Those looking for a break from the long COVID limitations can head back to the curling rink, as the club gets ready for 2020 on the ice.
“The plan is we’re going to have a safe season,” said Lance Farwell of the Drumheller Curling Club.
He says they have set up league play for all ages and abilities.
On Monday night, there will be junior curling. This is a development program with lessons and games to learn the sport.
They are planning to have doubles/sturling on Tuesday nights. Also known as stick curling, sturling is a two-person game where the rock can be delivered with either a slide or stick delivery. The game is suitable for new players all the way up to seniors, who might not be as mobile, but want to continue to play the game. It has fewer stones and fewer ends to play, which
tends to make it a more defensive game.
Open men’s league is on Wednesday night, and mixed league is on Thursday night. Farwell adds they could introduce an afternoon league if there is enough interest.
They are reserving weekends for bonspiels as well as hosting Friday fun nights to get more involved.
He says they are cognizant of the protocols in place due to COVID-19, in order to make it a safe season.
“The ultimate goal for Curling Alberta, Curling Canada and at the Drumheller club, is we are practicing social distancing,” said Farwell.
This means they are setting up everything in the lobby and especially the rink, so people can enjoy the game and remain six feet apart all the time.
“We are practicing social distancing, so there is no cohort necessarily, even with your own teammates, you don’t have to be within six feet of each other,” said Farwell. “We put markings on the ice, and there are some modified rules.”
Some of these rules include only allowing one sweeper to play and not sweeping the other team’s rocks.
When you do that, all of a sudden everybody is six feet apart,” he said.
Last season the Drumheller Curling Club was having a great year and were on the tail end of the season in March when COVID-19 became an issue.
“We had at least two bonspiels to go, and the final couple of weeks of playoffs in league, when it shut down,” he said. “It was kind of the biggest two weekends of the year for sure.”
That hasn’t curbed enthusiasm for the game, and in fact, their junior numbers and men’s numbers are very strong. He adds there may be more snowbirds who are not traveling this winter, who might dust off their broom and slider.
“We had good AGM attendance, and I think it was people wanting to know what we were going to do and how we were going to do it. I hope we showed that it is going to be a safe place to get out of the house,” he said.

On November 10, 11, and 12, they are hosting an open house for people to come out to try the game, find out what the club has planned, and register. The following week will start with league play. The first Friday Family fun night is November 13.
For more information, check out the Drumheller Curling Club Facebook page or email drumhellercurlingclub@gmail.com

After more than three decades in the forces, Ron Evans has literally served in all branches of the military, and looking back it afforded him a career to be proud of.

Evans’ father was a member of the air force, and Evans was born in Germany. When he was five years old the family moved to Edmonton. Growing up in the military, he saw some of the other ‘Base Brats’ showing interest in following in the footsteps while others steered away from the lifestyle. For Evans in high school, he joined the Loyal Edmonton Regiment as a reserve.

“I was only there for a little over a year, but in that time I saw all the different trades and all the things that were available in the regular force and it really piqued my interest,” said Evans, adding while it seems cliché, travelling interested him.

In 1988, when he was 19, he joined the regular forces.

He did his basic training in Cornwallis, Nova Scotia, his French language training in St. Jeans, Quebec, and did his trades training in Borden, Ontario. He joined as an admin clerk, however as his career progressed he became more engaged in finances.

“To me, basic training took a boy and turned me into a young man,” he said. “it was hard and challenging and there were a lot of days I wanted to quit.”

“I remember us leaving on Greyhound style busses and we are driving through the gates, finished with basic training. You had a couple of busloads of people who thought they could concur the world. That is how much confidence we had.”

His first posting was in the air force and he lived in Cold Lake in the barracks for two and a half years. His role included record keeping of maintenance. This was in the days of typewriters.

His next posting was in Halifax where he served on three ships in six years, including the HMCS Fraser, HCMS Montreal, and the HMCS Athabasca.

On the Montréal was his first major deployment in 1995. They sailed to the Adriatic Sea for naval support during the Bosnia conflict.

“We were part of the NATO fleet, and part of the operation was out at sea. We never engaged, but we were there in a monitoring capacity,” he said.

This was a six-month tour, and then he was stationed on the HCMS Athabasca.

“All three of these ships I worked in personnel and administration and any shipboard duties that were required. One of the sayings they have that applies is ‘sailor first, tradesman second,’” he said.

In 1997 he was posted back home to Edmonton in an army posting. Being a part of a support trade, it allowed him to easily transition to any military environment. It was in Edmonton where he began to work more in finance. His second major deployment was part of the UN force to the Golan Heights, and then back to Bosnia with the army.

In 2002, he was posted to Colorado Springs in Colorado. This is a NORAD installation, and home of the famous Santa Tracker. This is where he met his wife, who coincidentally is the daughter of a retired member of the Canadian Air Force.

He was then posted at Esquimalt for seven years and served 2 and a half years on the HMCS Algonquin. This was sailing the west coast, including a few trips to Hawaii. His final tour was part of Op Caribbe, which was part of the Canadian contribution to the war against drugs. He said this operation was along the west of Panama where the ship did exercises and patrolled for drug runners.

He finished his career at Kingston with the army. From there he transferred into the federal public service, working for the Department of National Defence. He worked there for a year and a half before he began working for the federal public service here in Drumheller.

Looking back on his career he said it exceeded the expectations he had as a 19-year-old joining up.

“I did what the military asked me to do and went to places it asked me to go to, but I was afforded many opportunities to try different things,” he said. “These are things that are pretty much available to anybody. The military gave me a very good life, and here in my civilian life I am all trained.”

He feels the military is a great choice for young people to get involved with.

“If younger people are looking for careers, based on my experience, I would encourage them to look at organizations such as the Canadian Forces, our police forces, corrections, border services, coast guard, they are all great organizations. I chose the road I did and it worked out well, I am still young and I have a career behind me and I am having fun.”