After a year off the sheets, curling at the Capri Pizzeria Recreation Complex has returned, with an added opportunity for new players. Learn to Curl events through the City of Windsor began Saturday, providing four days to lace up your shoes and hit the ice. Guided by experienced players, Terri Hooft, the Membership Director for the Windsor Essex County Curling Association, said they hope to grow their leagues. “To come out and try the sport and hopefully to join the leagues that we have available throughout the week,” Hooft said of the event. Play returns after curlers lost last season at Capri due to a Windsor City Council decision. At the time, city council voted to turn the rink into a skating pad after a fire damaged a pad at the WFCU Centre. Hooft said the league is trying to regain some of the momentum it had prior to their lost season. “We lost a lot of curlers. Some went to other curling facilities, and some of them didn’t come back, so we have lost a little bit of momentum,” she said. “We had great momentum the first year we were here, and it really got crushed last year.” Rather than dwell on the past, the league has set its sights on growth. As of Saturday afternoon, Hooft said about 75 people had registered for one of their events. Players learn the game, from the basic rules and scoring to how to take the ice, slide and sweep. First-time curler CJ told CTV News he decided to try the sport after learning about the event through the city. “It’s surprisingly harder than I thought it’d be,” he said. “Just to maintain that stability as we slide, it’s surprisingly difficult, but honestly, it’s quite interesting so far. I’m very curious to learn more about curling.” For Windsor’s Ulli MacDougall, the offering was a way to try something new and get out into the community. “The instructors are great, and we’re enjoying ourselves and learning how to curl,” MacDougall said. For the curling association, Hooft said the goal is to draw in some of these participants to join their league. So far, they have about 145 registered curlers at Capri, but they are hopeful to boost that figure. “We’re looking to grow that. We’re looking to fill in some spots because there are some, you know, empty spots available on some of those leagues,” Hooft said. Learn to Curl will continue on Sunday, before two more sessions are held on Oct. 3 and Oct. 4.
