Delay In LIR Opening
Dear Club Secretary
As you will no doubt be aware, the Scottish Government has announced that Indoor Sports will
not be allowed to resume until all Outdoor Activities have been given the green light and certainly
not before September 14th.
The Ice Rink Directors met last evening to discuss the delayed start to the season and decided
that, in order to prevent a situation whereby the ice is ready but Curling is further delayed, the rink
will not open until Monday 28th of September. While some clubs may have syllabuses and fixture
lists in preparation, the Directors hope that the majority will still have to finalise details for next
season.
The plan at this stage is not to change any Ice Allocation details already advised for dates FROM
28th September and to integrate the 3 ‘lost’ weeks originally allocated between the 7th and 28th
September into the new, shortened season. We are confident that there is enough available ice to
do this. We would appreciate hearing from all affected clubs as soon as possible. The Rink
Office will be open 9am till 12 noon weekdays from Monday 10th August.
The Directors also decided that, going forward, should any Lockdown or Partial Lockdown be
reimposed then clubs will be reimbursed for ice that cannot be rearranged. However, when curling
resumes at the end of September and the Ilce Allocation has been updated then clubs will be
invoiced as normal.
The Board are confident that the planned arrangements at the Ice Rink will provide as safe an
environment as possible whilst adhering to all guidelines in place. Specific details will be advised
nearer to reopening.
Stewart is eager and has all the necessary arrangements in place to welcome curlers back to the
restaurant as is Kathleen with suitable arrangements for the lounge bar.
After taking advice it has been decided to move the start bell for the second evening session from
8.00 to 8.10pm in order to prevent ‘pinch points’ within the building and to allow increased time
for cleaning. Curlers for this session will not be allowed to enter the rink until 8 o’clock.
Interestingly, we have heard of an instance where a club has co-opted members of other clubs
looking for more Curling during this difficult early part of the season.
If your club has such members or is looking for stand in curlers please contact the office.
The Lanarkshire Ice Rink Directors thank you, once again, for your understanding and kindly ask if
you could pass this letter on to your members.
Kind Regards
Jim Raeburn,
Chairman LIR Plc