Will the Ontario Men’s Curling Championship return to Owen Sound ?
Ever ?
I wonder this in light of a trend that has seen the Ontario Men’s Championship shift from large centers to significantly smaller locations and venues of late.
The 2011 Championships were played at Grimsby, which is not a city and the Peach King Center, while functional, is not among the biggest venues in Ontario
Previously, the Championships held at Sarnia and at Guelph, weren’t necessarily a bust, but the attendance figures, especially in the earlier rounds, honestly were sparse.
There’s no question when the Blue Water Curling Club of Owen Sound hosted the Provincial Championships at the Harry Lumley-Bayshore Community Center, first in 1991, then again in 2004, it was a staggering success.
Successful from every level, at least looking from the outside in.
Big attendance. Big activities. Big fun. And I’d assume big money.
But in recent times, the rumble persists from Blue Water that the payoff for hosting such a huge undertaking doesn’t reward the amount of effort the club puts in to hosting this Major Championship
There was some overtures made by the Blue Water Club for 2011 and 2012, but it has gone amazingly quiet in the local curling community, so quiet that it makes me wonder; will the Ontario Men’s Curling Championship ever return to Owen Sound ?
I’m Fred Wallace