# Fort William Curling Club

The Fort William Curling Club is a curling club located in the Downtown Fort William neighbourhood of Thunder Bay, Ontario. The club hosted the Canadian men's curling championship in 1960 and the Canadian women's curling championship in 1969. It is also the home club of World Men's curling champions Al Hackner, Rick Lang, Bob Nicol, Bruce Kennedy, Ian Tetley, and Pat Perroud.

## History

The Fort William Curling Club was established in Fort William (now Thunder Bay) on September 18, 1891, on property leased by Peter and John McKellar. It was originally part of the Manitoba Curling Association. The rink was destroyed by fire twice, in 1892 and 1908. The current facility, with artificial ice, opened on March 10, 1951, as the Fort William Curling and Athletic Club. The club is adjacent to the Fort William Gardens.

## Notable members

Only events representing the Fort William Curling Club are listed.
* John McKellar – Mayor of Fort William (1892–1898)
* Robert Pow – 1932 Olympic champion; mayor of Fort William (1933–1936)
* Tom Tod – 1958 Canadian Schoolboys champion; 1970 Macdonald Brier participant
* Neil McLeod – 1958 Canadian Schoolboys champion
* Patrick Moran – 1958 Canadian Schoolboys champion
* David Allin – 1958 Canadian Schoolboys champion
* Darwin Wark – 1959 Macdonald Brier participant
* Dennis Stephen – 1959 Macdonald Brier participant
* Leslie Sutton – 1959 Macdonald Brier participant
* John Jones – 1959 Macdonald Brier participant
* James Carson – 1970 Macdonald Brier participant
* J. Carl Whitfield – 1970 Macdonald Brier participant
* Bill Hallinan – 1970 Macdonald Brier participant
* Bill Tetley – 1975 Macdonald Brier champion; 1975 World Men's bronze medallist
* Rick Lang – 1975 Macdonald Brier, 1982, and 1985 Labatt Brier champion; 1975 World Men's bronze medallist; 1976 Macdonald Brier, 1988, 1991, and 1995 Labatt Brier participant; 1980 and 1981 Labatt Brier runner-up; 1981 Canadian Mixed champion; 1982 and 1985 World Men's champion; 1993 Labatt Brier bronze medallist; 2006 Canadian Senior champion; 2007 World Senior silver medallist
* Bill Hodgson, Jr. – 1975 Macdonald Brier champion; 1975 World Men's bronze medallist
* Peter Hnatiw – 1975 Macdonald Brier champion; 1975 World Men's bronze medallist
* Bob Nicol – 1976 Macdonald Brier participant; 1980 and 1981 Labatt Brier runner-up; 1982 Labatt Brier champion; 1982 World Men's champion
* Al Fiskar, Jr. – 1976 Macdonald Brier participant
* Warren Butters – 1976 Macdonald Brier participant
* Al Hackner – 1980 and 1981 Labatt Brier runner-up; 1982 and 1985 Labatt Brier champion; 1982 and 1985 World Men's champion; 1988, 1989, 1995 Labatt Brier, and 2001 Nokia Brier participant; 2006 Canadian Senior champion; 2007 World Senior silver medallist
* Bruce Kennedy – 1980 and 1981 Labatt Brier runner-up; 1982 Labatt Brier champion; 1982 World Men's champion; 1987 Labatt Brier participant
* Anne Provo – 1981 Canadian Mixed champion; 1983 Scott Tournament of Hearts participant
* Bert Provo – 1981 Canadian Mixed champion
* Lorraine Lang – 1981 Canadian Mixed champion; 1983, 2006 Scott Tournament of Hearts, 2007, and 2009 Scotties Tournament of Hearts participant; 1991 Scott Tournament of Hearts bronze medallist; 2009 Canadian Olympic Curling Trials bronze medallist
* Marlene Delorenzi – 1983 Scott Tournament of Hearts participant
* Valerie Adams – 1983 Scott Tournament of Hearts participant
* Ian Tetley – 1985 Labatt Brier champion; 1985 World Men's champion
