Curling chair resigns in wake of soccer abuse investigation
The chair of the Saskatchewan Curling Association resigned Thursday in the wake of an abuse investigation that uncovered incidents of player harassment.
Beverlee M. L’Errico was the first person to be named to the provincial inquiry this week and had previously acted as the organization’s vice-president.
Michele Snedden, who took over as the association’s chief executive officer Wednesday, said L’Errico stepped down because she believed the organization needed “structure, leadership and confidence.”
However, she also had been frustrated with the provincial investigation into the recent scandal at the Curling Club of Regina’s curling arena on Lulitch Road.
Michele said L’Errico felt that her role as vice-president was hindering the association’s ability to move forward with its mandate to grow the sport in Saskatchewan.
“We’ll now continue with the investigation,” said Snedden.
That investigation will continue in private and then be shared with L’Errico’s replacement as the association’s CEO, and then it will be presented to L’Errico.
‘Stunned’
Beverlee L’Errico announced her resignation Thursday. (Google Maps)
“I was, I guess, stunned that it took so long for people to come forward and to speak out,” said L’Errico.
“I’m obviously shocked that this happened again, and I was shocked that so many times people didn’t say anything or say nothing.”
The Curling Club of Regina and the Curling Club of Saskatoon are the only curling clubs in the province. They both operate in the same community, but while the Regina club operates a rink, the Saskatoon club does not.
L’Errico said she was frustrated at the time it took to discover the extent of the abuse, which she said did nothing to help the organization improve its image.
“They were all in the wrong place for the right reasons,” she said.
She also said she felt that the organization’s response was not as quick or efficient as it could have been. She said she and other association members were also frustrated because they had become accustomed to only hearing about an occasional complaint about a player that ended up being dealt with by referees or