MELFORT 鈥� Crokicurl will be coming to Memorial Gardens on Melfort鈥檚 Main Street.
The new crokicurl arena will be unveiled to the public, weather permitting, on Nov. 23, and will be open for use until Feb. 23, but may be longer if the weather allows it.
鈥淲e鈥檙e just looking at a recreation opportunity anybody can participate in,鈥� said Shannon Marshall, aquatic manager and recreation programmer for the City of Melfort. 鈥淪o you don鈥檛 have to be good at curling to enjoy crokicurl and it鈥檚 really just for all ages. It will be a recreation activity, free of charge for anybody to join in, anybody that wishes to participate.鈥�
Crokicurl is the combination of the board game crokinole and the winter sport of curling that was created in 2016 at Winnipeg.
鈥淚t took off and it鈥檚 kind of the newest trend in winter reaction activities, so we decided to bring it to Melfort,鈥� Marshall said. 鈥淲inters are long as it is so if we can create a little outdoor fun, then that sometimes helps make the season seem shorter.鈥�
Crokicurl is played as a larger sized version of crokinole on the ice, with lighter curling rocks made of plastic or wood. In Melfort it will be wood. Each player takes a turn throwing a rock, starting clockwise and alternating teams and players. Same as a crokinole board, the play area of crokicurl has posts around the inner ring to make it a little more challenging. The rules will be posted by the arena to teach people how to play.
Marshall was in touch with crokicurl players in Winnipeg before she set up the arena to bring the sport here.
鈥淭he guys and the folks at Winnipeg were so helpful in guiding and giving me good pointers. So I鈥檝e had some really good support with the project and really good feedback.聽 We鈥檙e looking forward to it and to engage everybody from youth to adults to seniors.鈥�
Parking for the arena will be available in the Northern Lights Palace Pool parking lot. This location also offers a gazebo for some shelter and benches for extra seating. The arena will be available to use seven days a week and will run on the same hours the pool runs.
鈥淵ou can just wear your shoes, winter boots, you don鈥檛 have to wear any kind of special footwear,鈥� Marshall said. 鈥淵ou need to bring nothing; just your sense of fun and then you can go out there and play.鈥�
