Banff’s curling community believes it is being swept aside by a recommendation to shorten the season.
The recreation facility master plan calls for expanding dry floor uses at the Fenlands rec centre, possibly by shortening the curling season to accommodate programs like ball hockey, roller derby, indoor soccer, badminton, wrestling, youth dances and dodgeball, among others.
“We feel that a season from mid-October to early April is optimal for club curling and private curling bookings,” said Jim Olver, president of Banff Curling Club.
“In fact, club bookings seem to be very popular in late March and early April due to TV coverage of national and international curling events.”
Overall recommendations for the Fenlands include undertaking a detailed analysis of fees and charges, programming, cost recovery issues and potential strategies for increasing use, particularly dry floor and summer uses.
According to the recreation facility master plan, the Town of Banff has more than twice the per capita supply of ice sheets and curling sheets compared with other Alberta communities. League curling play currently takes place three nights a week in winter.
One of the recommendations specific to the ice and curling arenas is to search for opportunities to generate more revenue. The Fenlands is currently operating at about 30 per cent cost recovery.
At a recent council meeting, Councillor Brian Standish unsuccessfully tried to convince his fellow councillors to remove the recommendation to shorten the curling season from the recreation facility master plan.
“I believe administration has the ability to achieve the same goals without shortening the curling season,” he said at a recent council meeting.
“It sits empty for six months of the year. Why shorten the curling season even more?”
Coun. Chip Olver, wife of the president of the curling club, was told by administration she does not have a conflict and was free to be involved in discussions on the curling club.
“I do want to see the curling season maintained, but I don’t want to vote on it today,” she said at the Sept. 23 meeting. “I want to give people a chance to comment.”
Jim Olver said the Banff Curling Club has a number of areas it is looking to grow for the 2013-2014 season, from increasing not only local membership of about 120, but also to increase bonspiel weekends, special event bookings and one-off private functions.
He said the club sponsors three major regional bonspiels annually – men’s, mixed and women’s – and conducts a junior curling training program for Banff youth and students at the high school.
In addition, Jim Olver said the club hosted 42 private curling functions in the 2012-2013 curling season, hosts the largest curling bonspiel in Alberta, will host the TSN Skins Game in January and the Alberta Winter Games next February.
“Over the past three months, our club has been working hard to implement a new marketing strategy for this fall to help increase membership and assist the Town of Banff and Banff Lake Louise Tourism to attract more curling events,” he said.
The draft recreation facility master plan has been posted on the Town of Banff’s website at www.banff.ca to get further public feedback. Council will discuss and debate the report in November – after the municipal election.
