The Board is sad to report that Ken Peskett, a Founding and Honourary Member passed away recently, after a long illness. Ken was a key player at the outset, organizing the work crews required to build the Huntley Curling Club in 1980, helping lay the concrete foundation for the club. He curled in the mixed and men’s leagues, locally and provincially. Sadly, a broken leg in 2004 and again in 2008 brought his curling days to an end. At the club, Ken was known for wearing a Stetson hat to every game. Ken and Jackie (who passed in 2015) were heavily involved in the Scottish tours. In 1988 and 1992, they hosted Scotland’s Lord Elgin teams and in 1990 and 1998, represented our Club in Scotland. He spent many hours teaching the game he loved to beginners. He was always there to help out at club events. Ken enjoyed the social side too, he was an excellent dancer and was a good friend to all. 

A second team from Huntley played in the Navy U15 Bonspiel on January 19th and had a very successful day winning 2 of their 3 games.

Pictured above are: Ruoyang Fan, Yanda Wu, Gregory Daley and skip Byron Snow.

Our Huntley U13 teams participated in the Little Rocks (U-13 Bonspiel) held at the Navy Curling Club on January 19th.  The was a lot of excitement among the players, parents and spectators.  

Despite the early draw time that was frowned upon by the team, Huntley’s Team Tindall (Lead – Briana Mackie, 2nd – Aubrey Goodings, Vice – Russell Tindall and Skip Kielle Tindall) brought a lot of energy and managed to place first in their division winning all 3 of their games. 

The entire team, after finding out there were cash prizes, are now contemplating quitting school and becoming regulars on the Grand Slam of Curling circuit! 

Team Tindall will also be one of the two teams representing Huntley at the OVCA Little Rocks Zone 3 Playdowns in Almonte on February 8th. 

After heading west to play in the U18 Nationals, Team Frlan will be heading east for the U20 Nationals in PEI. The team visited the Royal Kingston Curling Club to compete at the U20 Provincials. Following the roundrobin, Team Frlan stood 3rd with a record of 5-2. Their first playoff game was against Team Wilson (Rideau Curling Club) who had beaten them 9-2 in the roundrobin. But Team Frlan was victorious, winning 10-6, to advance and face Team Vivier (Navan Curling Club). Team Vivier remained undefeated in the event and took Team Ontario 1 honours for the U20 Nationals. But Team Frlan will also be playing in Summerside PEI in late March as Team Ontario 2 at the U20 Nationals.

Report provided by Charlene Johnston.

Congratulations to this year's winners: Team Brian Lewis

Skip Brian Lewis, Vice Jeff Norman, Second Pierre Harvey and Lead Mike Johansen

Facebook reel

UPDATE:

Sign up sheets are now posted in the club lounge. Deadline for teams to indicate their desire to represent Huntley is February 14th. Any playdowns to determine chosen teams will occur on Saturday, February 15th. Teams that represent Huntley will need to pay $260 each for this event. Teams will be contacted following the playdowns with details on how to pay the registration fee.

The competition divisions (and the number of teams to be sent to the event) are as follows:

• Senior Mixed (50+), 1 team
• Senior Mens (50+), 1 team
• Senior Womens (50+), 1 team
• Open Mixed, 1 team
• Open Mens (19+), 2 teams
• Open Womens (19+), 2 teams
• Open Colts U6 (19+), 2 teams

Register online today.

Open to the Public to Try Curling February 22 (Noon to 3pm)

On the afternoon of February 22nd, Huntley Curling Club wishes to invite the general public to drop by to experience the fun and excitement of curling on this national day of celebrating this sport. From noon until 3pm the club will be holding 1 hour sessions where anyone over the age of 8 can learn from skilled curlers the basics of curling and to try their hand at throwing and sweeping rocks. The club will provide appropriate equipment.

We ask that participants bring clean shoes with them, separate from footwear worn to the club.

Calling all Club Members to Compete in Canada's Big Shootout

For the 2nd consecutive year, Huntley will compete in Canada's Big Shootout competition on Saturday, February 22nd, from 10:00am to 11:30am. Please arrive on time so that any instructions on how this event will play out are heard by everyone.  

This competition has clubs from across Canada attempt to make as many draws to the pin in the button as possible in a designated 30-minute period. To maximize our chances, we want as many curlers as possible to stream over 2 sheets as we throw & sweep as many rocks as possible to draw to the pin. Cameras will be recording for an hour so that we have lots of ways to find the best 30 minute stretch of time on a single sheet.

Download the registration form or register online.

Congratulations to Team Douthwright for winning the A-Final at this weekend's LCA Stanley-Gauthier Bonspiel held at Huntley. The team, pictured above left to right, consists of Carolyn Bruce (Second), Leanne Douthwright (Skip), Laurie Thomas-Keay (Vice) and Kari Keays (Lead). In a quick looking at the past winners of the trophy they are holding, the team mentioned it seems it might have been a few decades since a Huntley team had won the A Final.

Another fine event managed jointly by LCA and hosting members from Huntley that was enjoyed by everyone playing this weekend.

Team Frlan won the U18 Womens Provincials that were held at the Mount Forest Curling Club that ran from January 8-12. Team Frlan lost their opening match in a close 7-5 game but never looked back from that point, finishing the round robin with a 6-1 record. Finishing 1st advanced them directly to the Finals. Their eventual opponent, Team Wilson (Rideau CC), had to win a tiebreaker match over Team Acres (RCMP CC) and the semi-final over Team Penston (Barrie CC). Team Frlan beat Team Wilson 6-4 in the final to be declared U18 Provincial champions. Team Wilson will also be going to the U18 Nationals as Team Ontario 2.

Team Frlan consists of Katrina Frlan, Erika Wainwright, Samantha Wall and Lauren Norman. Their coach is Byron Scott.

Registration opened Feb 1st. Currently sold out but you may sign up for the waiting list.

As our season picks up pace, we have various bonspiels and rentals that require assistance from volunteers to be successful.

Note: To view the Volunteer Interest list you must be logged in as a member before you click on a link in this post.

The roles we need filled to make these events go smoothly, are detailed on the Volunteer Interest list.

Injuries can be avoided by following safety precautions. Some key recommendations to keep yourself safe on the ice include:

• Consider wearing head protection - strongly recommended!
• Check the condition of your gripper. Does it need to be replaced?
• Does your gripper shoe need to be replaced? Should you consider wearing another gripper?
• Always step onto the ice with your gripper foot first, and off the ice with your slider foot first (and slowly).
• Never go backwards on the ice as their may be an obstacle behind you.
• Never step over a rock.
• When holding a broom in the house, stand behind a rock rather than just in front of it.
• Never run on the ice or boards.
• Check your equipment throughout the season, not just at the beginning of a season.