News and Upcoming Events

Annual Meeting

The Powassan Curling Club held its Annual Meeting on Sunday the 20th of November 2022, starting at 7:00pm. 

President’s Remarks

Our last Annual General Meeting was September 23rd 2021. 

Sadly, this past week Neil Jones died while hunting. Neil was an avid curler for many years not only here in Powassan, but also in Astorville and North Bay. We will miss his company on and off the ice, his frank commentary on life, his in your face humour, and all the different food items he would prepare and bring to share with us all during the curling season.

We are currently operating outside of our current lease agreement, which ended December 2020. We applied and were granted a one-year lease extension while we enter into discussions regarding a new lease agreement. The next four years will be financially challenging as our yearly rent cost could increase and be greater than our current membership can sustain.

There are a core group of people volunteering huge amounts of their time to keep this club viable and the sport of curling available and affordable in the Municipality of Powassan. Some take on multiple roles within the club. The value in dollars given by members both in time and personal expenses is enormous. I would like to thank all those volunteers who contribute so much of their time so we can offer the sport of curling within the community. We need additional volunteers to keep this club open.

Executive members keep the club operational on many different levels and need support and thanks, so I would like to recognize their efforts first. Since our last Annual Meeting we have been without a Secretary and this has been challenging as we try to move forward. We will need new individuals to take on executive roles. This may involve seeking out individuals who are not active curling members. New people will bring different ideas and solutions to make the club sustainable. Thanks to Ron Hurley, Amber Winters, Cyndy Giesler, Randy Brousseau, and Terry Lang our current executive team.

Ultimately we need ice, so Terry Lang, Gilbert Smith and a dedicated core group of ice makers and maintenance crew have to be commended for their work and quality of our ice. 

Terry Lang also maintains our technical side of our website.

The bar committee is headed by Randy Brousseau. He coordinates stocking the bar, licencing, servers, bar profits, reporting back to the AGCO etc. 

Bernie Penney also assisted with ice making, ice maintenance, the Newsletter, e-mails to members, marketing, and media articles.

Cyndy Giesler performed treasurer duties, member registration, and ran our free instructional clinics.

Ann Oshell has been assisting by inspecting the club and kitchen after rentals and cleaning this year.

As president of the club I deal with a lot of paper pushing and organizing to keep the lights on and doors open. I handle with most of the facility rentals for curling and non-curling events. There have been very few rentals during the past season due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. Over the past year I have been involved in committee meetings to review operational costs of both Municipal Arenas and the Curling Club. Recommendations are to be submitted to council.

Our senior curlers play a vital role in keeping this club viable. Thanks to the Day league representative Ron Hurley and all the Day league members for their continued support.

Thanks go out to our draw masters Penny Ann Lang, Sue Brousseau, Terry Lang, and Gerri Van Amelsfoort who organized member into teams and league play. We are still looking for a men’s league drawmaster.

Our Junior Program was suspended around the time Coronavirus became part of our daily language. This is a critical program that starts young curlers on a path to becoming lifelong curlers and future club members. We are also looking for volunteers to reinstate this program. 

We continue to promote safe curling and in particular having the right equipment. To that end we have been promoting the use of headgear that’s protects and reduces head and brain injury if a fall occurs on the ice. If you historically did not wear head protection I encourage you to do so. There are several headgear options available for injury prevention. Proper footwear and grippers are the other important aspect of safe movement on the ice surface and keeping it clean. Be proactive with members of your team and new curlers if you feel their footwear is inadequate. Membership registration and liability forms speak about the need for personal safety.

Previously we identified that our club constitution document required updating. This has been ongoing by a dedicated group of individuals. I’m pleased to announce that a draft document has been submitted for legal review. The document was sent to Valin Partners Law firm as requested by the membership. Correspondence resulting from that review is part of this meeting agenda.

This season you will again see paid advertising from local businesses on the ice surface. This is a fundraising initiative that increases our revenue. 

We have tried to increase our fundraising revenue through partnering with the Powassan Lions Club during the Maple Syrup Festival and Lions Fish Fry events. Only the Lions Fish Fry was held this past summer. The curling club supplies volunteers for both events and we get proportional funds instead rather than a flat rate rental fee based on the number of volunteers we supply. 

