Ottawa Curling Club

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Ottawa Curling Club
Ottawa Curling Club Logo.png
Occ.jpg
Entrance to the club.
Location440 O'Connor Street
Ottawa, Ontario
K2P 1W4

45°24′39″N75°41′25″W / 45.41081°N 75.69015°W / 45.41081; -75.69015
Information
Established1851
Founder(s) Allan Gilmour
Club typeDedicated Ice
Curling Canada region OCA Zone 1
Sheets of iceFive
Rock coloursRed and Yellow   
Website www.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.

Contents

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

Ottawa Curling Club, 1904 Ottawa Curling Club 1904.JPG
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

  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

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

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

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

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

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

Events

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

YearEventSkipThirdSecondLeadRecord at NationalsRecord 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
1979Men's MastersTed RootRalph SmithBob MartinElwyn MacDonaldN/AN/A
1985Intermediate Men'sRuss TaylorBruce LonsberyAl ReedJack CasserlyN/AN/A
1990Men's MastersKen HartRoy JamesCec MorrisRae BrownN/AN/A
1993Silver TankardBrad Shinn
Ian MacAulay
John Theriault
Bill Gamble
Dave Korim
Richard Groulx
Geoff Colley
Barry Conrad
N/AN/A
1993ChallengeTerry ClarkJack CasserlyWayne Lennon Ian MacAulay N/AN/A
1995Men's ColtsKen CampbellJohn GalliganJames SutherlandSteve O'BrienN/AN/A
1997Men's MastersRod MathesonJack RossBob McKenzieGord CummingsN/AN/A
1997Senior MixedPaul EngelbrechtBonnie MathesonRod MathesonDarlene EngelrechtN/AN/A
1997Men's Juniors John Morris Craig Savill Matt St. Louis Mark Homan 2nd (10–6)
1998Women's Juniors Jenn Hanna Amanda Vanderspank Julie Colquhoun Stephanie Hanna 2nd (10–3)-
1998Men's Juniors John Morris Craig Savill Andy Ormsby Brent Laing 1st (12–3)1st (11–0)
1999Women's TrophyLaurie ShieldsBarb WheatleyAndrea LeganchukSandra RibeyN/AN/A
1999Men's Juniors John Morris Craig Savill Jason Young Brent Laing 1st (11–4)1st (10–1)
2000Senior MixedReg PlasterDonna LamoureuxRandy GarlandDianne SullivanN/AN/A
2002Women's TrophyEveline ShawLaurie ShieldsAndrea LeganchukSue KollarN/AN/A
2002Women's TankardEveline Shaw
Joyce Potter
Laurie Shields
Muriel Potter
Margaret Pross
Janelle Sadler
Sue Kollar
Faye Linseman
N/AN/A
2003Senior MixedRandy GarlandEveline ShawRoger ShawMargaret ProssN/AN/A
2003Senior Women's Joyce Potter Muriel Potter Janelle Sadler Faye Linseman 3rd (9–3)-
2005Men's MastersRod Matheson Eldon Coombe Ron BrownGeorges Bourgon3rd (5–3)N/A
2005 Scott Tournament of Hearts Jenn Hanna Pascale Letendre Dawn Askin Stephanie Hanna 2nd (11–6)-
2009Women's Juniors Rachel Homan Emma Miskew Alison Kreviazuk Lynn Kreviazuk 2nd (10–3)-
2010Women's Juniors Rachel Homan Emma Miskew Laura Crocker Lynn Kreviazuk 1st (13–0)2nd (9–2)
2011Men's Juniors Mathew Camm Scott Howard David Mathers Andrew Hamilton 2nd (12–4)-
2011Scotties Tournament of Hearts Rachel Homan Emma Miskew Alison Kreviazuk Lisa Weagle 4th (9–5)-
2011Men's MastersLayne NobleRick BachandRandy GarlandCal Hegge3rd (6–2)N/A
2012Men's Seniors Brian Lewis Jeff McCrady Steve Doty Graham Sinclair 3rd (8–4)-
2012Men's Grand MastersRod Matheson Eldon Coombe Jamie AngusJohn Lockett
2013Scotties Tournament of Hearts Rachel Homan Emma Miskew Alison Kreviazuk Lisa Weagle 1st (12–1) [lower-alpha 1] 3rd (9–4)
2014Tim Hortons ColtsKevin RathwellTerry ScharfGraham RathwellIan Rathwell
2014Silver TankardDon Bowser
Chris Gardner
Jonathan Beuk
Mike McLean
Spencer Cooper
Jeff Guignard
Nick Catizzone
Andrew Hamilton
2015Mixed Chris Gardner Trish Hill Jonathan Beuk Jessica Barcauskas3rd (9–3)-
2015Men's SeniorsJeff McCrady Brian Lewis Mike JohansenGraham Sinclair5th (7–3)-
2016MixedMike McLean Brit O'Neill Andrew Denny-Petch Karen Sagle 9th (6–3)-
2016Scotties Tournament of Hearts Jenn Hanna Brit O'Neill Stephanie Hanna Karen Sagle 6th (6–5)-
2017Scotties Tournament of Hearts Rachel Homan Emma Miskew Joanne Courtney Lisa Weagle 1st (12–2)1st (13–0)
2017Men's Colts Sebastien Robillard Ryan McCradyBowie Abbis-MillsAndrew Denny-Petch
2017Intermediate Men'sSpencer CooperDon BowserSteve AllenRick AllenN/A
2018Women's JuniorsEmma WallingfordGrace Holyoke Lindsay Dubue Hannah Wallingford5th (6–4)
2019Scotties Tournament of Hearts Rachel Homan Emma Miskew Joanne Courtney Lisa Weagle 2nd (10–4)
2020Scotties Tournament of Hearts Rachel Homan Emma Miskew Joanne Courtney Lisa Weagle 2nd (11–3)
2021* [lower-alpha 2] Scotties Tournament of Hearts Rachel Homan Emma Miskew Sarah Wilkes Joanne Courtney 2nd (10–3)
2021MixedMike McLean Erin Morrissey Kevin TippettErica Hopson2nd (8–4)-
2022* [lower-alpha 3] Scotties Tournament of Hearts Rachel Homan Emma Miskew Sarah Wilkes Joanne Courtney T8th (4-4)-
2023Scotties Tournament of Hearts Rachel Homan Tracy Fleury (skip) Emma Miskew Sarah Wilkes 5th (6–3)
2023Mixed Doubles Lynn Kreviazuk David Mathers 8th (6–3)
2024Mixed Doubles Lynn Kreviazuk David Mathers T18th (3–4)

Notes

  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.

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