City to consider turfing curling season amid shortage of ice rinks

CTV News

01-06-2025

A new report to Windsor City Council could derail the upcoming season for the region's curling community.
The report aims to address a shortage of ice space following a fire at the WFCU Centre.
Staff are recommending Rink A at the Capri Pizzeria Recreation Complex, which is used for curling, be converted to a typical skating rink.
The news was much to the surprise of Terry Fink, the chairman of a group looking to save curling in Windsor.
'We've sort of been hit, blindsided, by the report and, because we feel it's incomplete, there needs to be consultation, and we think that that has been absent a lot,' Fink told CTV News.
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Terry Fink, the chairman of a group looking to save curling in Windsor, June 1, 2025 (Robert Lothian/CTV News Windsor)
Curling was already displaced last year after the council elected to move the sport from Roseland Golf and Curling Club because the aging rink was slated for demolition.
'It was council by resolution that said, you know, come to South Windsor Arena and, curling will be bigger and better than it was at Roseland,' Fink said.
Following a fire on April 28, the roof above the AM800 rink has been compromised and added work is needed to investigate subsequent water damage at the WFCU's other two community rinks.
As a result the AM800 rink, which is primarily used as the home of the Riverside Minor Hockey Association, could be closed for an entire year, a staff report states.
The report highlights by eliminating the curling season at Capri, the city could accommodate the loss of prime ice time, which are high use times on weekends and weeknights, at the WFCU Centre.
At Capri's Rink A, curling used 14 of the possible 53 hours of prime ice time available.
'So a lot of the curlers are retirees, and so they're curling during the day when you and other people are at work, and all the children are at school,' Fink explained.
Fink added the sport does have a strong contingent of adult players who are on the ice after work hours.
'Going into this, we all knew what the hours of curling were going to be and it was not an issue, so I don't understand,' Fink added.
The report has also received criticism from Fred Francis, Ward 1 City Councillor, who feels the proposal is 'disappointing.'
Coun. Fred Francis
An undated photo of Windsor's Ward 1 Coun. Fred Francis. (Sanjay Maru/CTV News Windsor)
'Council's being put in a tough spot, asking essentially to choose between hockey and curling, and that's bad policy,' Francis told AM800 CKLW.
Francis previously advocated for a continued curling presence at Roseland and wonders if the predicament could revive that dream.
Regardless, he added the city needs better plans to increase its rink capacity and avoid future shortcomings.
Francis warned by displacing curlers for the year, the city risks never seeing the sport return.
'I think if the city gets out of the curling game right now, I don't think we'll ever get into it,' Francis said.
Since moving from Roseland, Fink noted they've added about 60 curlers, but he echoed that a one-year hiatus could kill interest in curling.
'As something ends, we'll find something else to do, and it may be very difficult and challenging to bring the volume of curlers back after your year of not curling,' he added.
Before a decision is made, Fink said he wants council to explore further opportunities and consider how they would support curling if it does disappear for a year.
- with files from AM800's Dustin Coffman