling Club has increased greatly, with some 20 new teams in the women's category alone. The divide at Willowpark began last May, when membership voted in favour of amalgamating with the Uptown club. But after the vote, some concern was expressed that not all of the relevant information had come out, and the necessary signatures were gathered for a second balloting. In the August vote, members reversed their initial decision, choosing instead to keep their rink open. The idea behind the proposed merger was that the clubs would combine their savings to contribute nearly $300,000 to the proposed CommunityPlex, a recreational facility that would combine various recreational opportunities, including curling, under one roof.