On Saturday November 5th we hosted a Trivia night here at the club and nine teams showed up to participate. This was something we wanted to try in order to utilize the club for other activities and generate a little revenue. Admittedly we stole the idea and borrowed some equipment from the Municipality of Powassan. We had an absolute blast. We took in over $500.00 at the bar and made donations to the local food bank. Those who came out indicated they want another one. Many thanks to Terry Lang, and Christine Lang for organizing and hosting the event. Special thanks to Lesley Marshall who loaned us equipment and attended our event.

During the summer months the Curling Club is underutilized, but we still pay a monthly rent to the Municipality. Solutions to this dilemma are needed so we can generate additional revenue and offset our expenses. The Powassan Curling Club cannot afford to continue on using our current operating model.

In August of 2021 the executive discussed the need for a financial audit. There were several driving factors why this audit was pursued. 

1) Evidence of any internal or external audit process being done previously could not be found.

2) Our insurance underwriters required that we submit financial and audit documentation in order to obtain Director and Officer insurance coverage for the executive board. 

3) The ability to make application for potential grant money. 

4) Transparency to the membership in validating our current financial situation, accounting practices, and reporting procedures.

5) As a learning tool to understand any identified deficiencies in our record keeping practices and, if required, adopt different methods of recording, tracking and presenting our financial information in the event of a government agency audit.

That audit process has now been completed externally by Milltown Management Systems and their findings will be presented during this meeting as part of the financial report.

Coronavirus is still with us and we are learning to live with it, but there is a balance between socializing and the risk of acquiring the virus. 

My intention is to continue in this position until the next Annual Meeting date when I hope someone else will step into the role.

Items that require further work 

  1. Growing club membership. 
  2. Increasing revenue streams
  3. Expanding our volunteer base including executive roles

Andrew Emmerson – President

Powassan Curling Club

 




Trivia Night

Powassan Curling Club will be hosting a Trivia Night Social on Saturday November 5th 2022 starting at 7:00pm. Bar will be open at 6:00pm. Four people per team, with one being a Curling Club member. Maximum of eight teams for this event. Sign up by sending Terry Lang an email. See Info at the Club on the bulletin board.




2022/23 Adult Registration

Registration for the upcoming 2022/23 curling season will take place at the Powassan Curling Club on the 27th & 28th of September 2022 between 6:30pm and 8:30pm. This registration is for adult league curling only.

Click on the link below for our 2022/23 Registration Form.

2022/23 PCC Membership Form.pdf




2022/2023 Ice Making Underway

Ice is currently being made, white paint has been applied, and house circles cut. We anticipate over the next week colour painting to commence and individual sheet lines to be added. 

The ice preparation is almost complete and we are in the process of cleaning up and getting ready to curl.

 

Thank you to all the volunteers who helped paint and get the ice ready!




Men's League Starts Early this year

2022/2023  Men's League play is usually delayed due to hunting season. This year it will commence on Thursday November 14th (the week after thanksgiving).   We were actually going to start on the 6th, but because the Pinty's is here that week, a few of us wanted to wait and possibly attend a game or two at the Gardens.  We are still currently without a permanant draw master for this league and Terry Lang will continue to organize the draw until a permanant replacemnt can be found. If you would like to volunteer as draw master for this league please see Terry.




Extended Festive Curling Break

 

In response to rapidly increasing Covid-19 case numbers over the festive holiday season and the Omicron Variant Of Concern (VOC) the Provincial government has changed gathering capacity limits and halted amateur indoor sports activities. Therefore all curling leagues will be on an extended break until at least the 31st of January 2022.

We will continue with ice maintenance and assess the situation the week before January 31st 2022, to determine our course of action for the resumption of curling. Registered curlers will be notified by their drawamsters accordingly.

All Curling Club rentals have been halted until further notice. We thank all members for their patience during this difficult period.

Stay safe and healthy.

 




Curling Now Underway

Today is October 18th 2021 and league play commenced with the Day/Seniors league. Other leagues will be starting this week as well. The ice looks great, thanks to all those volunteers who spent countless hours getting it ready. Hurry hard.




