THUNDER BAY— The Kakabeka Falls and Rural District Curling Club will hurry hard to get improvements in place in time for their 75th anniversary, with some help from the province.
On Friday, MPP Kevin Holland announced that the Government of Ontario is investing $195,427 to help the Kakabeka Falls and Rural District Curling and Athletic Club make necessary upgrades to its local arena.
“Some teams have asked for ice, so we need to put dehumidifiers in the ice surface area in order to get a great playing surface,” said Mike Desilets, president of Kakabeka Falls Club.
“We are hoping to have that done for our 75th anniversary, which is in 2 years,” he said.
Holland said the facility upgrades, which also include roof repairs, will help local curlers prepare for competition at the highest levels.
“If they can get the ice in earlier, they are going to use that for training for the teams when they go off to the Olympics, so that really promotes sports and our teams and the talent we have in Northwestern Ontario to provide them with facilities like this for them to practice and improve on their sport and represent us proudly in at the Olympics,” he said.
Holland said the much-needed repairs will keep the facility safe while allowing it to continue welcoming curlers from the district in addition to hosting leagues, competitions and provincial tournaments.
“To be able to sport clubs like this is really important, especially in our smaller communities where events like these or clubs like these really become the centre of the community,” Holland said.
The funding comes from the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund and will benefit curlers far beyond just Kakabeka said Holland.
“Clubs like the Kakabeka Curling Club serve a vast area in and around Thunder Bay for the curling community, and to be able to support them in improving their facilities, that will allow them to extend their seasons with the dehumidifiers,” he said.
“It is an excellent place for a family to come together, and they put out some good curling teams out of this club, so they have got a rich history of curling in the Thunder Bay area, and it's great for us to be able to continue to support them in there,” Holland said.
With all of their hard work coming to fruition, Desilets is thrilled to get players on the new ice.
“I am very excited, considering we have our seventy-fifth anniversary coming up,
“We look to upgrade the space and create more programs. And actually look at updates for pickleball to use the space in the summertime,” he said.
“It is a great space in a rural community that allows people to come here and not have to travel that far.”
