Beyond Ice & Rocks Club Operations & Development “Life in the ‘trenches’ of an arena curling club”

Sandra McMakin Curling Background Raised in Red Deer, Alberta Parents curled Started curling around 11 years old Curled high school, juniors, ladies, mixed Playdowns – juniors & mixed Leagues – ladies, mixed, open Leagues – Red Deer, Avonair (Edmonton), FLC (Calgary) Bonspiels* – dozens to hundreds Recreational curler that likes to bonspiel

Curling Volunteer Background Organizer of dozens of leagues & bonspiels Everything from funspiels to 64 team provincial bonspiels Curl Canada Instructor – 1985 to 1991 RDCC Board of Directors – 1991 to 1997 President , Treasurer PghCC Board of Directors – 2002 present President since 2004 Level I USCA Instructor (2004) Level II (R)

Example Board of Directors (Very Large Club) President Member of all Committees Human Resources Director Instruction Coaching Clinics Director Scheduling Ice & Draws Director Building Equipment Maintenance Director Junior Development High School College Director Bonspiels Competitions Vice President Strategic Planning Bylaws Treasurer Finance Fundraising

Example Structure of a Large Club Board plus Staff Board of Directors Club Manager* Head Ice Maker Ice, Equipment & Building* Ice Crew Manager Food & Beverage Staff

Ice Maker Ice, Equipment & Building Rocks, pebble tanks, hacks, etc. etc. Ice making process SOMEBODY has to be focused on: 1) Organizing and streamlining the ice conversion process (arenas) 2) Investigating and recommending equipment for acquisition 3) Evaluating and improving the ice surface (including working with arena ice personnel)

Ice Quality – Arena Curling Clubs Take heart… Curled in dozens of clubs Large 8+ sheet clubs to 2 sheet natural ice Even dedicated clubs have “imperfect ice” Many rural Alberta clubs have ice similar to arena ice (negative, falls, runs etc.) If you’ve got one reliable turn – you’ve got a game so “Get over it!” Continuously work at ice quality.

Fact: All across Canada, curling clubs that own their own rocks, equipment and buildings are CLOSING. Therefore, we can assume that rocks and ice alone are not enough to make curling “go” OR to keep it going. What is the difference?

People Board of Directors Club Manager* Ice, Equipment & Building* Head Ice Maker Ice Crew Food & Beverage Manager Staff

Club Manager Main contact for the club Answers inquiries, provides information Organizes registration and administration Ensures organization and operation of the club over the course of a scheduled season Ensures organization and operation of the club on a day to day basis Follows the board approved policies and procedures

Club Manager Primary purpose is to manage people. Must effectively communicate with: 1) Curlers (members) 2) Potential members 3) Board of Directors 4) Volunteers 5) Others (suppliers, sponsors, staff, parents, etc.)

Club Manager In a “nutshell”, what do we expect club managers to do? - “fill the ice” - provide excellent customer service - get along with people

Board of Directors Ensure the club’s “future” by developing curlers, leagues and volunteers as well as planning for equipment & building purchases and/or replacement. Responsible to membership/shareholders that elect them Sets the direction and goals for the club Sets general operating policies Represents the club externally to communities, organizations and associations

The Challenge for New Clubs To keep the big picture in mind and accomplish the “goal and direction setting” of the board of directors At the same time, perform the functions of a club manager including member recruitment and customer service All while teaching people the sport of curling

The problem for many curling clubs… It’s usually one of two: There’s too much “board” and not enough “manager” Somebody has to “roll up their sleeves” and take care of the week-to-week details of organizing There’s too much “manager” and not enough “board” We can’t get lost in the weekly details of organizing at the expense of advancing the club year-to-year (or beyond)

How many club presidents are here today? A large amount of the workload falls on the club president who then becomes more like a “club manager”. As the club grows, the workload of organizing must be spread out over more people. Do not be afraid to “give things up” as you find that people are willing to take them on.

Try to make a plan – or two. Think ahead even 2 to 5 years What are some goals you can set for short term gain Another challenge for clubs is that their volunteer boards change over – and the plan gets forgotten unless the plans are spelled out specifically and referred to Clubs without some kind of plan can stay the same for years and most likely will decline.

Example of Board (7) President Membership Publicity Strategic Planning Vice President Draws & Scheduling League Development Treasurer Finance Fundraising Secretary Club Roster Forms/administration Correspondence By-Laws Communication Director Instruction Curling Development Juniors College Director Ice Equipment Director Social Warm Room Events

Example of Board (9) President Strategic Planning Vice President Draws & Scheduling Treasurer Finance Fundraising Director Instruction Juniors Director Sponsors Director Social Events Director Membership Publicity Director Ice & Equipment Secretary Roster Administration

Board of Directors - How many? Adding more people to your board can help increase volunteer manpower Not everyone needs or wants to be a board member The more positions you have on your board, the harder it is to fill each year with elections People generally want to be on the board when things are 1) really good! or 2) really bad!

Club President Responsible for ensuring that a “season” of curling is planned, scheduled and executed Responsible for getting the “best” out of each of their board members

Use your people’s strengths! Do they have special skills such as accounting, law, engineering, computers or business Are they detail oriented, or idea people? Are they experienced with curling, instructing, events, sales, organizing or other volunteering Are they just plain crazy?

Okay, back to serious. What about the Club Manager? Crazy people are fun!! Curling has to be fun!

