The lifeblood of any curling rink in our country are the customers whether they are members, renters or casual players. The local curling rinks are community hubs and are very important to each of the communities where they operate.

Part of this re-opening plan will be communicating with your members and other user groups. This is a priority. Message them about your plans. Survey them as to their eagerness or reluctance to return to play. We must be respectful of their needs if we hope to fully overcome this crisis as soon as possible.

Here are some real-life best practices we are sharing with you. They are from rinks all across the country.

•  Survey your existing customer list asking them if they will return to play once the ice is in. The list should include members, renters and annual one-time only events (i.e. company bonspiels).

Ask them:

1. Will they return to play with physical distancing restrictions? Yes or No

2. If the answer is no, may we ask why?

3. Will they return to play without physical distancing restrictions, if permitted, yes or no?

4. Do you have any safety or cleanliness concerns on returning to play?

• E-mail your client list asking them to join your Facebook page, or to follow your Twitter feed. Encourage them to post what they have been doing during the pandemic. Or ask them to post curling photos from their curling past. All to keep the customer base active and aware.