The Prince Edward Curling Club is aiming for a “full house” later this year in a bid to raise funds for the new hospital.

The club, located at 375 Main St. (adjacent to Huff Estates Arena) is hosting a Curl-A-Thon to raise funds for the Prince Edward County Memorial Hospital Foundation’s Back the Build Campaign. This event is intended to build community spirit and offer a friendly competition to help build the new hospital in Picton. 

The Curl-A-Thon will be a continuous curling game, spanning 24 hours that will commence at noon on Saturday March 18 and wrap up at noon on Sunday March 19, 2023. A running score will be kept for the 24 hours. Prizes will be awarded to the top three fundraisers. 

“Our goal is to have at least 96 curlers participate,” explained Club President Ron Stakes. “The event is open to current club members as well as members of the community at large.”

According to the rules of the Curl-A-Thon,  all players must be over the age of 18. No experience is necessary and those new to curling will be given a brief introduction and use of the club’s equipment (broom, gripper, and slider, as needed). 

Footwear can be either curling shoes or clean indoor footwear such as running shoes. Head protection such as helmets are recommended but not required and all non-club members will be required to sign a waiver.

(Jason Parks/Gazette Staff)

Players will register for a two-hour time slot (typically 8 ends of curling) and at that time, will be provided with an official pledge form. All players must collect a minimum of $100 each. Pledge forms and money (cash or cheque only) will be collected before each time slot on the day of the event. 

Participants are welcome to sign up as an individual and be placed on a team by the event organizer. Alternately participants can sign up as a team of four players (minimum $400 in pledges) or sign up two teams of 4 players (minimum $800 in pledges) who want to play together in their two-hour time slot. 

Registration will open January 9, 2023. On-line registration is encouraged at https://pecurling.com. Participants will be asked for their first, second and third choice of time slots. Early registration is recommended to secure a preferred slot as playing times will be awarded on a first come, requested basis. 

Those who prefer not to register on-line may do so at McDougall Insurance, 268 Main Street West, Picton commencing January 9, 2023.

Running concurrently, the club is pleased to offer local businesses a chance to challenge another business to a game in our Corporate Challenge. Businesses would put together their own team, solicit pledges (minimum team pledge of $400) and have the opportunity to battle it out for two hours for bragging rights on their team’s performance and for soliciting more pledge money than their opponents. 

“This is intended as a friendly competition and is a great team building opportunity for your business,” added Stakes. 

For more information on the Corporate Challenge or to enter a team, please contact one of the organizers listed below. 

“In addition to the funds solicited through pledges, we plan to run a silent auction that will be held for the full duration of the event. Bidding will close at noon on March 19,” the president added.

Beverages, snacks, and food such as soup and chili will be available for purchase. 

Members of the public are welcome to register as participants or just drop by the curling club anytime between noon March 18 until noon March 19 check out the festivities. 

Information is available at https://pecurling.com. 

For more information contact Stakes at [email protected] or  Tom Dmytar at [email protected]