* Pat Perroud – 1985 Labatt Brier champion; 1985 World Men's champion
* Larry Pineau – 1987 Labatt Brier participant
* Jack Kallos – 1987 Labatt Brier participant
* Brian Snell – 1987 Labatt Brier participant
* Jim Adams – 1988 and 1989 Labatt Brier participant
* Doug Smith – 1988 Labatt Brier participant
* Bill Adams – 1989 Labatt Brier participant
* John Salo – 1989 Labatt Brier participant
* Jason Repay – 1991 Canadian Junior champion; 1992 World Junior bronze medallist
* Aaron Skillen – 1991 Canadian Junior champion; 1992 World Junior bronze medallist; 1995 Labatt Brier participant
* Scott McCallum – 1991 Canadian Junior champion; 1992 World Junior bronze medallist
* Trevor Clifford – 1991 Canadian Junior champion; 1992 World Junior bronze medallist
* Heather Houston – 1991 Scott Tournament of Hearts bronze medallist
* Diane Adams – 1991 Scott Tournament of Hearts bronze medallist
* Diane Pushkar – 1991 Scott Tournament of Hearts bronze medallist
* Scott Henderson – 1991 Labatt Brier and 2003 Nokia Brier participant; 1993 Labatt Brier bronze medallist
* Ross Tetley – 1991 Labatt Brier participant; 1993 Labatt Brier bronze medallist
* Art Lappalainen – 1991, 1995 Labatt Brier, and 2003 Nokia Brier participant; 1993 Labatt Brier bronze medallist
* Bryan Burgess – 2001 Nokia Brier participant
* Joe Scharf – 2001 Nokia Brier participant
* Mike Assad – 2001 Nokia Brier participant
* Mike Desilets – 2003 Nokia Brier participant
* Tim Lindsay – 2003 Nokia Brier participant
* Krista McCarville – 2006 Scott Tournament of Hearts, 2007, 2009, 2017, 2019, and 2020 Scotties Tournament of Hearts participant; 2010 Scotties Tournament of Hearts bronze medallist; 2009 Canadian Olympic Curling Trials bronze medallist; 2010 Canada Cup participant; 2016 Scotties Tournament of Hearts silver medallist; 2017 Canadian Olympic Curling Trials participant
* Tara George – 2006 Scott Tournament of Hearts, 2007, and 2009 Scotties Tournament of Hearts participant; 2009 Canadian Olympic Curling Trials bronze medallist; 2010 Scotties Tournament of Hearts bronze medallist
* Tiffany Stubbings – 2006 Scott Tournament of Hearts and 2007 Scotties Tournament of Hearts participant
* Al Laine – 2006 Canadian Senior champion; 2007 World Senior silver medallist
* Brian Adams – 2006 Canadian Senior champion; 2007 World Senior silver medallist
* Dylan Johnston – 2009 Canadian Junior silver medallist
* Cody Johnston – 2009 Canadian Junior silver medallist
* Michael Makela – 2009 Canadian Junior silver medallist
* Mike Badiuk – 2009 Canadian Junior silver medallist
* Kari Lavoie – 2009 Scotties Tournament of Hearts participant; 2009 Canadian Olympic Curling Trials bronze medallist; 2010 Scotties Tournament of Hearts bronze medallist; 2010 Canada Cup participant
* Ashley Sippala – 2010 Scotties Tournament of Hearts bronze medallist; 2010 Canada Cup participant; 2016 Scotties Tournament of Hearts silver medallist; 2017 and 2020 Scotties Tournament of Hearts participant; 2017 Canadian Olympic Curling Trials participant
* Sarah Potts – 2010 Canada Cup participant; 2016 Scotties Tournament of Hearts silver medallist; 2017 and 2019 Scotties Tournament of Hearts participant; 2017 Canadian Olympic Curling Trials participant
* Jeff Currie – 2014 Tim Hortons Brier participant
* Mike McCarville – 2014 Tim Hortons Brier participant
* Colin Koivula – 2014 Tim Hortons Brier participant
* Jamie Childs – 2014 Tim Hortons Brier participant

