Ice Stock is coming back after COVID

Jeff Green | Jul 07, 2021

While COVID-19 has resulted in closures of recreational facilities, South Frontenac Township has been busy with infrastructure projects, including the construction of a multiuse pad at Centennial Park in Harrowsmith. The pad, who surface was constructed with using interlocking brick, was completed by Wemp and Smith Construction.

The pad is already being used by the Frontenac Farmer's market and other uses are being considered, but the group who advocated for the build, and provided over $15,000 in fundraising to help cover some of the costs, was the South Frontenac Stocksport Club, and they will soon start using it.

Club President Karl Hammer said that the club has been able to hold their weekly sessions, which can involve up to 24 players, at different locations at some points during the pandemic, but was forced to hold off during lockdowns.

“Since the Christmas lockdown we have not had much chance to play together as a group, although many of us have been out in groups of 1 and 2 on the ice, keeping our skills up,” Hammer said, “since Stocksport, like curling and golf, is easy to adapt for isolation orders.”

But ever since the pad was completed, club members have been itching to get out as a group to enjoy their weekly sessions.

“We were all set to go last week, on Canada Day, but the weather did not co-operate,” said Hammer in an interview on Monday (July 5). And the forecast for this week does not look good. But we can hope.

Even when the weather decides to co-operate, the surface at the pad still needs some attention.

While interlock brick makes an ideal Ice Stock surface, the requirements are pretty rigorous.

If there are gaps in the brick, the stock can get stuck, and we found that to be the case when we tested the pad, so Wemp and Smith came back to tamp it again,” said Hammer.

The club is planning a small tournament, for the 17th and 18th of July, COVID protocols permitting, with visiting clubs from Barrie and Kitchener, and they hope to use the pad, but even that is not certain.

“In addition to tamping, to be a really good surface, another process is neccessary, using a wooden frame and paver stones to smooth out the brick. We may not get that done in time for the tournament, so we might fall back on using the tennis court at McMullen Park in Verona, which we have used in the past,” said Hammer. “But once it is all done, the Centennial pad will be brilliant, and we will be able to host international tournaments, right here in South Frontenac.

Hammer said that the township is planning an event for later in the summer, which will formally mark the opening of the pad, but the details are still being worked on and the timing will also depend on the COVID-19 re-opening.

And an application has gone in for a major grant to finance a roof to cover the mulit-use pad, which would not only make it possible to play in the rain, but would make the pad better for the Farmer's Market, concerts in the park, and many other potential users.

“It is a pretty large space,” said Hammer, “big enough for band and an audience if necessary”

In the short term, the ice stock club is looking to pick up where it left off when the pandemic began, in their new location.

In March of 2020. club members participated in the World Championships in Germany, where the finished first in the “B” division.

“No one knew what was going on with COVID. The day before the competition, we found out that only 200 spectators were allowed. On the second day of the competition, there were no spectators. We just made it home before air travel was frozen. It's been a long 15 months since then.”

The South Frontenac Stocksport club is always looking for new players. For information about how to get started with the sport and about rookie nights, go to the South Frontenac Stocksport Facebook page and use the messenger to make contact. Or send a direct email to southfrontenacstocksport.com