Delta Thistle Curling Club is closing for the holiday season starting today (December 20th); we will remain closed until January 3rd. Email and Voicemail responses during this time will be slower than usual.
- Teen Curling is back starting January 7th.
- Junior Curling is back starting January 9th.
- Adult Practice ice will be available starting January 7th (1-2 people/sheet).
- We are hoping Adult curling will be back January 17th or January 24th. We will keep you posted as we hear more.
Refunds have been calculated and are available to be requested. I'd like to thank the many members who have graciously offered to donate their refunds. You can request a refund here.
Our next Fireside Chat features international-level competition coach Bill Tschirhart. He'll be speaking about and taking your questions on team dynamics. It is taking place Monday December 28th at 6:30pm. There are a few spots still available. Register here.
Our Virtual Mad Hatter Bonspiel will be from December 31st to January 3rd! You can see more information and register here. Entry is by donation (min. $10) and prizes are provided by Okanagan Spring.
Wishing everyone a very safe and restful holiday season!
Stay safe and stay healthy.
Brian Cole
DTCC President
DTCC Club President
Nov 15th @ 8:41pm
Good Evening Curlers,
Delta Thistle Curling Club has been notified of a confirmed case of COVID-19 in one of our members. The notification came from the individual, and not the Fraser Health Authority or the Provincial Health Authority. To date, we have not been contacted by any health authorities.
The member plays daytimes on Thursdays, and was last at the club on Thursday November 5th. Symptoms showed 3 days after this, and this member has not been in our facility since November 5th.
We are notifying our membership of this in an effort to be completely transparent, open, and supportive, while still respecting our members' privacy.
We want to thank this member for being proactive, notifying our club, and protecting our membership. They are recovering at home and are doing well. We wish them a speedy recovery and look forward to curling with them again when it's safe for everyone!
As a board, we will continue to notify our membership of new information and events as they come up.
Stay safe and healthy curling!
- Brian Cole
DTCC Club President
Nov 15th @ 2:53pm
We wanted to confirm that Delta Thistle Curling Club is open for all regular programs starting today. While our lounge will remain closed indefinitely, game play resumes on a normal schedule starting tonight.
Our Safety Committee is meeting weekly, and is in constant communication in order to evaluate the ever-changing situation. The Public Health Office, Fraser Health, and the City of Delta are all aware that we are open, and Dr. Bonnie Henry has confirmed that curling is allowed to continue. We have updated our Return to Curl Safety Plan to further protect our members and staff in accordance with both required and recommended safety measures, and we are in full compliance with all Health Orders. We will continue to go beyond what is required of us by closing our lounge and continuing to require masks. We are fortunate that in our sport, we can maintain physical distance at all times, and can therefore continue to be a part of the sport and community we love.
We are also keenly aware that our membership has very different tolerances to the risks of engaging in sport. As always, we respect those of you who don’t feel safe in our facility. We ask that you notify your opponent directly if you do not plan to play, and also notify our manager that you do not require the ice.
Most importantly, please pay attention to our COVID-19 Health Declaration that you fill out when you enter the facility. Please do not curl if you answer yes to any of the questions. On the ice and within the lobby, please ensure that you keep your masks on properly, and maintain your physical distance of 6 feet at all times.
Stay safe and healthy curling!
- Brian Cole
DTCC Club President
Previous Update (Nov 10th @ 9:54pm)
Good Evening/Morning Delta Thistle Members,
As of the evening of Nov 9th, the Province of British Columbia has not yet published the official wording of the new provincial health order. As such, ViaSport and Curl BC have not been able to assess the order, and have not provided their guidelines for the current situation.
Several members of the Board listened to Dr. Bonnie Henry's press release this afternoon in which she said explicitly that sports such as curling, where you can maintain physical distancing, can remain open. We have included a recording of Dr. Henry's announcement (click to view).
With the limited information available, the Board of Directors met this evening to decide the next steps for Delta Thistle. Out of a desire to proceed with caution and not rush a decision that deserves thoughtful consideration, we have decided Delta Thistle Curling Club will remain closed for the remainder of this week, to re-open for programs this Saturday November 14th.