## Events

The Fort William Curling Club has hosted several Canadian national curling championships. In 1960, the club co-hosted the Macdonald Brier, the Canadian men's curling championship, at the Fort William Gardens. The club also hosted the 1966 Canadian Mixed Curling Championship and the Canadian Ladies Curling Association Championship in 1969. In 2006, the Fort William and Port Arthur Curling Clubs co-hosted the Canadian Junior Curling Championships in Thunder Bay. The Fort William Curling Club also hosted the Canadian Wheelchair Curling Championship in 2012, where a team from the club, skipped by Carl Levesque, represented Northern Ontario. The following year, the club hosted the 2013 The Dominion Curling Club Championship, the Canadian championships for club-level curlers. In 2017, the club hosted the U Sports/Curling Canada University Curling Championships.
The club has also hosted several Northern Ontario provincial curling championships. It hosted the men's provincial championship in 2011 and in 2017. The club also hosted the 2015 Northern Ontario Scotties Tournament of Hearts, which was the first time that the Northern Ontario women's provincial champions received a direct berth into the national Scotties Tournament of Hearts and represented Northern Ontario separately from Ontario.

## Provincial champions

| Year | Event | Skip | Third | Second | Lead | Record at Nationals | Record at Worlds |
| 1958 | Northern Ontario Junior Men's | Tom Tod | Neil McLeod | Patrick Moran | David Allin | 1st | N/A |
| 1959 | Northern Ontario Junior Men's | Tom Tod | Bill Burn | Larry Gander | Ted Gregor | | N/A |
| 1959 | Northern Ontario Men's | Darwin Wark | Dennis Stephen | Leslie Sutton | John Jones | 5th (6–4) | — |
| 1960 | Ontario Women's | Elsie Forsyth | Helen Morgan | Anne Brown | Ina Oikonen | 2nd (3–1, E. Can) |
| 1970 | Northern Ontario Men's | Tom Tod | James Carson | J. Carl Whitfield | Bill Hallinan | 5th (5–5) | — |
| 1971 | Northern Ontario Junior Men's | Douglas Smith | Warren Butters | Thomas Wiegand | Rick Lang | | N/A |
| 1975 | Northern Ontario Men's | Bill Tetley | Rick Lang | Bill Hodgson, Jr. | Peter Hnatiw | 1st (9–2) | 3rd (7–3) |
| 1976 | Northern Ontario Mixed | Merto Penziwol | Eleanor Penziwol | Bob Kosloski | Nancy Coutts | | N/A |
| 1976 | Northern Ontario Men's | Rick Lang | Bob Nicol | Al Fiskar, Jr. | Warren Butters | 7th (5–6) | — |
| 1980 | Northern Ontario Men's | Al Hackner | Rick Lang | Bob Nichol | Bruce Kennedy | 2nd (9–4) | — |
| 1981 | Northern Ontario Mixed | Rick Lang | Anne Provo | Bert Provo | Lorraine Edwards | 1st | N/A |
| 1981 | Northern Ontario Junior Men's | Scott Henderson | Bill Adams | Jim Adams | Brad Coulson | | — |
| 1981 | Northern Ontario Men's | Al Hackner | Rick Lang | Bob Nichol | Bruce Kennedy | 2nd (9–3) | — |
| 1982 | Northern Ontario Junior Men's | Scott Henderson | Bill Adams | Jim Adams | Brad Coulson | | — |
| 1982 | Northern Ontario Men's | Al Hackner | Rick Lang | Bob Nichol | Bruce Kennedy | 1st (10–3) | 1st (9–2) |
| 1983 | Ontario Women's | Anne Provo | Lorraine Lang | Marlene Delorenzi | Valerie Adams | T-6th (4–6) | — |
| 1983 | Northern Ontario Senior Men's | Carmon "Red" Ahrensback | Ron Depiero | John Andreychuk | Tom Crane | | N/A |
| 1984 | Northern Ontario Mixed | Jim Adams | Kim Clark | Charlie Salina | Heather Houston | | N/A |
