Photo (L-R): Henry Puhr, Property Director: Travis Fanset, Ice Maker; Diane Kleer, President; Lori Van Opstal, OTF Volunteer; Ernie Hardeman, MPP for Oxford.
On Friday, local MPP Ernie Hardeman met with members of the Tillsonburg Curling Club (TCC) to learn more about the $19,000 Capital Grant from the Ontario Government’s Ontario Trillium Foundation (OTF). The funds were used to purchase an Ice King Monarch Ice Scraper which will allow the club to offer consistent ice throughout the curling season. It will address a community need by replacing the club's old ice scraper that has become unsafe and inefficient to use, keeping our facility open for the community to enjoy.
“This grant from the Ontario Government to the Tillsonburg Curling Club to replace their ice scraper is great news for the people of Oxford,” said Ernie Hardeman, MPP for Oxford. “Having the ability to provide consistently good ice will allow the club to continue offering the many leagues and events that have drawn people here for decades.”
Curling wouldn’t be possible without good ice. The important component of good ice is to achieve consistency and predictability. During installation ice freezes unevenly with high and low areas throughout. To attain a uniform playing surface the ice technician must consistently ‘hone’ the ice by scraping it several times during installation, shaving high spots so the area is somewhat level, taking it to a ‘bare ice’ state. That is the threshold. Throughout the season the ice must be taken back to ‘bare ice’ using the scraper as often as needed. It is essential to have a consistent playing surface and the new Monarch Ice Scraper allows the TCC to achieve this.
“The old scraper failed a lot during the previous season becoming a challenge for the club’s ice maker to produce a consistent and predictable playing surface,” said Diane Kleer, President for the Tillsonburg Curling Club. “The club’s 40+ year scraper was also becoming unsafe to operate. The new ice scraper is a welcoming asset to the club.”
The Tillsonburg Curling Club is a not-for-profit organization offering the sport of curling to all ages in Tillsonburg and surrounding areas since 1954. The club offers leagues for Juniors, Seniors, Men, Ladies, Mixed and a Recreational curling. The club is used by our local elementary and high schools, as well as the Tillsonburg Thunder Rock Special Olympics team.
The curling club offers numerous curling bonspiels and competitions during the season attracting local curlers as well as other curlers from across the province. The club’s longest running bonspiel is the Community Service Bonspiel, co-sponsored by Good Redden Klosler LLP and TCC. For the past 66- years this bonspiel has been open to community service clubs who donate their winnings back to local not-for-profit organizations in the community.
“Non-profit organizations across Ontario deliver programming that makes a difference,” said Neil Lumsden, Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport. “That’s why funding that my ministry is providing through the OTF is so important. Our government wants to ensure that these programs and spaces remain the heart of communities across our province.”
The Ontario Trillium Foundation’s (OTF) mission is to build healthy and vibrant communities across Ontario. As an agency of the Government of Ontario, and one of Canada’s leading granting foundations, last year, OTF invested over $110M into 1,022 community projects and partnerships. Visit otf.ca to learn more.
