Reasons not to curl in 2020
From your feedback, there are several reasons to stay home, and several ways to still support the club.
First off, a correction: the Granite Curling Club in Seattle is not closed for the season. They are closed until the state of Washington moves to “Phase 4.” Their county is currently in Phase 2, and none of their states are at Four yet. So that certainly implies a delay possibly into January or later but it was incorrect of me to say they’re closed for the season. They’re closed until further notice. Sorry for the scare.
(And the more I think about it, what a bum situation for all of them. Their club is closed until TBD and they can’t cross the border to Vancouver and go to any of those clubs. Their nearest dedicated spot is Portland. And lack of curling is the least of their worries right now. It’s gonna be a long winter.)
Also hats off to Team Tirinzoni who reached the semifinals of the Adelboden International. They went 4-2, losing on the last shot to the eventual winners and runners-up. I don’t think they were trying to shatter any glass ceilings, they just wanted an opportunity to play something high-level and did, and performed the third best. Here’s to more of this, especially this season.
But getting into the feedback I solicited of how your curling season will change this year, I wanted to thank all you who did respond. I think this is a decision weighing on all of this, and this is all supposed to be fun. If it ain’t fun, don’t do it. But we had all summer mulling over our options, and now is the time to declare intentions. Having said that, I’ll get into what I decided shortly.
(Note: my email is always open — just hit reply — with any other ideas you have, and I’ll share them in a future edition.)
The verdict is in: we’re all concerned, man
Virtually everyone who responded did so with a prevailing sentiment: we won’t be curling this year because it’s just not safe, and if we are, it won’t be until January, or it will be a single league. Whether it was concerns about poor ventilation in their club, the complication of safety protocols or the abundance of COVID in their local area, or their facility was just flat-out closed — it just wasn’t worth it for them. One curler from the GNCC put it simply: curling isn’t an essential activity.
There’s other ramifications too. Another curler out of the GNCC who belongs to an arena club is closed for the season and raised a good point: USCA membership. If your club is inactive, and you don’t pay dues, you’re not a USCA member. There’s a way around this: have your club offer social or non-curling memberships. That way your club can still submit the regional and national rosters, and you can keep that US Curling News subscription.
And much of this isn’t coming from a perspective of “I don’t want to catch COVID,” but as Matt in Omaha, who is currently planning on doing a single weekly league and probably not much else, said, “I do not want to contribute to a continuing public health disaster.” He wasn’t the only one who shared this altruistic sentiment.
Supporting the club while staying home
Which leads into a terrific idea that comes from Trevin in Ohio: he said that even as a healthy young person, he has many concerns about the overall safety despite good safety precautions. So instead of showing up to curl, he will be making a donation to the club in the amount of his typical league fees, and having his company match the donation since the club is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. I love this idea, and can’t think of a better way to support your local club so that it stays around for future seasons. To all the clubs out there: steal this idea! Get a list of those who said they’re not coming back, and see if they can support the club. Bare minimum, see if they want to get a social membership.
What made me happy to all of you who responded is that you’re thinking with the community in mind, which is such a valuable mindset to have these days, and it makes me proud to be a curler.
And with all that in mind — again, thanks to all of that wonderful feedback — I’ve personally decided to curl this season. I’m just signing up for one league, and it’s mixed doubles. I didn’t take the decision lightly and talked it over with my family. But while I’ll admit that this is a level of risk that I am burdening with those around me, I have faith in my fellow curlers and the community around me. The state of Ohio is currently at below a 5% positive rate for the last 30 days, and neighboring Michigan is been at or below 3% since mid-June. All of that is extremely encouraging. If we need to shut it down midseason, we’re going to shut it down.
I was also considering staying in my current league and converting into a triples league, at least to start. Between creating maximum distance and most leagues probably not being as full as they were, I would suggest any league across the continent to do the same, especially if the league is filled with several five-and-under curlers.
I don’t think there’s a wrong answer on the decision to curl or not, but there are wrong reasons. If you’re keeping others in mind, then you can’t go wrong.
In conclusion, wear a mask on the ice, keep your distance, wash your hands, and #zoomstack.