Liidlii Kue/Fort Simpson - As regular curlers pull out their brooms and get ready for the start of curling season Leah Keats is hoping to lure out some new players.

The Fort Simpson Curling Club is hoping to get more curlers out this year. Michael Rowe, left, and Raymond Lirette were among the curlers who competed in last year's opening bonspiel. - NNSL file photo

This year the goal for the Fort Simpson Curling Club is to build up membership and encourage more people to try the sport, said Keats, the club's new president.

Last year the club had approximately 12 regular teams with up to 19 teams competing at the bonspiels but numbers used to be higher, Keats said.

"It's a great group of people but we just need some new blood," she said.

To draw back the crowds the club is bringing back some familiar events and sprucing up some areas.

Plans are underway to bring in a member of the NWT Curling Association to run curling clinics in the village. The clinics usually run yearly but weren't held last year, Keats said.

The dates haven't been set yet, but the plan is to hold the clinics before Christmas so curlers will be able to use their new skills during the season, said Keats.

Curlers will be able to display their skills during the regular tournaments, which will include the Cash Spiel, the Fort Simpson Merchant's bonspiel and the Family Glo-spiel.

Beginners shouldn't be intimidated about coming out, Keats said.

"It's not competitive," she said.

The club has about five members who actually know what curling is about and everyone else is out for fun, she said. Curling also provides a good way to be active and socialize in the winter, said Keats.

To make the club a more comfortable place to socialize renovations and improvements are also being planned for the curling lounge in the recreation centre. The bar area needs a sink and running water and the security measures need to be strengthened, Keats said. The lounge was broken into numerous times last year.

"We just need to make the lounge a little more functional," she said.

The club is also working to draw in curlers from outside of the village.

This year for the first time the club will sponsor one curling team with up to $500 to attend a bonspiel somewhere else in the North. The idea is that other curling clubs will return the favour by sending teams to Fort Simpson bonspiels.

"It's a way of promoting our club," she said.

As soon as the ice is ready, regular curling nights will be held on Fridays. The ice will also be open to curling on Mondays. Junior curlers will practise on Tuesday evenings while Little Rocks play on Wednesday afternoons.

Club membership prices have remained stable with fees of $110 per person on a team, $45 for a spare, $35 for an associate membership and a $10 drop in fee.