There will be no league games, practices, or programming of any kind for this week, November 9th to November 13th (inclusive).
A note to our Daytime Seniors League:
In light of the club closure this week, your daytime league will be extended for a week in December. Tuesday Seniors League will now have your last game on December 15th; Thursday Seniors League will now have your last game on December 17th. This will ensure you play the expected 10 games for the Fall season.
For our Evening Leagues:
As we will resume games starting Sunday November 15th, you will still play the minimum 10 game days for the Fall season.
Programming for Saturday November 14th is scheduled to be our inaugural Intermediate Curling Clinic, which is confirmed and will be taking place for those who registered.
For this and all of our programs and leagues for the remainder of the season, we will be strictly enforcing our safety protocols in all parts of our curling club, including the lobby, the ice, and the lounge.
For the duration of the new provincial health order, we will be keeping our lounge closed. This includes the week of November 15th to November 23rd. At the end of the provincial health order, we will reassess the situation and determine if it is safe and within provincial guidelines to re-open the lounge.
I want to thank you all for your patience as we work through the information we have. We strive to make our decisions based on fact, reason, and compassion, and always in the best interest of our members and our club. We will continue to send you all necessary updates as we gain a better understanding of the situation. As always, we welcome your comments and feedback.
To all the members of every league, practice, program and clinic that takes place within the walls of Delta Thistle, everyone on the Board wishes you and your family safety and health. We are a community first, and we will curl together again. For now, we need to support each other and take care of each other by following the procedures as outlined by the Provincial Health Authority and our safety guidelines.
- Brian Cole
DTCC Club President
Previous Update (Nov 8th @ 2:21pm)
Hello again Delta Thistle Members,
We've received more information and feedback from the curling community, in particular the detail in the Provincial Health Order that outlines there is to be no social interaction between members of different households, and how this would apply to our lounge. In light of this, Delta Thistle Curling Club will be closed for Sunday November 8th or Monday November 9th. As of right now, our tentative plan is to be open on Tuesday November 10th, but more updates will be coming as the situation develops.
Thank you to everyone who has been contributing to the conversation. This is a community decision and we are listening to your concerns and feedback.
The Board has called an emergency meeting to be held tomorrow evening to discuss our next steps.
- Brian Cole
DTCC Club President
Previous Update (Nov 8th @ 1:24pm)
Dear Delta Thistle Members,
The Province of British Columbia has issued new Provincial Health Orders to try to curb the spread of COVID-19 in our communities. Since the announcement yesterday, we have been communicating with Curl BC to determine our next steps as a club.
I want to emphasize that our first priority is the safety of our members and staff, and we will be following all guidelines as set by our provincial governing bodies (ViaSport and Curl BC).
At this point, we have determined that Delta Thistle Curling Club can remain open and all programs will continue. This is based on the wording and current interpretation of the health orders, in that curling is a sport where we can maintain physical distance. Please note that this decision is not set in stone. We will adjust as we learn more and as the situation develops.
We are waiting for the official Provincial Health Order to be made public so our provincial governing bodies can review and assess. We will update our members once we have more information.
I want to take this opportunity to remind all of our members of our safety protocols, and how important it is that we all follow them.
- Stay home if you are experiencing any symptoms of COVID-19
- Masks are to be worn correctly at all times (except when seated in the lounge)
- Maintain 6' (the length of a broom) physical distance at all times
- Regularly wash/sanitize your hands; avoid touching your face
- In the lounge, you must sit with your team only, to a maximum of 4 people per table; do not move chairs/tables
- No table-hopping/mingling with anyone outside of your team
- A more detailed explanation of our safety protocols can be found here [link]
Thank you to everyone who has been following these guidelines.They are in place to keep us safe and to keep our club open. And thank you to everyone for your patience while we navigate these new health orders and how to proceed. We will send out another update once we get more information from Curl BC.
- Brian Cole
DTCC Club President