On October 17th, Apollo Friends in Sport returns with its 19th season of curling. Meanwhile, on October 19th, Team Edmonton begins theirs. Both promise to bring fun, sportsmanship, and good friendship to Calgary in the winter months.
Apollo Friends in Sports was formed in 1981 by a group of individuals with an idea to form an athletic social group. “The idea was to fulfill the needs of interested people in the Calgary area with sports and social activities. Four people attended the first meeting,” says Randy Brookes, Communications Director of Apollo Calgary Curling. Currently Apollo has close to 400 members playing a myriad of sports year round.
Team Edmonton was formed in 2006 by representatives from many smaller GLBT sporting groups in Edmonton, to better serve the needs of the community. It is run by a volunteer elected Board.
Although Registration is closed for the 2009-2010 season, Apollo is currently seeking spares that are able to dedicate some time. Brookes encourages “curlers of all ages and experience levels” to come out and play. Participants can range from any age and can be either male or female.
There are two draws every Saturday, one at 2:20pm and the next at 4:30pm, taking place at the North Hill Curling Club (1201 2nd St NW). Even if you don’t want to participate in the sport, organizers still encourage people to come out and cheer the teams on. Each team consists of 4 to 5 players - if a player can’t make it, then this is where the spares come in.
As a spare, each player is required to pay $10 per game played. These fees cover the rink cost. Your Apollo membership fee of $20 covers your yearly Apollo membership and voting rights at the AGM. All equipment must be provided by you.
Team Edmonton registration costs $250, and each game is played on Monday nights at the Granite Curling Club.
This curling season, Calgary will be the host of the Gay National Curling Championships which will be held during the Western Cup bonspiel on the Easter Weekend in 2010. There will be teams from all across Canada visiting our fine city, and will be competing in this event. The organizers are expecting a very large turnout, and are encouraging any teams that want to participate in Western Cup to register as soon as possible.
If you have never curled before, or are simply wanting to brush up on your skills Apollo will be hosting a Beginner and Intermediate Curling Clinic beginning on October 3rd, and will run on a monthly basis.
To register as a spare in Apollo Curling, or to register in any of the other sports teams that Apollo and Team Edmonton have to offer, visit the web links below.
