Crokicurl debuts in Calgary with first-ever rink in the southeast
Posted Jan 9, 2018 1:44 pm.
Last Updated Jan 9, 2018 1:51 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
There’s a new Canadian pastime you can add to the list of winter activities and it’s making its Calgary debut this weekend. The Acadia Community Association is opening a crocicurl rink in the southeast on Saturday.
It combines curling with the classic Canuck board game crokinole. Rinks have been popping up across the country ever since some Winnipeggers debuted the first surface in their city a few years ago.
“Some architects made large, 26-metre rinks and when you put the pieces on ice you have to change the rules a little bit because it’s not the same as the crokinole board,” said Erika Topola with the Acadia Community Association.
The board game uses wooden discs and players have been flicking them across a wooden octagon board for generations. The association was able to build the rink using a grant from ActivateYYC, which supports community projects.
Volunteers have been building the ice surface for about a month.
“We basically built the frame and there was still grass on the ground and then we patiently waited for snow and for it to get cold so we could start flooding the rink part. And it took a really long time, we had a really warm December,” explained Topola.
This Saturday, the association will be holding demonstrations on how to play at the rink, which is outside the Acadia Recreation Complex.
The opening event runs from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