2021 Annual General Meeting

President’s Remarks

Our last Annual General Meeting was September 11th 2019. Since then the world and life changed with the Coronavirus Covid-19 Global Pandemic. We did not have an Annual Meeting in 2020 and were very busy trying to adapt the game of curling and related social aspects to the required health policies, protocols, and procedures. This changed not only the social nature of our club, but the game of curling as well. Some members chose to come and curl in these physically distanced times, while others did not. 

Our season was cut short due to the ongoing Covid -19 pandemic in January 2021. Members were offered a dues incentive if we were forced to terminate the season early, and we hope all those members will return to help rebuild our membership.  We were also successful in getting a rent rebate on our lease agreement with the Municipality of Powassan. I would like to thank those Municipality of Powassan council members who supported this rebate. 

We are currently operating outside of our current lease agreement, which ended December 2020. We have applied for a one-year lease extension while we enter into discussions regarding a new lease agreement. The next four years will be financially challenging as our yearly rent cost could increase and be greater than our current membership can sustain.

There are a core group of people volunteering huge amounts of their time to keep this club viable and the sport of curling available and affordable in the Municipality of Powassan. Some take on multiple volunteer roles within the club. I would like to thank all those volunteers who contribute their time so we can offer the sport of curling within the community. We always could use additional volunteers. 

Executive members keep the club operational on many different levels and need support and thanks, so I would like to recognize their efforts first. Since our last Annual Meeting we have been without a Secretary and this has been challenging as we try to move forward. We will need additional members to take on executive roles going ahead. New people will bring different ideas and solutions to make the club sustainable.  

Thanks to Ron Hurley, Amber Winters, Cyndy Giesler, Gerry Giesler, Randy Brousseau, and Terry Lang.

Ultimately we need ice, so Terry Lang, Gilbert Smith and a dedicated core group of ice makers and maintenance crew have to be commended for their work and quality of our ice. Terry Lang also manages our website.

The bar committee is headed by Randy Brousseau. He coordinates stocking the bar, licencing, servers, bar profits, reporting back to the AGCO etc. 

Bernie Penney also assisted with ice making, ice maintenance, the Newsletter, e-mails to members, marketing, and media articles.

Cyndy Giesler looked after Facebook posts, treasurer duties and ran free instructional clinics.

Cyndy has indicated that she will be relinquishing her role as treasurer so we will need someone to take that on.

I dealt with all club rentals for curling and non-curling events. Ann Oshell has been assisting by inspecting the club and kitchen after rentals. There have been no rentals during the past season due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Junior Curling League organizers and instructors were Amber, and Jeremy Winters. The Junior Curling program was not offered during the 2020/2021 season and will likely not be offered again this upcoming season. Amber and Jeremy have decided to give up the organization and instruction of the junior program. I would like to thank them for their dedication and time to run this worthwhile program. We are also looking for people to volunteer and run this program. 

Thanks go out to our draw masters Dennis Lawrence, Sue Brousseau, Gerry Giesler, and Gerri Van Amelsfoort who organized teams and league play. Denis has indicated he will be stepping down as the senior drawmaster so we need someone to take on that role. Many thanks to Dennis for his dedication to this important role.

We continue to promote safe curling and in particular having the right equipment. To that end we have been promoting the use of headgear that’s protects and reduces head and brain injury if a fall occurs on the ice. If you historically did not wear head protection I encourage you to do so. There are several headgear options available for injury prevention. Proper footwear and grippers are the other important aspect of safe movement on the ice surface. Be proactive with members of your team and new curlers if you feel their footwear is inadequate. Membership registration and liability forms speak about the need for personal safety.

Previously we identified that our club constitution document required updating. This has been ongoing by a dedicated group of individuals. I’m pleased to announce that a draft document has been submitted for legal review. The document was sent to Valin Partners Law firm as requested by the membership. Correspondence resulting from that review is part of this meeting agenda.

Our senior curlers play a vital role in keeping this club viable. Thanks to the senior league representative Ron Hurley and all the senior league members for their continued support.

