Events and leagues have returned to the Nanaimo Curling Club including a Halloween Bonspiel Oct. 29-31 and later in the season the Canada Winter Games Boys and Girls Qualifiers. (Nanaimo Curling Club)

By Dan Marshall

Hitting the Ice

Excitement for fall season among Nanaimo’s competitive and recreational curlers

Oct 22, 2021 | 7:07 PM

NANAIMO — The rocks and brooms are out at the Nanaimo Curling Club.

Fall leagues have begun, a Halloween bonspiel is planned and several senior curlers are representing the club at the BC Seniors Curling Championship in Abbotsford.

Nanaimo club president April Gale-Seixeiro said despite a few restrictions activities are almost back to normal.

“We can see our friends, we can get our exercise, we can play some good games and it feels really good to be back out there.”

Several NCC members were able to represent the club at the BC Seniors event Oct. 20-24, including the Debbie Erdos rink with Teri Palynchuk, Kilby Howat, and Linda Torgerson

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Skip Leslie Shearer and lead Carol Dorman were also in the women’s draw while on the men’s side Steve Waatainen, Keith Clarke and Craig Burton form part of Wes Craig’s Victoria team.

Near the end of the season, Nanaimo will host the BC Winter Games Boys and Girls Qualifiers from March 3-6.

“We have some highly competitive under 21 curlers and it’s good to see them out there practicing,” Gale-Seixeiro said. “The event takes a lot of work and we have a dedicated crew of volunteers to put it together.”

Many curling events didn’t get off the ground in 2020 due to COVID-19 so Gale-Seixeiro is pleased to see competitive players travelling both to and from Nanaimo once again.

Membership at the NCC is down by about one third this year which does leave room for players to come back to the sport or try curling for the first time.

The FunCurl program is underway and still accepting players and a Halloween Bonspiel is in the works for Oct. 29-31.

Proof of vaccination is required to participate and masks are required in the lobby but not on the ice.

Information on those events and others is available on the Nanaimo Curling Club website or Facebook page.

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