Ottawa Curling Club

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 2018 Olympians and 2017, 2024, and 2025 World Champions Rachel Homan and Emma Miskew, and is the former home of 1998 and 1999 Junior Men's World Curling Champion and 2018 and 2022 Olympian (with Homan) 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 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. 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. 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. 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. Formal incorporation of the Ottawa Curling Club Limited was completed in 1929. Artificial ice and expansion from four to five sheets followed in 1931. Presidents 1851–1895: Col. Allan Gilmour 1895–1914: John Manuel 1914–1917: James Manuel 1918–1921: William Manuel 1922–1936: George F. Henderson, KC 1936–1942: Hugh Carson 1942–1950: Darcy Finn 1950–1952: Olin Beach 1952–1955: W.E. Hodgins 1955–1958: Ted Moffat 1958–1961: B. Brocklesby 1961–1963: Howard Grills 1964–1966: Alan Brown 1966–1968: Gordie Perry 1968–1970: Harold Scrim 1970–1972: Bill Davis 1972–1974: E. Macdonald 1974–1976: Don MacKinnon 1976–1978: Dick Rich 1978–1980: Dave Smith 1980–1982: Stan Grover 1982–1984: Ted Root 1984–1986: Pat Craig 1986–1988: Bob York 1988–1990: Rod Matheson 1990–1992: Sandra Chisholm 1992–1994: Brad Shinn 1994–1996: Steve Mitchell 1996–1998: Eric Johannsen 1998–2000: Barbara Brown 2000–2002: Terry Clark 2002–2004: Gord Perry 2004–2006: Gayle Greene 2006–2008: Gord Critch 2008–2012: Geoff Colley 2012–2014: Michael Loewen 2014–2016: Tom Sinclair 2016–2018: Matthew Kellett 2018–2020: Eddie Chow 2020–2022: Michael Burke 2022–2024: Nicole Merriman 2024–present: Alex Birtwistle 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 Open, Daytime League, and Colts (under 5 years of experience). 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 Craig Savill, Lynn Kreviazuk, David Mathers, Lee Merklinger, Erin Morrissey, Jean-Michel Ménard, Jenn Hanna, Julia Weagle, Adam Kingsbury and Kevin Folk. University / College League From the 2006–07 to the 2024–25 season, the club ran a league on Sunday nights for students in the Ottawa area to participate. Prior to 2006–07, no university in the city had a curling team, so this league was created to facilitate interest in curling from students in the city. At the end of the year first season, a championship was played between Carleton University and the University of Ottawa with Carleton winning 6–4. 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. Previous winners have included Earle Morris (1996, 2000), Ian MacAulay (1997, 1998, 1999, 2002, 2014), Bryan Cochrane (1997, 1998, 1999, 2002), Jean-Sébastien Roy (2004), Jean-Michel Ménard (2004), Eldon Coombe (2008), Craig Savill (2009), Lee Merklinger (2015), David Mathers (2015, 2024), Wesley Forget (2022). 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. 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. 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. 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, 1934, 1950–51, 1957, 2016 and 2023–24. The club first competed for the Cup in 1877, and won 58 games between then and 1957. Famous past members Sir Sanford Fleming, inventor of standard time Alexander Mackenzie, former Prime Minister of Canada John Morris & Brent Laing, 1998 & 1999 World Junior Champions Brad Gushue - Alternate for John Morris at the 1998 World Junior Championships (Member in name only) 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 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 Ian Palangio - Australian curler. 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. Provincial champions Notes References External links Website Rainbow Rockers Curling League