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Ottawa Curling Club

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Coordinates: 45°24′39″N 75°41′25″W / 45.41081°N 75.69015°W / 45.41081; -75.69015
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Ottawa Curling Club
Entrance to the club.
Entrance to the club.
Location440 O'Connor Street
Ottawa, Ontario
K2P 1W4
45°24′39″N 75°41′25″W / 45.41081°N 75.69015°W / 45.41081; -75.69015
Information
Established1851
Founder(s)Allan Gilmour
Club typeDedicated Ice
Curling Canada regionOCA Zone 1
Sheets of iceFive
Rock coloursRed and Yellow   
Websitewww.ottawacurlingclub.ca

The Ottawa Curling Club is an historic curling club located on O'Connor Street in the Centretown neighbourhood of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It is the oldest curling club in Ottawa, established in 1851 by Allan Gilmour as the Bytown Curling Club. The Club first played on the Rideau Canal until 1858. It subsequently moved to different locations around the city until finally settling at its current location on O'Connor in 1916. In 1931 the club was expanded to the current capacity of 5 curling sheets. Artificial ice was also installed at that time.

The club is home to 2017 and 2024 World Champion and 2018 and 2022 Olympian Rachel Homan, and is the former home of 1998 and 1999 Junior Men's World Curling Champion and 2018 and 2022 Olympian John Morris. The Ottawa Curling Club is one of two clubs in Downtown Ottawa, the other is the Rideau Curling Club, which maintains a rivalry with the Ottawa.

History

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Ottawa Curling Club, 1904

The By Town Curling Club was established in 1851 under the presidency of lumber businessman Allan Gilmour. Its earliest facility was a rudimentary shed located near Lisgar Street adjoining the Rideau Canal. Canal water was used to construct the single ice sheet. The club constructed a new rink on Albert Street east of O'Connor in 1867, expanding play to two sheets. In 1878, the club spent $510 to move the building structure to a property near Wellington Street west of Kent on the former Vittoria Street which is today federal property in the Supreme Court district. The rink structure was replaced by a brick building which opened in December 1906. In 1914, the club lost the land due to a significant federal government expropriation.[1]

The club's present location was opened in December 1916 when premises on O'Connor Street were provided through a gift by James Manuel, a wealthy local businessman, curler and club president.[1] In 1927, the club was threatened with eviction by Toronto General Trusts which represented Manuel's estate at that time. The club maintained that the terms of agreement with Manuel that it had rightful control of the property as long as the facilities were maintained for curling.[2] In the following year, the courts ruled that the club had no formal claim to the property due to the club's unincorporated status at that time, combined with the lack of a written will or agreement regarding Manuel's wishes. The club therefore was required to purchase the property from the estate.[3]

Formal incorporation of the Ottawa Curling Club Limited was completed in 1929.[1] Artificial ice and expansion from four to five sheets followed in 1931.[1]

Presidents

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  1. 1851–1895: Col. Allan Gilmour
  2. 1895–1914: John Manuel
  3. 1914–1917: James Manuel
  4. 1918–1921: William Manuel
  5. 1922–1936: George F. Henderson, KC
  6. 1936–1942: Hugh Carson
  7. 1942–1950: Darcy Finn
  8. 1950–1952: Olin Beach
  9. 1952–1955: W.E. Hodgins
  10. 1955–1958: Ted Moffat
  11. 1958–1961: B. Brocklesby
  12. 1961–1963: Howard Grills
  13. 1964–1966: Alan Brown
  14. 1966–1968: Gordie Perry
  15. 1968–1970: Harold Scrim
  16. 1970–1972: Bill Davis
  17. 1972–1974: E. Macdonald
  18. 1974–1976: Don MacKinnon
  19. 1976–1978: Dick Rich
  20. 1978–1980: Dave Smith
  21. 1980–1982: Stan Grover
  22. 1982–1984: Ted Root
  23. 1984–1986: Pat Craig
  24. 1986–1988: Bob York
  25. 1988–1990: Rod Matheson
  26. 1990–1992: Sandra Chisholm
  27. 1992–1994: Brad Shinn
  28. 1994–1996: Steve Mitchell
  29. 1996–1998: Eric Johannsen
  30. 1998–2000: Barbara Brown
  31. 2000–2002: Terry Clark
  32. 2002–2004: Gord Perry
  33. 2004–2006: Gayle Greene
  34. 2006–2008: Gord Critch
  35. 2008–2012: Geoff Colley
  36. 2012–2014: Michael Loewen
  37. 2014–2016: Tom Sinclair
  38. 2016–2018: Matthew Kellett
  39. 2018–2020: Eddie Chow
  40. 2020–2022: Michael Burke
  41. 2022–present: Nicole Merriman

