麻豆社区

Two months after hammering out a new lease with the city, the Whitehorse Curling Club is reporting steady membership numbers for this season.

While registration remains open for another week, club president Mark Evans said that membership totals have again broken the 300 mark.

"It's a bit early yet 鈥� but so far, it seems to be on par with last year,鈥� Evans told the Star today.

"The club has a really solid core membership, for sure. The one thing we have done is try to be more aggressive at trying to attract new curlers.鈥�

But despite the steady membership rate, those fees alone will not be enough to offset the spike in lease payments to the city.

In July, city council agreed to a new nine-year lease with the curling club, which resulted in an immediate 10 per cent increase over last year's fees.

The new deal will take the club into the 2022/2023 season with lease rates rising each year from about $37,000 this season to more than $53,500 in the final year of the deal.

Despite a membership total of 310 curlers last season, the club ran a deficit of $20,000.

"Membership is obviously key to ensure the viability of the club, but that in and of itself probably isn't enough,鈥� said Evans. "We have put a lot more effort into trying to gain new sponsorships. The increased cost is still there, and we still have to deal with it. Increasing members is just one part of increasing revenues.鈥�

The curling season began Monday night with mixed league play.

New curling club manager Sandy Miller said most of the leagues feature more teams than last season.

Miller said the mixed league has increased by six teams, while the Tuesday night Super League has increased by one team. The Wednesday Night Men's League is sporting two new teams, while the Thursday Night Open League is up seven teams.

The Wednesday Night Women's League and Friday Night Fun League are down a few teams as rinks move up to more competitive leagues, but Miller said the Learn to Curl League has seen an increase in popularity 鈥� with registration up by 10 people.

"A lot of those Learn to Curl people actually signed up as a team with full intent of carrying on the second half of the season and being part of the Friday fun night, so I think we'll end up, when all is said and done, with at least 13 teams for the second half of the season.鈥�

The food menu in the lounge has expanded to include loaded nachos and meals such as soup, chili or spaghetti.

Miller said feedback has been good thus far into the season.

"It's not like a full-service restaurant, but it's definitely better than pizza, hot dogs and fake nachos,鈥� she said.

Miller also said the club is looking into hosting a new event such as a murder mystery dinner some time in the New Year.

"We're trying to make this more of an atmosphere for the non-curlers as well,鈥� she said.

"We're trying to spice things up a little.鈥