We have tried to increase our fundraising revenue through partnering with the Powassan Lions Club during the Maple Syrup Festival and Fish Fry events. Unfortunately, both these events have been cancelled for the last two years now due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The curling club supplies volunteers for both events and we get proportional funds instead rather than a flat rate rental fee based on the number of volunteers we supply. 

During the summer months the Curling Club is underutilized, but we still pay a monthly rent to the Municipality. Solutions to this dilemma are welcome so we can generate additional income during the summer.

This coming season you will again see paid advertising from local businesses on the ice surface. This is a fundraising initiative that increases our revenue. The senior league continues to raise funds that support improvements inside our facility. 

Like it, or not, Coronavirus vaccination certificates are now a reality in Ontario. Vaccination is a personal choice, but not being fully vaccinated against Coronavirus will make it difficult to participate in certain activities. Sports and curling are no exception, and members will need to be fully vaccinated to enter the facility and participate this season. Our revised membership forms for this season reflect the requirement for Covid-19 vaccination. 

I am hopeful that vaccinations will change this global pandemic and we can get back to some sort of normalcy once children under twelve have been fully inoculated. Until then we will do the best with what we have, and get back to the game of curling.

Items that require further work 

  1. Growing club membership. 
  2. Increasing revenue streams
  3. Expanding our volunteer base including executive roles

 

 




2021/2022 Curling Season Registration

It's already the end of August and time to start making ice for the coming curling season. The Curling Club executive has decided to move forward and start making ice in hopes that we can have a more "normal" curling season. Ice preparations will begin immediately after the Labour Day long weekend. 

The Powassan Curling Club will therefore be holding registration for the coming 2021-2022 season on two separate evenings.

The first session will be Wednesday September 8th, 2021 at 250 Clark Street in Powassan between 6:00pm and 8:00pm. 

The second session will be held prior to the Powassan Curling Club Annual General Meeting on Thursday September 23rd, 2021 at the Curling Club building between 5:00pm and 7:00pm.

Having said that we still do not have an end in sight to this global pandemic we are experiencing. Health protocols including masking, physical distancing, and hand washing are not going away any time soon. Vaccines will hopefully stop the majority of people from getting really sick and requiring hospital care. Curling this season will again involve following some Covid health protocols, although there may be some changes.

We are in the process of reviewing and revising our Covid pandemic protocols, and registration forms. This includes evolving developments around proof of vaccination status and so called "vaccine passports". Updated registration forms are available below for members to print and complete prior to registering in person.

We are hopeful that our entire membership will come out and curl with us this season.

The three forms are required to complete registration are listed below.

Click here to download Declaration of Compliance Covid-19 form 

Click here to download 2021/2022 Membership form

Click here to download Release of Liabilty form

Membership dues have been updated and listed on the membership form above.

Membership dues can be paid by cheque made payable to Powassan Curling Club, cash, or by electronic funds transfer to: pccbanking@gmail.com

The E-transfer security question answer will be available at registration. Please include a note of what your paying for ie.  One Regular Adult Membership. 

League game play start times, game format and rule changes will be determined once our registration process is complete. This will then be communicated to draw masters and registered members.  

As of September 22nd, 2021 vaccine certificates came into effect in the Province of Ontario. Members will be required to show proof of full Covid-19 vaccination in order to enter the curling club facilty and curl this season. The only exemptions are a medical note from a doctor, or children under the age of twelve.




Annual General Meeting

The Powassan Curling Club will be having an Annual General Meeting on September 23rd, 2021 starting at 7:00pm.

Members can attend in person, or virtually via the internet. Instructions on how to access and participate in the meeting will be forwarded by email and posted on this website in due course. Members will be asked to register ahead of the meeting so we have a record of who attended.

Members attending in person will be required to follow current Covid health protools.

Members who wish to add an item to the meeting agenda, and speak to a matter, are asked to advise of the agenda item no later than September 20th, 2021. Agenda topics should be forwarded to the attention of Andrew Emmerson - President.





Here is a link to some photos that Randy Brousseau took at the 2018 Womens Worlds in North Bay  click here




Promo Video


World Curling TV - Curling in a Canadian Community


World Curling TV - A Family Affair