In the Summer of 2021, Bayview Golf & Country Club (located just north of Toronto) voted to close its curling program. It was the latest club in the Greater Toronto Area to end its curling program, part of a trend in the last 10-15 years of golf clubs deciding to close their curling sections. In this episode, I speak with Bayview curling member, former Bayview Curling Manager and competitive curler Julie Hastings. We discuss what led to the club's decision, what will become of the curling membership (including the youth curlers), and talk about the legacy of the club.
Some of the topics we discuss:
* What led to the end of curling at Bayview (1:58)
* The decision was sudden (5:00) and final (9:00)
* Julie's first memories of Bayview (11:10)
* How a major event in Julie's life happened on Sheet #1 at Bayview (12:23)
* Remembering her kids throwing their first rocks there (13:56)
* Future Champs Bonspiel history & possible future? (18:30)
* Legacy of competitive curling & Julie's contribution (21:35)
* Importance of finding new homes for their youth curlers (24:23)
* Why clubs should keep their curling program (25:55)
Follow our podcast on Twitter: @kidscurling
Glenn Gabriel is an NCCP-certified curling coach who lives in Pickering, Ontario, Canada. He has been the coordinator of the Little Rocks (U12) program at East York Curling Club in Toronto since 2011. If you have a question or feedback on the podcast, send us an e-mail at coachingkidscurling@gmail.com
The intro and outro music is "Golden Sunrise (Instrumental Version)"
https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Josh_Woodward/The_Wake_1790/JoshWoodward-TheWake-NoVox-10-GoldenSunrise
By Josh Woodward
https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Josh_Woodward
Licensed under CC BY 3.0
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/