Prince Rupert Curling Club to host first tournament in two years

Prince Rupert Curling Club will host the Ugly Christmas Sweater Sturling Speil on Dec. 4.

The first competition in two years, since the pandemic halted play, will see ten teams of two face off for the winners crown at the 2021 champions.

The tournament will be played with modified rules to allow for an inclusive array of different levelled curlers. Teams will throw six curling rocks each at both ends of the ice and players will also have the option to play stick delivery or regularly, with their hands.

“I’m super happy to be back,” Natasha Lebedick , curling club board member, said. “I love curling. I’m kind of addicted to it.”

For Lebedick , the return to the ice feels like a double comeback after the curling rink was closed for a year due to maintenance upgrades. Then the pandemic closures forced the club to remain closed for another year.

“I feel kind of proud that we made it through. We survived and we still have curling to go back to,” Lebedick said.

“It feels fantastic,” she said. “It’s going to be a slow comeback, but it’s the comeback,” she said adding everybody is super happy and energetic to be back on the ice.

“People are just happy.”

The day-long event will also feature planned a “turkey shoot” where a frozen turkey will be thrown down the ice like a curling rock, Lebedick said.

The club’s regular curling leagues restarted in November with a weekly scheduled open league, on Wednesdays, and a mixed league played on Fridays.

The Ugly Christmas Sweater Sturling Spiel will run from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the club’s rink and of course, will feature a prize for the ugliest sweater. The entrance fee for participating is $50, which includes the dinner.