Create the Atmosphere of Club Create a warm room Put up bulletin boards etc. Have a place for people to visit. Have curling games on a TV

Club Manager Responsibilities Divided – Goal “Full Ice” Membership Recruitment Spends summer months contacting returning and potential new members. Guides them through the registration process and arranges for Instruction. Scheduling Week to week scheduler of ice surface. Takes the draw, Verifies teams, identifies any open sheets or team positions. Books groups or “Learn to Curl” sessions for open ice. Helps teams arrange for spares if necessary. Spares are any member, associate member or potential new member* Ice & Draws Draw Master Works with membership to place people on teams And teams into different leagues. Then takes teams and puts them into a league schedule or draw. Responsible for sheet allocation including such things as make-up games. Proposes a season leading to playoffs and championships.

Where do we get the people from for membership to contact? Publicity wherever you can get it Some kind of central address Clubs have to become VERY good at collecting addresses etc. of people that contact asking for information Contact information should be stored in some kind of a database or list Membership can then contact people at a later time

Websites During the Olympics, our website was getting over hits per day. Even before the Olympics, it was averaging 2000 hits per day. Our website is our main form of communication with our members and with anyone interested in curling Western Pennsylvania. The website is fun, interesting, and changes often – we let a crazy lady run rampant on there!

Newsletters Have someone write a newsletter on your club and send it out to all contacts on your list. OR Send a copy of Stone Soup with a note from your club president inviting them to come and try curling or telling them about some upcoming club events.

Instruction In a place where nobody knows what curling is, instruction is KEY. Instructors should be the first people that new people meet. They should be the “ambassadors” for your club. They are your main recruiters. Instructors should have some options available for people after they have tried curling - perhaps they come back and spare in a game? Follow up is crucial.

Instruction Takes Many Forms We deal with the limitations we have Many of us don’t have ice time for several sessions of instructional time In the “early days” of our club, we kept one sheet for instruction and made up teams of 3 to leave spots open for new people. We went over basics, delivery, sweeping then they went straight into a game.

Value of Time with your Club Observations from the Olympics Out of 1000 curlers throwing one stone you might get 40 (4%) back to try it again. Out of the original 1000 <1% might join your club. Out of 100 people spending 2 hours in a “Learn to Curl” session you might get 10 (10%) people back to try it again. Out of those you might get 4 people to join (4% of original) Out of 40 people spending 3 to 5 weeks with your club in a novice or instructional league, you might get 20 (50 %) of them back to join. The lesson is: the more opportunities that people have to spend time with you, the more likely you are to get them as members. One reason why people tell us they don’t want to join a league is because they don’t think they are “good” enough

Arena clubs as Training grounds for curlers Experienced curlers must be spread over teams Focus becomes more on teaching and learning rather than winning New curlers have much to learn – where to stand, when to sweep, how to keep games on time Clubs should have very open atmosphere conducive to coaching

We don’t “mess” with curling Experienced curlers work to instill the “spirit” and the “etiquette” of curling We strive to have games run on time curling games are 8 ends in 2 hours We try to communicate with skips about how curling teams work We try to have skips’ meetings to discuss ways to improve, provide information

Who are your instructors? Experienced curlers Members very interested in teaching others about the sport and the club Every club should try to have at least one Level I Instructor Experienced curlers/instructors can have meetings to demonstrate instructional techniques with newer volunteer instructors

Instruction & training brings the knowledge of the entire club up Build a library of instructional resources If you don’t have experienced curlers in your club – see if you can get help from other clubs Those attending Instructors Clinics will improve their own game Don’t be afraid to ask questions Don’t be afraid to make changes

League Development During and after the Olympics we ran novice leagues Sunday Olympic League had 40 new curlers with basic instruction We had instructors behind each house to help them Another observation: you can’t throw a bunch of new curlers on the ice and hope they will learn the game Before you know it, the rules have changed and the game is different

For Curling Clubs to survive… they must behave like a business.

Revenue Sources – Large Club Other includes: merchandise, sponsors, raffles and other fundraising sources.

Expense Sources – Large Club Other can include – reserve, debt servicing, insurance etc.

Challenge for Arena Clubs Develop revenue/income streams Possibilities include: Membership fees Fundraising projects (raffles etc.) Sponsors, stone banks Logo Merchandise or pro shops Events, bonspiels, clinics Teambuilding, revenue sharing with arena Partnerships with Arenas*

Partnerships with Arenas Contract for ice time “share the risk” to build curling into additional ice slots Provide volunteer labor to the arena in return for free ice time Provide teambuilding sessions where both arena and club benefit Bring them in as a partner for events

Club expenses Overhead Ice rental Stone payments or rent USCA/association fees Liability insurance Variable & Discretionary - Equipment and supplies - Other (could be anything)

How does an arena club move forward financially? They set goals each season. Goal #1 We pay our bills Goal #2 We acquire the equipment that curling clubs own (hopefully we are reducing overhead)* Goal #3 We build our revenue streams toward a level that could support a dedicated building** Goal #4 We plan, investigate and work toward organizing the funding for our own building

Goal #2 Acquiring the equipment that curling clubs own. Types of equipment you can be acquiring Stones Rock boxes, pebble tanks, large brooms Instructional material, videos, TV/DVD etc. Promotional materials – banners etc. Office equipment, storage cabinets etc. Warm room equipment, trophy cabinets, trophies, club memorabilia Larger equipment such as scrapers, nippers

Goal #3 Building revenue streams toward a level that could support a dedicated building. Revenue includes ALL money directed toward curling – even if it’s not paid directly to your club. Show growth each year

Total attendance in Dollars Saturday Evenings 2005/2006 $ /2007 $11300

End Result Each season should look different Increased number of members Increased budget New program New event More volunteers