Meet our Ice Technician - Roger Huff
We want to take a moment to let everyone know a bit more about the person behind the scenes that produces the great curling ice we get to curl on here in Sylvan Lake. Roger Huff is the curling ice technician for the Town of Sylvan Lake and comes from a family of ice techs. Ice making in the Huff family started with Roger’s father, Marvin Huff. Marv began his icemaking career back in 1974 and operated a company called Marv’s Ice Service. Marv did the ice for several curling clubs in the Edmonton area including the Thistle Curling Club. Other family members that were involved in the curling ice business included his uncle, Doug Huff, brothers Daryl and Robin, and Roger’s partner Jill. Between Roger and his family, they provided top quality curling ice for many clubs including Leduc, Beaumont, Spruce Grove, Barrhead, Stony Plain, Lamont, and the Thistle in Edmonton.
In 1991, Roger was registered to attend post secondary education as a Phys Ed teacher when his father offered him the opportunity to become an ice technician. Fortunately for the curling world, he chose the ice tech route. In his early career, Roger soon took over the icemaking at the Thistle Club when his father changed to manager of the club. Through much of his career, his partner Jill has worked alongside him as assistant ice tech. During his first twenty-one years as an ice technician Roger also worked as greenskeeper and assisted in managing the Kinsmen Pitch n’ Putt Golf Course in Edmonton’s river valley.
Some other interesting aspects of his career have been helping create ice for several high-profile events such as two Pinty’s bonspiels and the Senior Men’s and Ladies World Championship. Working at these world class events and his long family career of icemaking has made Roger a perfectionist with regards to every aspect of creating good curling ice. Now for those that haven’t had the opportunity to learn a bit about what goes into creating good ice here are a few tidbits from Roger. To start with, curling ice techs have a saying that some people make good ice and others just freeze water. Ice making starts with good water. The water must be run through a reverse osmosis system to remove impurities and get the correct PH. Good curling ice requires a proper balance of both ice and air temperature to ensure the ice surface is keen but also hard enough to not lose the pebble partway through the game. Air flow and relative humidity must be managed to ensure the surface is consistent and does not have any frost buildup. Roger scrapes the ice surface about three times per week to maintain a smooth even surface. Pebbling requires a fine base pebble using 90 degree water and then a larger top pebble using 120 degree water. After the pebble, the ice is nipped and swept just before the start of the game. How the pebble is applied can affect the keenness of the ice as well as the amount of curl. Another factor effecting the amount of curl is texturing of the rocks by scratching the running surface with sandpaper. This will significantly affect the amount of curl for the rocks and is a very precise task that is only done once or twice per year at the club level of curling.
In addition to making the ice, Roger is also an avid curler and is still curling in the men’s league here in Sylvan Lake. He has curled with some very competitive teams along the way and helped develop some young curlers including a young Ted Appelman who later continued on to become the alternate team member for Kevin Koe. He is also very willing to help with making draws for bonspiels, looking for ideas to improve the club and actively recruiting new curlers.
With thirty-one years in the icemaking business, Roger is now helping to train his current assistant Carter Graham. Carter has taken the level one ice tech course and has been working alongside Roger for the past year. I’m sure Roger’s skills and knowledge will help Carter become an excellent ice tech in the future.
If you ever have a chance to sit down with Roger, you will be sure to get lots of stories about curling. Roger jokingly says that one of the biggest challenges of icemaking is convincing curlers that sometimes it isn’t the ice or the rocks that made you miss the shot and just maybe you missed the broom.
In 1991, Roger was registered to attend post secondary education as a Phys Ed teacher when his father offered him the opportunity to become an ice technician. Fortunately for the curling world, he chose the ice tech route. In his early career, Roger soon took over the icemaking at the Thistle Club when his father changed to manager of the club. Through much of his career, his partner Jill has worked alongside him as assistant ice tech. During his first twenty-one years as an ice technician Roger also worked as greenskeeper and assisted in managing the Kinsmen Pitch n’ Putt Golf Course in Edmonton’s river valley.
Some other interesting aspects of his career have been helping create ice for several high-profile events such as two Pinty’s bonspiels and the Senior Men’s and Ladies World Championship. Working at these world class events and his long family career of icemaking has made Roger a perfectionist with regards to every aspect of creating good curling ice. Now for those that haven’t had the opportunity to learn a bit about what goes into creating good ice here are a few tidbits from Roger. To start with, curling ice techs have a saying that some people make good ice and others just freeze water. Ice making starts with good water. The water must be run through a reverse osmosis system to remove impurities and get the correct PH. Good curling ice requires a proper balance of both ice and air temperature to ensure the ice surface is keen but also hard enough to not lose the pebble partway through the game. Air flow and relative humidity must be managed to ensure the surface is consistent and does not have any frost buildup. Roger scrapes the ice surface about three times per week to maintain a smooth even surface. Pebbling requires a fine base pebble using 90 degree water and then a larger top pebble using 120 degree water. After the pebble, the ice is nipped and swept just before the start of the game. How the pebble is applied can affect the keenness of the ice as well as the amount of curl. Another factor effecting the amount of curl is texturing of the rocks by scratching the running surface with sandpaper. This will significantly affect the amount of curl for the rocks and is a very precise task that is only done once or twice per year at the club level of curling.
In addition to making the ice, Roger is also an avid curler and is still curling in the men’s league here in Sylvan Lake. He has curled with some very competitive teams along the way and helped develop some young curlers including a young Ted Appelman who later continued on to become the alternate team member for Kevin Koe. He is also very willing to help with making draws for bonspiels, looking for ideas to improve the club and actively recruiting new curlers.
