Curling Registration for Fall 2020 is Now Open
Jim Yanacek
Curlers, great news! With the recent change to the state restrictions on indoor sporting events, we're allowed to open! Registration opens today; however, things at the club will be a little different this time around. The board has developed guidelines for curling this season that will change how the club operates and how we all curl, so please read through the guidelines document before you register.
While we're allowed to open the club from the state's perspective, there's still the question of can/should we open. The responses to the survey that went out last month indicated that a good number of you were planning to return to curling this fall, but that number was less than our threshold for being able to open. That being said, there were a lot of folks who responded that they were undecided, so here's what we're going to do:
Registration for the fall session will open today, September 14, and will be open until Thursday, Oct. 1. The short window is critical to our decision-making process because the number of registrants will be the metric by which we determine our ability to install ice and open up the club. If we don't have enough curlers registered to meet some minimum requirements, we won't be able to open for the fall. In the event that a league doesn't have enough members registered to fill out at least four teams, we'll cancel the league and give folks the opportunity to switch leagues or get a refund. Registration is at the GreaterMidland website or using the Registration Form which can be printed here.
To provide more flexibility this season, we're splitting the season into fall (end early January) and winter sessions (late January-late March). You'll have the opportunity to sign up for the winter session starting in December.
The deadline for the decision to move forward for the season will be Oct. 10. If we're good to go in terms of members (and the state doesn't shut down indoor sporting activities), we'll give the go-ahead to start icemaking at that point.
If we don't have sufficient numbers for the fall session, we will repeat the process, including an interest survey, in the November-December timeframe with the goal of opening up for a winter session (Jan-March).
Before you register, please review the guidelines (link) that the board has approved related to curling this year. These guidelines will be evaluated periodically as the nature of the pandemic changes, and any modifications that are made will be communicated to the members via email.
As this process unfolds over the next few weeks, I'll be sending out updates by email. The distribution list that we've compiled has most of the email addresses for last year's curlers, but we know we're missing a few. Please reach out to your teammates and friends. If we're missing an email address or you need yours updated, please let us know.
If you have any questions about any of this or are still undecided about curling this fall, get in touch with me. I'd be happy to talk through any concerns you might have.
Regards,
Matt Whaley
President, Midland Curling Club