A large hike in competition fees for major curling events like the Scotties Tournament of Hearts and the Tim Hortons Brier has raised the ire of some provincial associations.
As of next season, a curler will now have to pay $25 for each event entered, well up from the existing flat fee of $15 which covers all major tournaments. What's more, the Canadian Curling Association's decision to raise fees was done without consulting the provincial curling associations.
Jeremiah Anderson, executive director of the Nova Scotia Curling Association, expects the hike to scare off competitors.
"The NSCA is worried this change will affect the number of entries that we will get in our own competitions," said Anderson. "Potentially for some competitors you are looking at three events. You're talking $75 verses what was $15."
With the CCA forecasting a deficit in excess of $100,000, the move is being seen a cash cow to help make ends meet.
"It will be going into covering the costs of primarily those championships that they run," said Anderson, whose organization has sent a letter to the CCA complaining about the move. "Basically the last couple of years they've lost money on their championships and instead of taking it out of general revenues they're trying to make the events cost-effective."
Some curlers, like six-time Canadian champion Colleen Jones, believe the decision to raise fees smacks of greed.
"It is definitely a cash cow and it will be interesting to see how many curlers buy competitive cards," said Jones. "Plus you have to look at the fact that (CCA executive director) Dave Parkes gave himself quite a raise last year so the optics aren't good.
"It's just an extra sort of tax for the curlers where they're forced to pay it. Are we just paying for money that wasn't wisely spent?"
The Alberta Curling Federation is also questioning why the CCA hiked fees without consulting the provinces.
"The worry from a number of member associations is it's going to mean people may not participate at all or may choose to participate in just one event instead of two or three," said executive director Jim Pringle. "Obviously the Canadian Curling Association found itself in a position where it was projecting a deficit budget and had asked for potential ways of balancing the budget for the upcoming year."
Boosting the competitors fee was not something that had been discussed, said Pringle, and the CCA rejected a number of cost-cutting measures recommended by the member associations.
Parkes was on vacation and couldn't be reached for comment. Calls to CCA president Donna Duffett were not returned.
Not everyone thinks the fee increase is a concern. Two-time Brier champion Kevin Martin of Edmonton said major events do cost a lot of money and a need for the curlers to pay more makes sense.
"Gee whiz. I don't want to make anybody mad but I think the sport has maybe been too reasonably priced for a long time," said Martin. "To have to pay for every event I think is kind of smart because there's quite a bit of cost involved in each individual event.
"I don't usually back the CCA in many things but I am today," he laughed.
Martin estimates that the fee would likely affect between 3,000 and 4,000 curlers who start out the year hoping to make the Brier. A similar number would likely be reflected in the rundown to the Canadian Women's Curling Championship.
But Jones said even though the idea of a competitors card is a good one, the increase simply adds to the cost burden for competitive curlers.
"To pay for every event you're having to go in? You already have to pay an entry fee to go into these events," said Jones. "It's not like curlers are playing in zones and provincials for free — there's an entry fee on top of that.
"I think it's sort of hard to understand whether it's justified since you don't know the costs of the events the CCA is running anyhow."
