Curling on the Last Day of Bon Soo

Young and old got to try curling on Monday at the Bon Soo Family Day FunSpiel which coincided with a ribbon cutting ceremony for the Community First Curling Centre.

After speeches and the ribbon cutting, the FunSpiel started in the curling arena where participants enjoyed some expert lessons in curling from some of the centre’s members.

Even Mr. Bon Soo made a brief appearance at the Family Day event which was also the last day of the Bon Soo Winter Carnival.

The ribbon-cutting ceremony commemorated the new partnership between the curling centre and Community First Credit Union.

Over five years, the curling centre will receive $100,000 from the Credit Union.

Brad Jacobs, who is not only the centre’s Business Development Manager but also a world-class professional curler, talked about the centre’s transition from the Sault Curlers’ Club into something more community oriented.

“Just the name itself feels a little more welcoming or more like a place where families can come and enjoy themselves at any time rather than being associated as a members-only club,” said Jacobs.

Jacobs said he feels the club had struggled in the past because a lot of people in Sault Ste. Marie thought it was only for paid-members who curl.

He hopes the rebranding will show people that there is more too it.

“We are a centre that anyone in this community can come and enjoy,” he said.

Jacobs said that the centre has 550 members ranging from beginners to professionals like himself.

“One of the neat things about curling is that it’s an amateur sport, not a professional one. Every high-profile curler started out at a club just like this and… on the weekends, you can see my team at noon or 1 p.m. practicing to be the best team in the world.”

Jacobs said besides hosting an average of 30 curling games each day, the centre also functions as a restaurant and hang-out spot.

The centre is able to host various functions and parties, like the recent Super Bowl celebration that was held there.

“If you look at our building and our lounge, we have full restaurant, full bar, great food, and awesome big screen TVs,” he said.

Jacobs appeared at the event the day after the Community First Curling Centre team won the 2016 Northern Ontario Curling Association Men’s Championship, earning them an appearance at the Tim Horton’s Brier in March.

Jacobs said he is happy about the team’s success.

In the coming weeks, he will commence his regular intensive training in preparation for the tournament.

“At this point, it’s about tweaking small things (in our game), but we’ve been practicing and training all year so we’re ready for the Brier,” he said.