As another curling season ends, there is continued hope for a bright future for the sport in rural areas like Vita. 

Curling Club President Jerry Lubiansky says it’s difficult for communities that have declining populations to maintain recreational facilities. 

“We’ve got recreation facilities and other things falling apart, disappearing, and eventually it’s just going to work to the detriment of the whole area.” 

Meanwhile, Lubiansky says it’s great to see the kids try curling for the first time. 

Vita ran a program for junior curlers and the players invited friends and family to their season wind-up in March where they played a couple of games and had supper together. 

Also in March, Vita held its annual Battle of the Sexes bonspiel. 

“We were a bit down in our teams, we were only 12 teams from 20 last year,” he says. “But we had a good variety of age groups and people, and it was still a good time.” 

The winners were:

1st Event - Scott Baldwin, Darryl Friesen, Brian Baldwin and Bert Poirier

2nd Event - Troy Kirkpatrick, Oscar Graham, Eric Brad and Calvin Brad

3rd Event - Levi Malo, Riel Tymchen, Pascal Tymchen and Braden Saindon.

Lubiansky says curling is a sport that is enjoyed by people of all ages, and he hopes to see a constant increase in the number of curlers in rural communities. Funding is also helpful in maintaining recreational facilities like the curling rink.

(Team photos courtesy of Facebook.com/vitacurlingclub) 

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