Details on COVID-19  safety measures have been completed and the curling season is set to begin mid-October.

SLSFSC curling supervisor Morgan Muise says ice making will begin on Sept. 28 and will be completed by Oct. 12.

With health measures in place, she's thrilled that a curling season is possible.

"We'll be distancing all participants in the game so that they can stay safe distance from each other and still participate in the game and play in a few different leagues and be part of a sport cohort," says Muise.

She says she has been meeting with representative of curling club leagues since August to go through the return to play guidelines of provincial and national curling associations as well as Alberta Health Services.

"We've gone through all of those and created what we believe is a fairly solid plan."

The curling club's board were walked through the plan and gave it approval on Sept. 10 with the understanding there may be some amendments.

She doesn't believe it will be hard for curlers to make the adjustment, although some social aspects will be impacted. 

Curling Club president Gord Copithorne says the club worked from a stance to allow people to play, but the question became how. He commends the committee for creating a the plan that offers a practical approach to keeping everyone safe. 

"It's not a 20-page document of "musts" and all kinds of crazy scenarios. It got a lot of "use judgement and be smart about it" wrapped inside the recommendations, so it's a really nice balance between rules and real world."

Registration remains open for all leagues. Many curlers have already registered while others were taking a wait-and-see approach.

Monday is for the ladies league, Tuesday for men's, Wednesday for mixed, Thursday mixed doubles and Friday night is open curling. As well, there's senior men's, oldtimers, seniors open, competitive, stirling and junior leagues.

Copithorne says you don't need to register as a team. The curling community is welcoming and always finds a place for those who want to enjoy the sport.

"It's actually a really good season, considering there's only so much a person can do in the community, with no travel and such. I encourage anyone to come and try it out, even if it's only for a few days."

He says there are plenty of instructors available to help those new to the sport or looking to refresh their skills.

In addition to the curling club, there are curling programs offered by the SLS Family Sports Centre. They won't be starting immediately, says Muise.

"The plan is to make sure that the curlers from the curling club can get in and get out and play the game in a safe manner. Then, we'll try to add in more programming on outside of things as we see the curling club succeed."

Muise and her women's team were originally eligible to compete for a shot at the Alberta title and, potentially, national women's championship this season. Those championships have been cancelled.

They won the national Travelers Curling Club Championship in 2018 and were required to wait a season before trying again.

Muise says her team will continue league play this year and will attempt to make the nationals in the 2021-22 season.

You can find out more about the Cochrane Curling Club and their return to play plan here.