Ottawa Curling Club
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| Ottawa Curling Club | |
|---|---|
  Ottawa Curling Club Logo |
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| Founded | 1851 |
| Sheets | 5 |
| Rock colours | Red and black |
| OCA Zone | 1 |
| Address | 440 O'Connor Street Ottawa, Ontario K2P 1WA |
The Ottawa Curling Club is an historic curling club located in downtown Ottawa on O'Connor Street. It is the oldest curling club in Ottawa, established in 1851 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. In 1998 and 1999, former club member John Morris won the Junior Men's World Curling Championship. 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.
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[edit] 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), Open Cash (Wednesday), Business Men (Thursday), Mixed (Friday), Saturday Men, Sunday Open, Daytime League, Little rocks/bantam and the University/College League.
[edit] 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.
[edit] 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. No university in the city currently has 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.[1]
[edit] 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.
[edit] Current famous curlers
- Jenn Hanna - 2005 Scott Tournament of Hearts runner-up
- Bryan Cochrane - 2003 Ontario men's champion (represented the R.C.M.P. Curling Club)
- Earle Morris - 1985 Ontario men's champion (represented the R.C.N. Curling Club); 1982 Quebec champion; 1980 Manitoba champion, invented the Stabilizer curling broom, coach of the Australian curling team skipped by Hugh Millikin)
- Jean-Michel Ménard - 2006 Brier Champion and World Championships runner-up
- Eldon Coombe, 1972 provincial champion
- Pascale Letendre - 2005 Scott Tournament of Hearts runner-up with Hanna
- Craig Savill - 2007 Brier and World Champion lead for Glenn Howard
- Rachel Homan - Four time provincial bantam champion, 2006 Canada Games gold medalist.
Source: 2006-07 Ottawa Curling Club Directory. See also Hall of Fame
[edit] World Curling Tour teams
Current teams on the World Curling Tour who curl out of the Ottawa:
Women's [1]
- Jenn Hanna, Christina Cadorin, Stephanie Hanna, Lee Merklinger
- Debra Karbashewski, Amber Kirkwood, Katherine Pilon, Heather Poulsen
- Lauren Mann, Laura Payne, Katrina Carr, Karen Sagle
- Robyn Mattie, Anna Piekarski, Lisa Weagle, Andrea Leganchuk
Men's [2]
- Gilles Allaire, Paul Winford, Jeff Norman, Terry Scharf
- Willie Jeffries, Spencer Cooper, Matt Paul, Keith Coulthart
[edit] Famous past members
- Sir Sanford Fleming, inventor of standard time[2]
- Alexander Mackenzie, former Prime Minister of Canada[3]
- John Morris & Brent Laing, 1998 & 1999 World Junior Champions[4]
- Brad Gushue - Alternate for John Morris at the 1998 World Junior Championships (Member in name only)[5]
- Melanie Robillard - curled with Jenn Hanna in 2000 and posed nude in a curling calendar in 2005[6]
- Markku Uusipaavalniemi - skip of the 2006 Olympic silver medalist Finnish team
- Hugh Millikin - skip of the Australian national team
[edit] Events
Each year, the Ottawa and Rideau Curling Clubs host the John Shea Insurance Canada Cup Qualifier. In 2003, both clubs hosted the Canadian Junior Curling Championships. The club also hosted the 2006 and 2007 Canadian Blind Curling Championships.
