I had a conversation yesterday with Greg Stremlaw for an upcoming article I'm doing and was once again refreshed with his honesty, professionalism and dedication. It's quite refreshing (if you know what I mean!).
We discussed many things, including the CCA's financial status, which is back in the black thanks to his attention to details, some cutting, belt-tightening and a big cheque from the folks in Edmonton who are hosting the Trials. What I really liked about his thoughts on this topic was that it's no time to rest. Yes, the CCA corrected the problem it had, but there's no reason why it should stop there. It needs to keep watching the bottome line so it can invest in the future.
Stremlaw said the association is well-positioned from now until 2010 but he's thinking long-term, past the Olympics when the dew will be gone. There's a real need to get more people tossing rocks and he acknowledges that. IT will take money and effort to bring new people into the game -- folks from non-traditional curling backgrounds, i.e. new Canadians, and that means starting from ground zero.
He also said that many of the provincial association are working with the CCA to see where they can save funds by ending duplication of services. Wow -- what a novel idea (that's sarcasm there, folks). Why didn't this happen, oh, about 500 years ago?
Anyway, the full story will be in the Ontario Curling Report in a few weeks.
Until then, the Continental Cup. Tomorrow I'll give my annual rant on this silly event.
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