A Word From Jimmy Raeburn
Dear Club Secretary
I will begin this letter on a sad note.
In recent weeks we have lost three stalwart members of Lanarkshire Ice Rink, Archie Kerr, Bob Parry and Ann Ramsay; they all served their clubs and the Rink in various capacities over many years and will be sorely missed.
On a happier note you may remember that I said in my last letter to you that the Ice Rink Directors were humbled by the number of donations that we had received from clubs. This figure has now reached over £30,000 which does not include subscriptions to Lanarkshire Ice Rink Club. I would like to pass on the thanks of the Board of Directors to the individuals and clubs who are responsible for this wonderful total.
In the past week we have learned that we have been successful in our application for grant aid under the Government backed Ice Rink Support Fund. The £100k grant, when added to the donations received and Local Authority grants will significantly reduce the impact of COVID restrictions on ice rink finances and will ensure that the Rink re-opens in September both providing security of employment for our staff and establishing a safe and healthy environment for curling..
The medium term future of the Ice Rink will, however, remain dependent on the number of curlers coming through the door. Since most of the curling ice is taken up by the clubs then, to a significant extent, we must rely on you to maintain your membership numbers and therefore your ice requirements. This is, of course, much easier said than done but the Development Group within the rink is currently working with Scottish Curling on initiatives which, we hope will assist us in bringing new people into the sport. We will keep you advised of developments.
We have also decided to alter our ice allocation process for this season to help persuade your members to return to the ice. As I said in my previous letter we will send out your 2021-22 allocation at the end of April. This will simply be your 2020-21 allocation with the dates changed. We would ask that, if any alterations are required, be it returns or additions, they be finalised by Monday 16th August. This is much later than we would normally require the booking process to be completed but we feel that, hopefully, as the summer progresses curlers will become much more confident about returning to the ice; so filling teams might become a little easier. As the office will not be staffed full time until later in the summer, please, in the first instance, email the Rink with alterations, requests etc.
We are also proposing opening the rink a few days before the official starting date to allow clubs to bring new members down to the rink to throw some stones – coaches will be present to go over the basics; existing members will also be welcome allowing them to overcome initial aches and pains before getting down to it in earnest the following week. More on this to follow !
Finally, on behalf of the Board of Directors may I wish you and your members a happy and healthy summer.
Kind regards
Jimmy Raeburn, Chairman