Hi Riverdale 2022-23 curlers!
Welcome to the 2022-23 season! We’re looking forward to our official October 16 start date, but with a month and a half before we’re on the ice, there are some other items to get to first.
In this post: making payment, signing waivers, our season kick off, information on opportunities to learn curling basics, get some pre-season practice and gear up for the season.
Make Sure You Pay and sign the waiver!!!
Your registration will not be fully completed until payment is received on or before September 10. You must also sign our waiver sent in the confirmation of your registration email
The four main members of the team must either pay $395 by September 10, or if paying in two installments, $210 by September 10 followed by an additional $210 no later than January 15, 2023.
Fifth players must pay $85 by September 10.
Please send payments as soon as possible – instructions are in the email you receive once you sign your waiver for the season. Please make sure you are sending payments to the Pridecurl payments email and not the general Riverdale email.
Season Kick-Off at Pegasus
You are invited to join us at Pegasus (489 Church Street, upstairs) on Wednesday, September 14 at 6:30 p.m. for a kick-off to the 2022-23 season!
Come meet your teammates, executive members and other curlers before the start of the season. It’s also registration night for Rotators, and Pegasus has a long history with the Riverdale and Rotators leagues, so show them some love!
Beginner’s Clinic and Practice Ice
We will be hosting a free beginner’s clinic at the Royals on Saturday, October 15, from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. This clinic will specifically be focused on new members with little or no experience with curling, as well as newer members (with less than two year’s experience) who would like to brush up on the basics.
If you are interested, please complete the beginner’s clinic registration form. You’ll be contacted to confirm your registration by October 7.
If you have time to volunteer as a coach for that day, please email Edward directly at riverdale@pridecurl.ca.
We will also have practice ice from 3 p.m to 5 p.m. for anyone in our league that wants to get out on the ice and get in some pre-season practice! Or anyone that wants to have a quick pre-season drink in the lounge with new and old friends.
Rotators
If you were a Riverdale (or Rotators) member in 2021-22, you can pre-register to join Rotators (which plays at 9 p.m. on Wednesday nights starting Wednesday, October 12), but only if you pre-register by emailing rotators@pridecurl.ca by Friday, September 9.
If you were not a Riverdale member last season, you can register by attending Rotators registration night at Pegasus September 14, 2022 starting at 6:30 p.m. Registrations will be taken on a first-come, first-served basis, so be there early and talk to Murray!
Royals Learn to Curl Program
If you’re new to curling and would be interested in a learn to curl program run by the club, starting October 12 the Royal Canadian Curling Club will be running a 5-week program with lesson times on Wednesdays from either 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. or 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. The cost is $125. Should you participate and then join a Royals league (not Riverdale or Rotators) afterward, this cost would be credited towards your Royals membership cost.
To enroll, you can contact the instructor, Tony, directly at tgilroy@directmediacanada.com.
Novices looking to join a team
A number of people have expressed an interest in joining our league, but haven’t found a team. These individuals are predominantly beginners. If your team would be interested in helping integrate new players into the league and could use a fifth player, please let us know by emailing riverdale@pridecurl.ca and we’ll send you some contacts. If you’re at Pegasus on the 14th let an exec member know and we’ll introduce you to some people!
Gear Up!
If you’re new to curling, make sure that before the beginning of the season you’re ready to get on the ice for the first time. Your key pieces of curling equipment will be:
- Clean shoes – you’ll need shoes with decent grip that are clean. You can’t wear your street shoes on the ice. Avoid dress shoes, heels, boots, or anything that you won’t be able to balance on ice while wearing.
- Stretchy pants – you’ll be lunging and squatting a fair bit on the ice, so you’ll likely want to be able to get up and down without tearing your pants or being constricted.
- Warm clothes that don’t shed fuzz or glitter – you might warm up while sweeping, but it is an ice surface. Make sure you’ll be warm in clothes that don’t shed, as fuzz and other debris will ruin the ice.
- A slider – you may want to get a slider that fits over your shoes and covers your whole sole. If you don’t have one, that’s alright, the club has some to use during your game.
- A broom – you might want to get a broom, but you can also use the club-provided brooms as well.
If you have questions, don’t hesitate to reach out to a member of the executive or a more experienced teammate.
Round One Schedule Coming Soon
The draw (game schedule) will be available on our website before the start of the season, by October 1 at the latest once teams are seeded into their starting divisions.
There are 7 games in a round, with each team having a bye one week of the round (meaning the team does not have a game scheduled that week). If your team has a specific need to be away a certain week, you can request a bye from the Drawmaster by submitting this form: https://toronto.pridecurl.ca/request-a-bye/
Please note, while the Drawmaster makes every effort to manage bye requests, there is no guarantee that your bye request can be accommodated.
That’s all for now! Hope to see you on September 14 at Pegasus, and we’ll be posting again when the Draw Schedule is ready!