Club Announcements
Board of Directors April Meeting Notice
The Board of Directors will next meet on Monday, April 5th [call-in details on the club calendar, add to your Google calendar, or download the iCal file]. Two significant items are on the agenda:
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Junior Program Expansion Proposal in Collaboration with SFBACC
The Board will continue discussion about the proposed expansion of the SVCC Junior Program. The proposal includes the purchase of several SFBACC “Lifetime Memberships.” These memberships would be assigned to SVCC Junior members as annual sponsorships to provide additional ice time and facilitate the formation of junior teams with players from around the region. Funding for this program would come from the substantial surplus that SVCC has built. Due to the size of this proposed expenditure ($10k), the Board wants to ensure the membership is informed of the proposal. Additional information can be found in the minutes from the March BoD meeting and the thread in #theboard on Slack (this also includes a discussion of pre-buying bonspiel ice time). Questions and comments are welcome at the upcoming board meeting, on Slack, and by email to board@siliconvalleycurling.com. -
Return to Curling Planning
In anticipation of getting back on the ice, our Return to Curling and COVID-19 Response plans have been updated and are available on the SVCC Public Drive. The Return to Curling Plan outlines the policies, procedures, and guidelines for mitigating risks of COVID-19 while curling. The COVID-19 Response Plan describes how the club will respond to a report of a case, including information sharing requirements. Policies and procedures are subject to change based on feedback from members and Sharks Ice, and/or any new developments. All members must read and acknowledge the latest revision of both documents before participating in on-ice activities.
2021-2022 Membership Opening Soon
New and returning members will be able to purchase memberships for the 2021-2022 season soon (date TBD). 2020-2021 members will be able to renew their membership at a discounted rate. Pricing will be as follows (regular / 20-21 member rate):
- Regular Club: $75 / $40
- Reciprocal Club: $50 / $40
- Junior Club: $30 / $25
- Reciprocal Junior: $30 / $25
- Youth: $15 / $10
- Social: $20 / $20
As a reminder, 2020-2021 memberships are valid through June 30, 2021. Returning members are welcome to renew their membership early to prevent any disruption to membership benefits. If you have questions about your membership status, please email membership@siliconvalleycurling.com.
Custom SVCC Masks Available
Masks of all sizes (XS to XL) are still available in the online store for $15 each. If you are between 2 sizes, it is likely that either size will work for you, but the larger size might provide better coverage. Contact Melissa Wheeler on Slack or by email if you have any questions.
Upcoming Social Events
Virtual Broomstacking is back!
We’ve all been so glued to our TVs watching live curling that it’s been a few weeks since we’ve gotten together to catch up. The wait is over! Join us this Tuesday March 30th at 8 pm. Well be refreshing our memories on how shot calling works by breaking into teams and playing some curling.gg. Call in link is here and will be posted on Slack. (Please note, we’ve run into a minor issue making updates to the calendar and it may be out of date. Check Slack for details or contactsocial@siliconvalleycurling.com if you have questions about upcoming events)
Men’s World Championships are coming!
Starting Friday, April 2, the Men’s World Championships start in the Calgary bubble. Several of Team Shuster’s games will be carried by NBC (Olympic Channel/NBC Sports) and additional games will be available through the World Curling TV YouTube channel. Check this spreadsheet for where games can be streamed. ( Thanks to Rocks Across the Pond podcast for compiling & Diane Palme for posting the link. )
Men’s World Championship Pick ‘Em
Submit your picks for the Men’s Worlds Pick ‘Em! Prizes include pride, bragging rights, and a sense of awesomeness. Entries will be accepted until 5 pm on Saturday, April 3.
Contact the social committee viaemail or Slack #social to suggest a social event or schedule your broomstacking idea for an upcoming night.
COVID-19 Status
Santa Clara County has moved into the Orange tier, and Alameda county is expected to join it next week. See the Blueprint for a Safer Economy for tier details.
As you may have heard, curling is permitted under the Orange tier according to the Outdoor and Indoor Youth and Adult Recreation Guide (displays best on desktop). The SVCC Board has reached out to Sharks Ice to plan our return to the ice!
Member Corner
We are back with another highlight from the assortment of projects members have been working on throughout the pandemic. This week, we’re featuring the work of Justin Legg, a train enthusiast who has taken his love of model trains to the next level with 3D printing!
3D printed model train
Like many members, Justin has used shelter-in-place to explore other interests (outside of curling) and learn new skills or hone existing ones. Justin has found a way to combine engineering and a passion for trains by printing his own model trains at home, thanks to the recent availability of more affordable high-resolution 3D printers. Resolution is key when it comes to model trains. If you have ever been to a model train museum or have seen train sets in stores, you may have noticed that train models come in several different sizes. Justin models in N-scale or 1:160 scale, meaning models are 1/160 the size of their real-life counterparts. The steam locomotive model above is based on the Santa Fe 4-8-4 #3751. That’s a lot of detail to shrink down!
Getting the printer is only one part of the equation, however. Before he can print an N-scale model, Justin needs a computerized draft of the train he wishes to print. The one used for the print above was created by Justin from scratch using CAD (computer-aided design), a software tool used to generate 3D models. (On a related note, original hand-drafted 2D drawings still exist. Justin has enjoyed tracking down copies by searching for out-of-print books, visiting historical societies, and museum libraries. The drafts are very general, however, and need details to be filled in.) Draft at the ready, printing can start. Printing time varies based on factors like resolution and layer exposure time and lasts anywhere from 30 minutes to 7 days or longer. Justin’s model took 17 hours to print! And that’s not even the end of it. After printing, the piece still needs to be painted up to look just like the real-life version.
To some, it might seem like a lot of work for a model train. To Justin, there is an “aura of elegance and adventure around train travel” that keeps him motivated. He has been interested in trains since he was young-not only did his dad collect trains, but his family often went on train rides on family road trips. Now, he is an avid collector of model trains, being particularly fascinated with steam locomotives. Justin owns at least a dozen locomotives, in addition to a number of rail cars, that represent “the era when some of the finest passenger trains graced the rails and steam power was at its peak.” (Era referring to the 1930s-1950s.) To him, 3D printing is an opportunity to create a wide variety of models that haven’t been available before and another way to explore the unique locomotive designs of the steam era.
We look forward to seeing the finished product and any future models that Justin creates. We don’t know about you, but we are feeling inspired and are ready to hop on the next steam train that rolls on through.
Written by Jennifer Asis. Picture used with permission from Justin Legg.
We’re always looking for new stories to share. If you’ve been working on something that you’d like to share with the club, send it to us at social@siliconvalleycurling.com
Super Reader Reward
As spring is coming out in full swing, it’s time to get ready for all the fresh fruits and veggies that will be peak season! Since our farmer’s markets and grocery stores will soon be inundated with strawberries, you can be prepared for the surplus with these delicious strawberry recipes.
_If you have ideas you’d like to share for future SRR’s, please submit them with this form. _