Royal Kingston Curling Club
130 Days Road K7M 9G4 Kingston, ON, Canada

PLEASE NOTE that Daytime Doubles will now start up the first Monday after the province-wide lockdown is lifted on Jan. 23, 2021. Double your curling fun with Monday Daytime Doubles, starting on Jan. 4 through April 12, 2021! Six-end games run from 2:15 to 3:45 pm. More room on the ice for a great physical distancing option. Open to all levels and any combination of two players: female, male, tall, short, young and not quite as young. Come as a twosome, or as a single and ...we will match you up with another curler for your Doubles team that afternoon. Teams are formed every week, depending on the curlers who are able to curl. It's a pick-up format come when you can. No results or standings posted. Just good Doubles fun. Orientation provided for Doubles rules. Members sign up on the club website under Event Registration, and register each week you play. This is important as there is a 24-curler capacity per week and for possible contact tracing. Not sure if you can come every Monday? No worries, just sign up for the dates when you will be there. Doubles curling includes many draws, taps and game play is generally in the centre of the house. Good communication and strategy planning is a core part of the game. Questions? Contact Peter Coughlin via the club roster or Facebook message here.

A new spin on #curling! Release the marmots!

As announced today, the @KFLAPH district will be in lockdown effective Dec 26, 12:01 am to Jan 23, 12:01 am. RKCC will be open for league play Dec 22. After Dec 23, the club will close for lockdown. Happy holidays, be well, stay safe.

We are pleased to announce that Goldline is bringing their popup store to Royal Kingston and offering you a chance to browse and buy their complete line of excellent curling products. They will have lots of new items that you may have not seen yet so drop in on Saturday , Nov. 21 between 10am and 4pm to fill out your Christmas gift wish list. If there is anything of special interest to you please drop Steve a note in the office and he will make sure the Goldline guys know to bring it.

RKCC passes public health site visit; physical distancing lounge update; New Year reopening delayed A message from our President: I’m pleased to advise that the KFL&A Public Health Unit has completed a site visit and provided an inspection report dated Dec. 10, 2020. The site visit took place while the Day Ladies Flight league played this past Wednesday morning. Most players were wearing masks on the ice. The report is positive about the measures we have in place to ensure ph...Continue reading

RKCC ventured to #downtownkingston today and saw this outside the #ygk post office. #happyholidays #canadapost #hohoho

Canines and #curling? Why not! Kingston 4 Paws Service Dogs visited the club on Wednesday to conduct a training session for their #dogs and some of their handlers. The pups enjoyed the atmosphere of our busy and noisy location, which is part of their training. In particular, they enjoyed hitting the ice to watch the excitement of the Draw 1 women's club curling playoffs!

Welcome back! Dinah, Maggie and the other #pups from Kingston 4 Paws Service Dogs visited Wednesday for another session of #canines and #curling. Kingston 4 Paws trains service dogs for people with physical and emotional challenges, from children with autism to veterans with PTSD, seizure response and mobility issues. The animated atmosphere at the club helps them to learn how to cope with noise and distractions. And our club members love having spectators!

Mask update: Given recent feedback from some of our members regarding mask-wearing, especially for those who wear glasses, the Board wishes to advise: 1) That it is safety first on the ice, so until you have had an opportunity to try different methods to defog your glasses, you are not to put yourselves in danger; 2) After attempting methods to defog (try these tips: https://health.clevelandclinic.org/how-to-keep-your-glass/), if that does not work for you, we can consid...er your situation as a medical exemption from wearing a mask; 3) The Return to Play committee will review the mask-wearing change of rule at a meeting to be held this week, and make recommendations to the Board. In the interim, please continue to follow all RTP protocols already established, including social/physical distancing. Just to give a few examples, we still see the following situations, but this is not an exhaustive list: Too many players in or around the house; Skips and vices both in the house and not six feet apart; Team members behind the house with the skip watching the opposition playing; Not getting out to the ice quickly at the beginning of the game. In other words, congregating in the hallway, or the end boards. Please see the RTP Committee report in November’s The Sweep for further examples.

Remember the story we posted here earlier this summer about Lola? Now she's a #guinnessworldrecord

The Ontario government is introducing a new framework, the COVID-19 Response Framework: Keeping Ontario Safe and Open, effective Nov. 7. Our public health unit, Kingston, Frontenac, Lennox & Addington (KFL&A), is under the PREVENT measures category of the framework, which is the least restrictive level. As a result, we are not anticipating any changes or new restrictions to our current operations or league play. Our club has been reopened for a month now. The Return to Play a...nd Safety plans seem to be working, for the most part, as we all become accustomed to a new way of life at RKCC. To safeguard the continuation of our very fortunate position, please respect the protocols the Board has implemented. This includes maintaining the configuration of the tables and chairs in the lounge. Tables must be a minimum of six feet apart and seating is limited to four at each table. We do not enact these protocols just to make your life difficult; we do so to keep everyone safe and to ensure we don’t get sanctioned by our local health unit or other government authority. We are one of the few clubs in our area that is even open, so please help keep it that way, and remind your friends and teammates as well. Our staff should not be put in the position of reminding us of the necessary protocols - on or off the ice. If you have questions, please ask, as we are here to help everyone keep enjoying the club and the game safely. Check with the club manager, your league convenor, league chair, or any member of the Return to Play task force for possible answers. Thank you one and all for your continued efforts. Best regards, Deb Wilkin President

Mask policy change: Effective immediately, all curlers must wear a mask continuously when on the ice, with the exception of when throwing rocks or sweeping. The amendment to the club's Return to Play and Safety Plans was approved at the Nov. 26 Board meeting. "The Board members realize this is a change in our protocols but it was decided it was needed at this time to continue our efforts to keep us all as safe as possible," said Deb Wilkin, RKCC President. "The second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic is still affecting all we do." Photo credit: Curling Canada