The Estevan Oilfield Technical Society (OTS) still hopes to have its two marquee events of the year.
The OTS had to postpone its annual open curling bonspiel, scheduled for March 21 and 22, and its annual golf tournament, which was slated to run from May 29-31, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Oilmen’s golf tournament is slated for Sept. 11, which would make it an abbreviated version. The format is not yet decided.
“We prepared ourselves to secure a day at the golf course, and then as the day nears, we’ll see what parameters we have to live within as an association,” said Estevan OTS president Conrad Meili.
The bonspiel, meanwhile, will be Oct. 23 and 24, also likely to be an abbreviated fashion. Traditionally the bonspiel has been the final event of the year at the curling club, so it will hopefully open the 2020-21 season.
Both events have traditionally had meals and a social component as part of them.
He’s confident that if the OTS is able to host the event, then the people will come.
Meili said the majority of people have handled the decision to postpone well.
“The bonspiel feedback I got was that people were happy that we didn’t decide to just scrap it entirely, that we still gave it an opportunity for something to look forward to as we come out of this,” said Meili.
People were happy to see that the two marquee events weren’t cancelled.
The OTS remains a big part of the community and the oilpatch. The events are great social activities, and Meili remembers when they provided an introduction to the community during a busier time in 2007.
“It was a way for me to get integrated and meet people and get to know them, and those relationships have carried on for a significant period of time.”
He knows of those who have been involved or the face of the organization at different points of time, and it’s created job opportunities or door openings that might not have existed if they didn’t volunteer or contribute to the community.
In the community, the OTS has its lobster trailer that has undergone a significant facelift. They’re starting to look at dates in 2021, when they hope life will be back to normal in the region.
It means they will be seen at events such as the OTS golf tournament, the Saskatchewan Oil and Gas Show in Weyburn, a lobster dinner in Oxbow and the Rotary Club of Estevan’s annual lobsterfest next year.
They had a structural engineer look at the derrick at the west end of the city to ensure it would be there for some time to come. And they have also worked with the City of Estevan on the oilfield-related displays at the Eli Mandel Park in east Estevan.
“We’ll be putting up some signage around all of the different components that will indicate the extraction of oil and how it gets from the ground to a transportable and sellable resource.”
