A small but passionate and vocal contingent of Copper Cliff Curling Club members showed up at the club on Wednesday evening to rally behind saving their club.
When the dust settled, the club found itself with five new board members and a four person executive who will band together to come up with a plan to keep the club afloat.
Previous board members Justin Levesque, Cory Fisher, Michael Gibson, and Chris Gordon all stepped down from their positions, as the membership was not in favour of their recommendation to consolidate with Sudbury Curling Club in order to attempt to stabilize both clubs.
According to Fisher, Sudbury Curling Club is roughly two years away from being in a similar financial crunch, and decisions will have to be made on their end in the near future as well.
All four board members said that they would be stepping down if the membership was not in favour of the move.
"If our hearts and minds aren't in it then we all agreed to step aside and put people from this club in the position to do it," said Levesque. "I still love this club, it's my choice of clubs in Sudbury and it's where my family and friends are. Our executive just didn't feel right about asking our members for money to curl here when we couldn't guarantee whether or not they'd get a full season."
The club is currently $15,000 short of their target to run a winter season. During the meeting, members tossed about ideas of how to keep the club financially stable, including cutting all salary positions such as manager, ice technician, bar staff, and cleaners.
Kevin Bushey was the lone board member in attendance who will be staying on the board, and will now take on the role of the club's vice president.
"It's a frustrating situation to be in year after year, but we need to look at all of our options," said Bushey. "I think that we need to consider operating soley on a volunteer basis, that will save us roughly $30,000 a year."
Ward 2 Coun. Michael Vagnini attended the meeting and said that he would bring the club's concerns to council.
"We can look at different options to help the club and see what opportunities are available. I would like to see this club remain here and help you guys out," said Vagnini. "There needs to be a long term plan in place, not just what can you do to be operational for this year, but for the next 10, 15, 20 years and beyond."
This isn't a new issue among curling clubs not just in Sudbury, but around Northern Ontario as a whole, according to past board member Justin Levesque.
"From what I've looked at, we're seeing dwindling membership numbers at curling clubs across Northern Ontario," he said.
The club's new president will be Sandra Lahti, one of the more vocal members at the meeting, and the region's representative for the Northern Ontario Curling Association.
"I'm not just representing Copper Cliff, but the region," said Lahti. "I have contacts at NOCA and resources and I can now go to them with a bit more information and I'm privy to more things and I can let them know what our situation is. Other clubs have gone through this so hopefully I can get some ideas of what can be done."
The newly formed board will meet on Monday, Aug. 14, less than a week ahead of a fundraising yard sale that they'll be hosting on Aug. 19.
Other new members of the club's executive include John Kelly who will step into the role of treasurer, and Tim Lloyd who will be the club's new secretary.
