By Elizabeth Huber
Saskatchewan

In less than two weeks curling fans of the world will have their eyes fixed on Swift Current.

For any Credit Union i-plex regulars, the facility will be barely recognizable. The arena is the curling ice, the curling rink a bar and every closet nook and cranny will be, well, crammed with media technicians — from both TSN and World Curling TV —vendors, souvenir stores and information booths.

Following the final buzzer at the Swift Current Broncos’ last home game March 13 operation flip the rink will go into high gear.

City crews start taking the hockey glass out of the arena and at about the same time, a pair of professional ice makers from the Canadian Curling Association backed by a local ice-making crew will be here to start the conversion from hockey ice to curling ice.

“By Monday it will probably start looking like curling place,” said Rob Dewhirst, event manager of 2010 Ford World Women’s Curling.

Another major portion of the flip is the installation of a media bench at the open end of the arena floor.
Spanning more than 80 feet wide to allow for cameras behind each ice, the media bench will be two rows high and then a third are camera platforms for all the broadcasters.

“We have had electricians in (the i-plex) for two weeks now getting prepared,” said Dewhirst, to ensure the facility can support the two mobile media trucks and the lighting and entertainment system in Keith’s Patch on the curling rink side. Keith’s Patch hosts entertainment each night and has stage and two large screens set up at the back of the room.

Camera trusses will also be put in over the ice surface so broadcasters can show the perfect button shots. The trusses won’t be set up until Wednesday before the event.

There are more than 25 technicians per TV crew and then at least five people from China and Japan that will work with the world curling TV crew, explained Dewhirst.

“It gets anxious and is going to come fast, but we will be ready,” he said. It takes a lot less time to tear the event down and flip the facilities back to their normal than it took to set it up.

One truck of supplies has already been unloaded, the curling rocks are in Regina and another truck will be coming from the Briar in Halifax.

One bonus is Keith’s Patch and curling facility are located in the same building, noted Dewhirst. There have been some centres where people have had to find transportation between the rink and the patch.