| 1985 | Northern Ontario Men's | Al Hackner | Rick Lang | Ian Tetley | Pat Perroud | 1st (9–4) | 1st (8–3) |
| 1986 | Northern Ontario Junior Men's | Gary Champagne | Glen Kawahara | Dale Watson | Corey Stevenson | 7th (4–7) | — |
| 1987 | Northern Ontario Men's | Larry Pineau | Jack Kallos | Brian Snell | Bruce Kennedy | 8th (5–6) | — |
| 1988 | Northern Ontario Men's | Al Hackner | Rick Lang | Jim Adams | Doug Smith | 7th (5–6) | — |
| 1989 | Northern Ontario Junior Men's | Craig Kochan | Mike Desilets | Aaron Skillen | Greg Kawahara | 7th (6–5) | — |
| 1989 | Northern Ontario Men's | Al Hackner | Bill Adams | Jim Adams | John Salo | 10th (3–8) | — |
| 1991 | Northern Ontario Junior Men's | Jason Repay | Aaron Skillen | Scott McCallum | Trevor Clifford | 1st (10–3) | 3rd (7–3) |
| 1991 | Ontario Women's | Heather Houston | Lorraine Lang | Diane Adams | Diane Pushkar | 3rd (8–5) | — |
| 1991 | Northern Ontario Men's | Rick Lang | Scott Henderson | Ross Tetley | Art Lappalainen | 4th (7–4) | — |
| 1992 | Northern Ontario Mixed | Jim Adams | Diane Adams | Bruce Hogue | Diane Hogue | | N/A |
| 1993 | Northern Ontario Men's | Rick Lang | Scott Henderson | Ross Tetley | Art Lappalainen | 3rd (9–5) | — |
| 1994 | Northern Ontario Junior Women's | Rhonda Halversen | Lisa Backman | Tiffany Stubbings | Michelle Boland | 5th (7–5) | — |
| 1995 | Northern Ontario Men's | Al Hackner | Rick Lang | Aaron Skillen | Art Lappalainen | 7th (6–5) | — |
| 1997 | Northern Ontario Junior Men's | Bryan Burgess | Joe Scharf | Robin Champagne | Mike Assad | 8th (6–6) | — |
| 1999 | Northern Ontario Junior Men's | Joe Scharf | Robin Champagne | Colin Koivula | Mike McCarville | 5th (7–5) | — |
| 2000 | Northern Ontario Senior Women's | Marion Ball | Madeline Gilbart | Lynn Reid | Judith Prystanski | 11th (2–9) | N/A |
| 2000 | Northern Ontario Junior Men's | Joe Scharf | Robin Champagne | Colin Koivula | Mike McCarville | 5th (7–5) | — |
| 2000 | Northern Ontario Junior Women's | Krista Scharf | Angie Del Pino | Laura Armitage | Maggie Carr | 6th (7–5) | — |
| 2001 | Northern Ontario Junior Women's | Krista Scharf | Angie Del Pino | Laura Armitage | Maggie Carr | 5th (7–5) | — |
| 2001 | Northern Ontario Men's | Al Hackner | Bryan Burgess | Joe Scharf | Mike Assad | 9th (5–6) | — |
| 2002 | Northern Ontario Junior Women's | Krista Scharf | Julie Risi | Laura Armitage | Maggie Carr | 8th (6–6) | — |
| 2003 | Northern Ontario Men's | Scott Henderson | Art Lappalainen | Mike Desilets | Tim Lindsay | 7th (5–6) | — |
| 2006 | Northern Ontario Mixed | Mike Assad | Angela Lee | Ben Mikkelsen | Kari MacLean | 11th (3–8) | N/A |
| 2006 | Ontario Women's | Krista Scharf | Tara George | Tiffany Stubbings | Lorraine Lang | 10th (4–7) | — |
| 2006 | Northern Ontario Senior Men's | Al Hackner | Rick Lang | Al Laine | Brian Adams | 1st (10–3) | 2nd (6–2) |
| 2007 | Northern Ontario Women's | Krista Scharf | Tara George | Tiffany Stubbings | Lorraine Lang | N/A | N/A |
| 2007 | Ontario Women's | Krista Scharf | Tara George | Tiffany Stubbings | Lorraine Lang | 6th (6–6) | — |
| 2008 | Northern Ontario Junior Men's | Kory Carr | Justin Whitehurst | Adam Lamers | Mark Adams | 6th (7–5) | — |
| 2008 | Northern Ontario Junior Women's | Ashley Miharija | Sarah Lang | Jenna Enge | Jessica Williams | 4th (8–5) | — |
