New general manager Bryden Smith says the board of directors has decided to rebrand the Medicine Hat Curling Club to the Medicine Hat Curling Centre. Smith poses for a photo in this News file photo.--NEWS FILE PHOTO
bmiller@medicinehatnews.com
Moving forward the Medicine Hat Curling Club will now be called the Medicine Hat Curling Centre as the board of directors wants the facility to be utilized by more members of the community.
The rebranding to the Curling Centre comes two months before the facility is expected to reopen to the public following a lengthy two-year closure caused by a brine leak in 2022.
New general manager Bryden Smith says the board wanted to move away from the term ‘club’ that implies only members can access the facility, and invite anyone who has an interest in the sport.
“We want to make sure the public and the community know that it’s open to whoever,” explains Smith. “We’d like to go ahead and have all kinds of people from the community and surrounding communities come down and use our kitchen, our lounge, come try out our ice and curl in one of our leagues.”
Aside from the mandatory repairs and installation of new equipment needed to reopen the facility, the Curling Centre has also been renovating its lounge area by modernizing it with a new quartz bar countertop, new cabinets, lighting and plumbing. As well the centre has made many aesthetic changes to the decor while still paying tribute to its history.
“It’s going to feel like a fresh start for some. For some of our longtime members it’s going to be a bit of an adjustment seeing the fresh coats of paint, some of the changes in the decor and the set up on the ice for people walking in the building for the first time,” says Smith. “They might think it seems like a fairly new facility, when in fact, we all know it’s not quite but it feels like a bit of a fresh start.”
In his new role as general manager Smith says he is working on some exciting ways to get more youth involved in curling by working with other clubs and centres across the province.
Smith says they are reaching out to local schools to work on reintroducing the use of the facility for gym classes and is planning to revamp Medicine Hat’s junior coaching program.
“Looking at trying to get in some new kinds of technologies and new strategies as far as coaching goes,” says Smith. “We are looking at the junior program to be having some coaches take some more courses in preparation for the season.”
Smith says the Curling Centre has a new history section located on its new website showcasing the club’s history from curling on the river to past curlers who have impacted the sport in the community. Smith says preserving its history is a priority for the board and will be an ongoing project that will continue to grow with the new website.
“More than anything else we’re very proud of our history here at the Curling Centre and we want to continue to showcase that,” says Smith. “The board of directors feels it’s best to digitize some of that stuff, preserve it forever and then continue to update and upgrade the facility.”
The centre will also showcase more historical memorabilia along its walls and open places.
“I think there’s going to be some people that are shocked to see some of the aesthetic changes that we’ve done,” explains Smith. “But all of it has been for the purpose of trying to modernize and attract other user rental groups into it.”
The next crucial step in opening the centre will be the arrival of a new ice plant expected later this month. Once installed and the new ice mats are laid out crews will begin testing the new ice-making equipment. Smith says if the equipment works properly the facility should be open to curling at the beginning of October.
