Teams practise at the Ottawa Curling Club on O’Connor Street. A wiring problem recently forced the club to update its electrical system.
The Ottawa Curling Club faces a $100,000 building upgrade after inspectors found that electrical wiring at the historic sports venue was not up to code.
Various club members with electrical certification and skills had been maintaining the building’s wiring throughout the years. But club members have recently voiced concern about the state of the 94-year-old club’s aging wiring.
The decision to hire electricians to do a three-day inspection this summer came after hearing and reading about fires in the Centretown area, says club manager Dalal Abou-Eid.
When it comes to paying for the project, club president Geoff Colley says the OCC is doing a “decent job” managing its finances. “(But) we’re feeling some pressure,” he said at the club’s annual general meeting on Sept. 21.
Abou-Eid says it will take about two years to complete the electrical upgrade.
While the estimated cost is very high, the OCC plans to break the project down into affordable chunks, says Joe Pavia, manager of business development for the club. The first round of repairs this summer cost about $15,000, Abou-Eid says.
Repairs that needed immediate attention have already been completed throughout the building this past summer, she adds.
Less urgent electrical issues will be dealt with next summer, when the club can afford to update the system without interfering with club activities, says Abou-Eid.
The electrical issue comes at a bad time for the club. Before the electrical problem, a new project was being planned to equip the playing area with cameras, so that patrons in the bar area and the lounge could watch games in real time.
The OCC was also looking at installing a system for players to record themselves on DVD. This would allow them to playback their games to see where they could improve.
With the wiring fix taking priority, these plans have been put on hold until the video upgrade can be financed.
The club had also planned to buy a large trophy case to display some of its most historic bonspiel cups and trophies, which are now collecting dust in a basement vault.
With much the club’s upkeep done by volunteers, Ottawa’s oldest curling club is all about keeping members happy. One way this is done is by keeping member fees low, says Colley. They have not changed in a few years.
The club also continues to attract some of the best talent in the country, churning out junior world champions and displaying banners from championship bonspiels on the lounge’s walls.
The club can boast a member retention rate of about 95 per cent, and there is a “huge demand” for placements in the Getting Started league, mostly from “20-something professionals,” Pavia says.
The wiring issues will not cause an immediate problem for loyal patrons as the season opens in 2010, he says.
The OCC has about 550 members plus 600 to 700 renters who just want a bit of time on the ice sheets to throw some rocks.
“It’s a home to a lot of people,” Abou-Eid says. “You need to put priorities first.”