Getting in the game

New ways to help make newcomers feel welcome

O’Leary’s Maple Leaf Curling Club has a special open house planned for Monday. Now, most curling clubs host some sort of an open house at the start of their season, in hopes of attracting new members to the roaring game. This open house, though, comes well into the curling season, and it appeals to people who might never have tried, or perhaps even seen the sport, at least not in O’Leary.

The club is inviting newcomers to Canada (and others) to drop in and try the game. It doesn’t matter whether they are from Europe or Asia, or retirees or young families who have moved to the area from eastern P.E.I. or Western Canada.

It is quite clear, though, that the area is benefitting from an influx of foreign workers, some here as temporary foreign workers and many who have chosen to settle here.

Altogether they are helping Prince Edward Island realize its population growth objectives. They need to eat. They’re buying cars and homes and, in general, they are contributing greatly to the local economy.

They are part of the community. And they need to be entertained and to be made to feel welcome. That’s what the Maple Leaf Curling Club has to offer: newcomers get to try a new sport and to mingle with members and to learn the game from them. The open house leads into a 10-week curling introduction program for newbies.

Just as not all longtime residents curl, or have even tried the sport, the club recognizes that not all the newcomers who attend Monday’s open house will pick up the sport. But at least the opportunity will be provided to them.

With that in mind, though, the club has invited other organizations to attend the open house and share with the newcomers the recreational and social activities they have to offer. Perhaps hockey, or snowshoeing, or some other winter activity will be more to their liking.

The open house serves as an introduction. The region needs population growth. By insuring that newcomers are included in the our social and recreational activities, that will make them feel welcome and more likely to stay.

Curling might never be the reason someone moves to Prince Edward Island, but it, or some other sport, could be what it takes to convince them to stay, and, if the curling club gains a few new members because of this initiative, that’s fine, too.