The Village of Rockyford will have to wait until next year before it knows if curling will be back in the community.
The Mail reported last winter that the Rockyford Curling Rink would be closing due to the facility being in dire need of repair. The story went viral with its tale being told on national media outlets as well as the BBC.
Randy Melcher, Rockyford Curling Club President, said the club even received a donation all the way from Scotland.
While their fundraising efforts went well, including a GoFundMe campaign, the club was still far short of raising the funds to replace the floor of the curling rink, a bill estimated, at that time, to be $380,000.
Melcher tells the Mail, the club still needs the support of a provincial Community Facility Enhancement Grant.
Unfortunately, the club was not successful in this round of the grant process. They were hoping to hear by August 31.
“We’re scared that we won’t get the grant,” he said. “We applied, we just have to wait until February of next year.”
He is also concerned that by waiting, the price tag is expected to go up.
“We’ve been holding off because if we don’t get the money, we have to seriously think about what we are going to do,” he said. “We don’t want to do any more fundraising, because if we don’t get the grant, what are we going to do with the money? We’ll see what happens in the new year.”
Curling has been played in Rockyford for about 90 years.