With thirty-one years in the icemaking business, Roger is now helping to train his current assistant Carter Graham. Carter has taken the level one ice tech course and has been working alongside Roger for the past year. I’m sure Roger’s skills and knowledge will help Carter become an excellent ice tech in the future.
If you ever have a chance to sit down with Roger, you will be sure to get lots of stories about curling. Roger jokingly says that one of the biggest challenges of icemaking is convincing curlers that sometimes it isn’t the ice or the rocks that made you miss the shot and just maybe you missed the broom.
We thank the following sponsors for their support for the Strathcona Cup 2023!
Happy New Year everyone! Important Update, the Men's Bonspiel has been cancelled for this year. Please check out the "upcoming events" page for other bonspiels happening in the near future.
Strathcona Cup
Come out and join us to cheer on the local Alberta teams when they take on Scotland in the Strathcona Cup on January 21, 2023. The fun starts at 4:00 with the grand entry and welcome to the five teams from Scotland. Game time is 4:30.
Strathcona Cup
Come out and join us to cheer on the local Alberta teams when they take on Scotland in the Strathcona Cup on January 21, 2023. The fun starts at 4:00 with the grand entry and welcome to the five teams from Scotland. Game time is 4:30.
Online league registration is still open for Monday or Wednesday Juniors, Tuesday Ladies, Wednesday Mixed, and Thursday Mens leagues! There is room for a couple more teams in each league so get your team signed up!
The Sylvan Curling Club has a proud tradition of building and supporting the local curling community for the last 100+ years. All curlers and curlers-to-be are welcome to participate in our learn to curl programs, play in our leagues or attend our events.
After a great start to our season on October 3, 2022 we still have some spots to fill in our leagues. If your team has not registered yet there is still time. If this is a sport you have wanted to try, check out our learn to curl programs. Contact: sylvanlakecurling@gmail.com for more information.
The Sylvan Curling Club has a proud tradition of building and supporting the local curling community for the last 100+ years. All curlers and curlers-to-be are welcome to participate in our learn to curl programs, play in our leagues or attend our events.
After a great start to our season on October 3, 2022 we still have some spots to fill in our leagues. If your team has not registered yet there is still time. If this is a sport you have wanted to try, check out our learn to curl programs. Contact: sylvanlakecurling@gmail.com for more information.
We are currently looking for people to fill the role of Vice President, and a couple of Directors. If you are interested or know someone who might be interested in any of these positions, please have them put their name forward. We would love to have you join the executive team.
Alberta Curling Association
Every year, a small part of your registration fee goes to help fund the Alberta Curling Association. Are you curious about what the money is used for and what they do to support our local club? Check out the brochure below to get some info about the great support that they provide to clubs around the province.
Every year, a small part of your registration fee goes to help fund the Alberta Curling Association. Are you curious about what the money is used for and what they do to support our local club? Check out the brochure below to get some info about the great support that they provide to clubs around the province.
The 2021/2022 Curling Season should be a great one!
Hopefully the world will be starting to get back to normal this fall. We are planning to start our league curling in mid-October with the final dates to be determined by early September. Our AGM is planned for September 23, 2021 so please come out and join us to get the latest information. If you are interested, there are usually positions on the executive board. This year we will be offering all of our regular leagues and bonspiels with a couple of minor changes to be announced soon. Registration for all leagues will be available through the Curling Club website.
The Curling Club and the Town will be working together to make sure our facility and curling activities meet all COVID-19 protocols as outlined by Curling Alberta, Curl Canada and Alberta Health Services. The safety of our membership and facility staff is of the highest importance and we will make every effort possible to ensure our curlers can truly enjoy our sport over the coming season. For more information, you can go to the Curling Alberta or Curl Canada websites.
We are looking forward to seeing you back on the ice very soon.
Sylvan Lake Curling Club
Have fun! We have a great group of curlers with all levels of experience on the ice. We want to see those smiles and those laughs! We want to hear the "nice shot" from across the ice!!
Hopefully the world will be starting to get back to normal this fall. We are planning to start our league curling in mid-October with the final dates to be determined by early September. Our AGM is planned for September 23, 2021 so please come out and join us to get the latest information. If you are interested, there are usually positions on the executive board. This year we will be offering all of our regular leagues and bonspiels with a couple of minor changes to be announced soon. Registration for all leagues will be available through the Curling Club website.
The Curling Club and the Town will be working together to make sure our facility and curling activities meet all COVID-19 protocols as outlined by Curling Alberta, Curl Canada and Alberta Health Services. The safety of our membership and facility staff is of the highest importance and we will make every effort possible to ensure our curlers can truly enjoy our sport over the coming season. For more information, you can go to the Curling Alberta or Curl Canada websites.
We are looking forward to seeing you back on the ice very soon.
Sylvan Lake Curling Club
Have fun! We have a great group of curlers with all levels of experience on the ice. We want to see those smiles and those laughs! We want to hear the "nice shot" from across the ice!!
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Please join us in congratulating Crystal Graham on winning Curling Alberta’s Instructor of the Year award!!
Crystal has been instrumental in the success of the junior curling program in Sylvan Lake. She has dedicated countless hours to coaching and organizing bonspiels and is the lead instructor for curling clinics held each year at the club. Crystal has a strong passion for curling and provides mentorship to players at all levels of the game.
Congratulations Crystal!! We appreciate your dedication to our Curling Club!
Crystal has been instrumental in the success of the junior curling program in Sylvan Lake. She has dedicated countless hours to coaching and organizing bonspiels and is the lead instructor for curling clinics held each year at the club. Crystal has a strong passion for curling and provides mentorship to players at all levels of the game.
Congratulations Crystal!! We appreciate your dedication to our Curling Club!
The Club appreciates all of the volunteers
and what they do and continue to do......
Thank you!
and what they do and continue to do......
Thank you!