We are pleased to let everyone in the Victoria curling community know that the Club has been approved for funding through the National Sport Trust Fund (NSTF) to help finance our new brine pump, as well as the installation of a new ammonia sensor system.
What does this mean? From now until September, members and friends of the VCC can make a charitable donation to the NSTF and have the funds earmarked to our project, in effect giving the Club temporary status as a charity. Any donations made through this program will qualify for official receipts for tax purposes.
Our target for this project is $30,000.
How do I donate?
All donations are made to the National Sports Trust Fund, through Sport BC. Donations can be made by cash, cheque or credit card – and forms are available in the VCC office for those who wish to mail their contribution. The easiest way to donate is through the Sport BC/National Sport Trust Fund website.
This LINK will take you directly to the Victoria Curling Club project.
What exactly are my donations helping to fund?
Most of us got to experience the “swan song” of our old brine pump over the last couple of months of the curling season. We have been fundraising within the Club since then, with many leagues donating funds and individuals purchasing entries to “Name the Brine Pump”. We’ve had some targeted raffles and 50/50’s as well which help to defray the costs associated with the purchase and installation of a new pump.
The brine pump distributes cooled brine through pipes that run under the floor of the curling rink. As heat is extracted from the ice, floor, and ice rink, warmed brine is returned in a loop to the condenser system to be cooled again. Without a working brine pump, we cannot make ice.
In addition to the brine pump, we are required to undertake an upgrade to our ammonia gas detection system, as mandated by WorkSafe BC. Our existing system, while it *does* detect ammonia, does not meet the most current safety requirements for ice plants that use ammonia as a primary cooling agent.
While we don’t have any flashy pictures of the new system, it is a significant upgrade – with both audible and visible indicators, and a control panel that will allow us to tell at a glance exactly what the system is doing at any point in time. As well, we will have relay terminals installed for remote security monitoring when there is no one in the building.
These projects come at a significant cost to the Club, but will prove their worth as we continue to improve our focus on safety and upgrades that will last into the future of the facility.
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