Hello Curlers,
As you know, we unfortunately had to cancel our final night of curling because of the weather, and we don’t have a designated time to make up those games as the ice is already being taken out of the expo building. That means we have no 2025-26 playdown champion, at least for now. During Wednesday's end-of-season banquet, we will discuss potential options with players from FIJCI and Engineer Guys. The hope is the teams will agree on a solution.
Please don't forget our club banquet begins at 6 p.m. Wednesday at City Lights. We will have a taco bar. The banquet is free to club members and $10 for guests. Traditionally, the club has paid for a drink for club members. If you plan to attend, but didn’t sign up, please notify a board member ASAP. Knowing the numbers is important so we have enough food.
During the banquet we will recognize some members of the club. And we will have an election for three positions on the board. We have four candidates, so the top two vote-getters will serve full terms with the third person finishing Tim McCurdy's term, which has two years remaining. Tim has volunteered to take over as club secretary. Thank you, Tim.
We will also have a raffle for a custom crokinole board made by Mark Tolvstad, who has spent endless hours helping our club and the growing sport. Tickets are $20, so bring some scratch. If you have something to donate as a prize (gift baskets, hoodies, beer, gift cards, etc.), please bring those items as there will be a silent auction. All of the money raised from both the raffle and silent auction goes to the club.
Just a reminder that there are two local bonspiels coming up soon if you're still wanting to throw some stones this season. The Jackhammer Bonspiel is Feb. 27-March 1 in Brookings. It sounds like there will be good turnout, and our friends in Brookings always run a great event. It's arena ice, but in a much newer facility than we have. That means better ice and heat for folks who hang around to watch. Then, March 27-29 is the Six Club Bonspiel in Fargo, N.D. It's a chance to curl on dedicated ice, which is a lot of fun, and serves as a fundraiser for us and other clubs in South Dakota. We greatly appreciate how generous the FM Curling Club is in hosting this event to help those of us just to the south. Members of the Fargo club do a lot of work to help with the event. So, if you plan on attending, realize you will be asked to help pitch in by cleaning up, helping with registration, helping with the ice, teardown, etc. This will not be a huge time commitment. Nobody is expected to do everything. There will be a volunteer signup sheet at the registration table, and even helping out for a couple hours is a big thing.
I know we make many asks throughout the year — of time, gifts and money. Please know those contributions are greatly appreciated and critical to the success of our club.
Hope to see you Wednesday, and good curling!
-Scott