Leagues

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The Ottawa Curling Club has a number of different curling leagues that participate at the club. Some are club leagues, while others (like the teachers league or the Rainbow Rockers Curling League) are rentals. Official leagues at the club are the Monday Ladder (open), Business Women (Tuesday), Getting Started/Learn to Curl (Tuesday), Open Cash (Wednesday), Business Men (Thursday), Mixed (Friday), Saturday Men, Sunday Open, Daytime League, Colts (under 5 years of experience) and the University/College League.

Cash League

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The cash league which runs Wednesday evenings is the league with the highest calibre of curling. Some of the top curlers in the world curl in the cash league at the Ottawa Curling Club. Winners of games receive money, which can vary depending on the level the teams involved are at. The league is open, so there are both men's and women's teams. Curlers in the OCC Cash league include Lynn Kreviazuk, Cheryl Kreviazuk, David Mathers, Lee Merklinger, Erin Morrissey, Karen Trines, Kira Brunton, Jean-Michel Ménard, Jenn Hanna, and Lisa Weagle.[4]

University / College League

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For the 2006–07 season, the Ottawa Curling Club introduced a league on Sunday nights for students in the Ottawa area to participate. At the time, no university in the city had a curling team, so this league was created to facilitate interest in curling from students in Ottawa. At the end of the year, the first championship was played between Carleton University and the University of Ottawa with Carleton winning 6–4.[5]

Club Champions

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The club championship is held annually. It is a playoff round featuring the top teams from each of the leagues at the club.

Inter-club competitions

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The club plays in several longstanding competitions against other clubs in the area:

The club competes against the Buckingham Curling Club in the Currier Cup, which began in the 1860s, making it one of the oldest curling trophies in the world.[6] At the time, the two clubs were the only ones in the Ottawa area. The trophy was donated by Joseph Merrill Currier, local Member of Parliament.[7]

The club competes against the Rideau Curling Club in the "Ottawa–Rideau Challenge", an event which began on January 9, 1909. The challenge was held 20 times between 1909 and 1913, and was not revived until 1987.[8] It has been held regularly on an annual basis ever since, and is usually held between Christmas and New Years.

As a member of the Canadian Branch, the club also competes in the Quebec Challenge Cup which began in 1874. The club has won the cup in 1878–79, 1882–84, 1891–95, 1906, 1908, 1923–24,[9] 1934, 1950[10]–51,[11] 1957, 2016[12] and has held it since 2023. The club first competed for the Cup in 1877, and won 58 games between then and 1957.[13]

Famous past members

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  • Sir Sanford Fleming, inventor of standard time[14]
  • Alexander Mackenzie, former Prime Minister of Canada[14]
  • John Morris & Brent Laing, 1998 & 1999 World Junior Champions[15]
  • Brad Gushue - Alternate for John Morris at the 1998 World Junior Championships (Member in name only)[15]
  • Melanie Robillard - curled with Jenn Hanna in 2000 and as part of the German National Team with Andrea Schöpp won the 2008 European Mixed Championships Kitzbühel, Austria, won the 2009 Women European Championships Aberdeen, Scotland, participated with the German National Team that finished 6th in the Women Curling event at the Olympics in Vancouver and was part of the German Women National Curling Team that won the Women World Curling Championships Swift Current, Saskatchewan, Canada[16]
  • Markku Uusipaavalniemi - skip of the 2006 Olympic silver medallist Finnish team
  • Hugh Millikin - skip of the Australian national team
  • Roy Ananny - Canadian Football League player[17]
  • Ian Palangio - Australian curler.[18]

Events

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The Ottawa and Rideau Curling Clubs used to host the John Shea Insurance Canada Cup Qualifier. In 2003, both clubs hosted the 2003 Canadian Junior Curling Championships. The club also hosted the 2006 and 2007 Canadian Blind Curling Championships. The Club and the Rainbow Rockers league hosted the Canadian Gay Curling Championships twice, in 2011 and in 2019.[19]

