Curlers glad to get back on the ice despite COVID-19 restrictions

Bert Freistadt is one of the many happy curlers across the province.

“It’s so good to get back out. Even if you’ve got a few rules to go by, that’s all right. We’re getting along pretty good. We’ve been out here (a few weeks) now. It’s good to get out. What else do us seniors do in the winter time? We’ve got to have our curling,” the 81-year-old said.

The sport has made its return to the ice with new COVID-19 rules and restrictions in place. Some of the restrictions include teams having only one sweeper at a time now and masks must be worn in the lobbies at all times.

Freistadt said he doesn’t mind the new rules around sweeping.

“At least we get a little rest in between (shots) now. There were two of us sweeping and I don’t know if it was doing that much good anyway,” Freistadt joked. “If we can get through this by going by the rules, maybe in a few months we’ll be able to get back to normal curling.”

The Queen City Senior Curling Club has been going for a few weeks now but just recently had all 18 teams out for games.

“In terms of being able to curl, it has been really good. Where we’ve sort of had a little fun is remembering some of the new rules of sweeping and sometimes we’re trying to sweep when we shouldn’t. I think overall it has really gone well. I think the guys are happy to just be out playing,” said Bill Hunt, the president of the club.

He said the club actually amalgamated with another one this year to have a season. He does admit some people decided not to come out for league play this year.

“We’ve had a few people step back. They just weren’t comfortable. If you’re not comfortable or you’re not sure, you’re better to not come,” Hunt said.

But overall, he thinks all the players have been glad to be back on the ice throwing rocks.

“We’re still in COVID but there’s a lot of things we can’t do,” he said. “But this is one thing we can do and we enjoy doing.”