CURL BC ICE MENTORSHIP PROGRAM.
The role of the Ice Tech Team in BC is to provide premiere ice conditions for our championships, facilitate courses, and provide mentorship to curling centers, ice technicians, and volunteers who are wishing to learn more about making ice in their facilities. The Ice Tech Mentors are Mike Merklinger, Dave Merklinger, Norm Scott, Cody Hall, Chris Jones, and Ken McArdle.
Mentorship starts with a member organization or individuals filling out the request form for the services of a Curl BC Ice Tech. Following that, a phone call or video call can be arranged to discuss the needs of the organization.
If our Ice Technicians are being requested for onsite service, or it is deemed that an issue requires in person attention, the fee will be $500/day (8 hours), plus any travel and accommodation costs associated. Our Mentors are situated at a variety of areas in the province, so consideration of proximity will be taken when determining the best fit for your location.
Member facilities or Individual Ice technicians will have an opportunity to interact with our mentors for 1-3 days at their facility, where a variety of topics can be covered. Mentorship starts with a tour of the facility, and discussion of the curling center’s history with ice and ice conditions, and the philosophies of the Ice Technicians in place, whether it be a hired staff member or volunteer team.
Topics the Ice Tech Team can cover through mentorship:
Water quality, flooding, pebbling, scraping and scrape patterns, blade maintenance, ice topography, air and humidity and associated equipment, building envelope, stone maintenance, Cruise Melter (pro-oxy burner), scheduling and routines, draw changes, rink dimensions, seasonal maintenance, and understanding refrigeration and brine temperature as it relates to ice conditions.
Mentorship is separate from hosting a course, however some of the topics are included in the Assistant Ice Technician Course, or Curling Ice Technician Course. If you think you’d be interested in hosting a course for a group of people in your area, then please fill out the request form or reach out to pcseke@curlbc.ca and we’d be happy to help you decide which next step is right for you and your organization.
`