Provincial champions

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Year Event Skip Third Second Lead Record at Nationals Record at Worlds
1972 Women's Juniors Judy Jamieson Debbie Grant Lynn Britt Denise Allan T3rd (4–3)[20] -
1972 British Consols Eldon Coombe Keith Forgues Jim Patrick Barry Provost 4th (6–4) N/A
1979 Men's Masters Ted Root Ralph Smith Bob Martin Elwyn MacDonald N/A N/A
1985 Intermediate Men's Russ Taylor Bruce Lonsbery Al Reed Jack Casserly N/A N/A
1990 Men's Masters Ken Hart Roy James Cec Morris Rae Brown N/A N/A
1993 Silver Tankard Brad Shinn
Ian MacAulay		 John Theriault
Bill Gamble		 Dave Korim
Richard Groulx		 Geoff Colley
Barry Conrad		 N/A N/A
1993 Challenge Terry Clark Jack Casserly Wayne Lennon Ian MacAulay N/A N/A
1995 Men's Colts Ken Campbell John Galligan James Sutherland Steve O'Brien N/A N/A
1997 Men's Masters Rod Matheson Jack Ross Bob McKenzie Gord Cummings N/A N/A
1997 Senior Mixed Paul Engelbrecht Bonnie Matheson Rod Matheson Darlene Engelrecht N/A N/A
1997 Men's Juniors John Morris Craig Savill Matt St. Louis Mark Homan 2nd (10–6)
1998 Women's Juniors Jenn Hanna Amanda Vanderspank Julie Colquhoun Stephanie Hanna 2nd (10–3) -
1998 Men's Juniors John Morris Craig Savill Andy Ormsby Brent Laing 1st (12–3) 1st (11–0)
1999 Women's Trophy Laurie Shields Barb Wheatley Andrea Leganchuk Sandra Ribey N/A N/A
1999 Men's Juniors John Morris Craig Savill Jason Young Brent Laing 1st (11–4) 1st (10–1)
2000 Senior Mixed Reg Plaster Donna Lamoureux Randy Garland Dianne Sullivan N/A N/A
2002 Women's Trophy Eveline Shaw Laurie Shields Andrea Leganchuk Sue Kollar N/A N/A
2002 Women's Tankard Eveline Shaw
Joyce Potter		 Laurie Shields
Muriel Potter		 Margaret Pross
Janelle Sadler		 Sue Kollar
Faye Linseman		 N/A N/A
2003 Senior Mixed Randy Garland Eveline Shaw Roger Shaw Margaret Pross N/A N/A
2003 Senior Women's Joyce Potter Muriel Potter Janelle Sadler Faye Linseman 3rd (9–3) -
2005 Men's Masters Rod Matheson Eldon Coombe Ron Brown Georges Bourgon 3rd (5–3) N/A
2005 Scott Tournament of Hearts Jenn Hanna Pascale Letendre Dawn Askin Stephanie Hanna 2nd (11–6) -
2009 Women's Juniors Rachel Homan Emma Miskew Alison Kreviazuk Lynn Kreviazuk 2nd (10–3) -
2010 Women's Juniors Rachel Homan Emma Miskew Laura Crocker Lynn Kreviazuk 1st (13–0) 2nd (9–2)
2011 Men's Juniors Mathew Camm Scott Howard David Mathers Andrew Hamilton 2nd (12–4) -
2011 Scotties Tournament of Hearts Rachel Homan Emma Miskew Alison Kreviazuk Lisa Weagle 4th (9–5) -
2011 Men's Masters Layne Noble Rick Bachand Randy Garland Cal Hegge 3rd (6–2) N/A
2012 Men's Seniors Brian Lewis Jeff McCrady Steve Doty Graham Sinclair 3rd (8–4) -
2012 Men's Grand Masters Rod Matheson Eldon Coombe Jamie Angus John Lockett
2013 Scotties Tournament of Hearts Rachel Homan Emma Miskew Alison Kreviazuk Lisa Weagle 1st (12–1)[a] 3rd (9–4)
2014 Tim Hortons Colts Kevin Rathwell Terry Scharf Graham Rathwell Ian Rathwell
2014 Silver Tankard Don Bowser
Chris Gardner		 Jonathan Beuk
Mike McLean		 Spencer Cooper
Jeff Guignard		 Nick Catizzone
Andrew Hamilton
2015 Mixed Chris Gardner Trish Hill Jonathan Beuk Jessica Barcauskas 3rd (9–3) -
2015 Men's Seniors Jeff McCrady Brian Lewis Mike Johansen Graham Sinclair 5th (7–3) -
2016 Mixed Mike McLean Brit O'Neill Andrew Denny-Petch Karen Sagle 9th (6–3) -
2016 Scotties Tournament of Hearts Jenn Hanna Brit O'Neill Stephanie Hanna Karen Sagle 6th (6–5) -
2017 Scotties Tournament of Hearts Rachel Homan Emma Miskew Joanne Courtney Lisa Weagle 1st (12–2) 1st (13–0)
2017 Men's Colts Sebastien Robillard Ryan McCrady Bowie Abbis-Mills Andrew Denny-Petch
2017 Intermediate Men's Spencer Cooper Don Bowser Steve Allen Rick Allen N/A
2018 Women's Juniors Emma Wallingford Grace Holyoke Lindsay Dubue Hannah Wallingford 5th (6–4)
2019 Scotties Tournament of Hearts Rachel Homan Emma Miskew Joanne Courtney Lisa Weagle 2nd (10–4)
2020 Scotties Tournament of Hearts Rachel Homan Emma Miskew Joanne Courtney Lisa Weagle 2nd (11–3)
2021*[b] Scotties Tournament of Hearts Rachel Homan Emma Miskew Sarah Wilkes Joanne Courtney 2nd (10–3)
2021 Mixed Mike McLean Erin Morrissey Kevin Tippett Erica Hopson 2nd (8–4) -
2022*[c] Scotties Tournament of Hearts Rachel Homan Emma Miskew Sarah Wilkes Joanne Courtney T8th (4-4) -
2023 Scotties Tournament of Hearts Rachel Homan Tracy Fleury (skip) Emma Miskew Sarah Wilkes 5th (6–3)
2023 Mixed Doubles Lynn Kreviazuk David Mathers 8th (6–3)
2024 Mixed Doubles Lynn Kreviazuk David Mathers T18th (3–4)

Notes

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  1. ^ As Scotties champions, the Homan rink represented Canada at the 2014 Scotties Tournament of Hearts, without having to play in the women's provincials.
  2. ^ Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Ontario Scotties were cancelled. Team Homan were chosen by CurlON to represent Ontario at the 2021 Scotties
  3. ^ Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Ontario Scotties were postponed. Team Homan won the Ontario Scotties after 2022 Scotties, but played in the Scotties as "Wild Card #3" without Homan.

References

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  1. ^ a b c d Gladish, W. M. (17 February 1951). "Centennial Bonspiel Foremost Competition". Ottawa Citizen. p. 20. Retrieved 30 January 2010.
  2. ^ "Curling Club Claims Property Ownership". Ottawa Citizen. 15 March 1927. p. 2. Retrieved 30 January 2010.
  3. ^ "Ottawa Curling Club Must Now Purchase Plant". Ottawa Citizen. 9 April 1928. p. 1. Retrieved 30 January 2010.
  4. ^ Ottawa Curling Club Team Listings, 2021-2022 League Teams, Wednesday Cash
  5. ^ The Charlatan – Students catch curling fever
  6. ^ "Curling". Ottawa Citizen. 15 March 1937. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
  7. ^ "Buckingham and Ottawa Curlers Play in Currier Cup Competition". Ottawa Citizen. 6 March 1925. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
  8. ^ "Rideau-Ottawa Challenge lives on". Ottawa Citizen. 23 December 1998. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
  9. ^ "Far-Flung Curling Rivalry Sponsored by Quebec Trophy". Ottawa Citizen. 15 April 1933. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
  10. ^ "Ottawa CC Rinks Annex Quebec Cup". Ottawa Citizen. 4 December 1950. Retrieved 12 January 2024.
  11. ^ "Montreal West Wins Quebec Challenge Cup". Montreal Gazette. 8 January 1951. Retrieved 12 January 2024.
  12. ^ "Special Events". Ottawa Curling Club. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
  13. ^ "Curling Chatter". Ottawa Citizen. 23 November 1957. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
  14. ^ a b Ottawa Curling Club Through the Years
  15. ^ a b "WCF Statistics". www.worldcurling.org. Archived from the original on 30 September 2007.
  16. ^ "Ottawa Curling Club Playdown Results". Archived from the original on 26 September 2007. Retrieved 10 June 2007.
  17. ^ "Curling Roundup". The Ottawa Journal. 20 February 1959. p. 13. Retrieved 23 May 2017.
  18. ^ "Lachance sweeps Tubman Trophy in City of Ottawa bonspiel". Ottawa Citizen. 21 March 1994. p. D10. Retrieved 28 November 2020.
  19. ^ "Rainbow Rockers: Ottawa's LGBTQ2S+ Friendly Curling League". Rainbow Rockers. Archived from the original on 5 February 2023. Retrieved 9 February 2024.
  20. ^ "Ottawa Gals Share Third Spot". Ottawa Citizen. 17 March 1972. Retrieved 17 October 2021.
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