| 2009 | Northern Ontario Junior Men's | Dylan Johnston | Cody Johnston | Michael Makela | Mike Badiuk | 2nd (9–4) | — |
| 2009 | Northern Ontario Women's | Krista McCarville | Tara George | Kari MacLean | Lorraine Lang | N/A | N/A |
| 2009 | Ontario Women's | Krista McCarville | Tara George | Kari MacLean | Lorraine Lang | 6th (6–5) | — |
| 2010 | Ontario Women's | Krista McCarville | Tara George | Ashley Miharija | Kari MacLean | 3rd (9–5) | — |
| 2010 | Northern Ontario Senior Men's | Al Hackner | Art Lappalainen | Al Laine | Brian Adams | 4th (7–4) | — |
| 2011 | Northern Ontario Mixed | Craig Kochan | Liz Kingston | Colin Koivula | Alissa Begin | 9th (4–7) | N/A |
| 2011 | Northern Ontario Junior Men's | Cody Johnston | Mike Badiuk | Mark Adams | Mike Makela | 8th (5–7) | — |
| 2011 | Northern Ontario Women's | Krista McCarville | Ashley Miharija | Kari MacLean | Sarah Lang | N/A | N/A |
| 2012 | Northern Ontario Mixed | Mike Assad | Alissa Begin | Andrew Nerpin | Jann Bobenic-Costante | 9th (7–6) | N/A |
| 2012 | Northern Ontario Wheelchair | Carl Levesque | Rick Bell | Mel Prairie | Sharon LaFroye | 5th (5–5) | N/A |
| 2013 | Northern Ontario Mixed | Mike Assad | Ashley Kallos | Taylor Kallos | Kady Stachiw | 6th (6–5) | N/A |
| 2013 | Northern Ontario Women's | Krista McCarville | Ashley Miharija | Kari Lavoie | Sarah Lang | N/A | N/A |
| 2013 | Northern Ontario Wheelchair | Gino Sonego | Doug Dean | Richard Dawid | Lola Graham | 4th (5–5) | N/A |
| 2014 | Northern Ontario Men's | Jeff Currie | Mike McCarville | Colin Koivula | Jamie Childs | 11th (2–9) | — |
| 2014 | Northern Ontario Wheelchair | Gino Sonego | Doug Dean | Richard Dawid | Lola Graham | 7th (3–6) | N/A |
| 2015 | Northern Ontario Senior Men's | Al Hackner | Eric Harnden | Frank Morissette | Rob Thomas | 9th (4–5) | N/A |
| 2016 | Northern Ontario Women's | Krista McCarville | Kendra Lilly | Ashley Sippala | Sarah Potts | 2nd (9–5) | — |
| 2017 | Northern Ontario Women's | Krista McCarville | Kendra Lilly | Ashley Sippala | Sarah Potts | 4th (9–5) | — |
| 2017 | Northern Ontario Wheelchair | Doug Dean | Gino Sonego | Rick Bell | Lola Graham | 8th (3–6) | N/A |
| 2018 | Northern Ontario Junior Women's | Hailey Beaudry | Kendra Lemieux | Emily Cooney | Erin Tomalty | 8th (3–7) | — |
| 2018 | Northern Ontario Senior Men's | Al Hackner | Eric Harnden | Frank Morissette | Gary Champagne | 3rd (9–3) | — |
| 2019 | Northern Ontario Women's | Krista McCarville | Kendra Lilly | Jen Gates | Sarah Potts | 4th (8–4) | — |
| 2019 | Northern Ontario Senior Men's | Al Hackner | Frank Morissette | Robert Whalen | Gary Champagne | 6th (5–5) | — |
| 2019 | Northern Ontario Wheelchair | Doug Dean | Gino Sonego | Rick Bell | Lola Graham | 4th (5–4) | N/A |
| 2019 | Northern Ontario Club Women's | Tracey Larocque | Corie Adamson | Rebecca Carr | Emily Juurakko | T-13th (1–5) | N/A |
| 2020 | Northern Ontario Women's | Krista McCarville | Kendra Lilly | Ashley Sippala | Jen Gates | 4th (8–4) | — |
| 2020 | Northern Ontario Senior Men's | Mike Desilets | Scott Henderson | Dale Wiersema | William Peloza | N/A | N/A |
| 2020 | Northern Ontario Wheelchair | Douglas Dean | Gino Sonego | Richard Bell | Lola Graham | N/A | N/A |
| 2021 | Northern Ontario Club Women's | Tracey Larocque | Samantha Morris | Corie Adamson | Rebecca Carr | 1st (7–1) | N/A |

## Presidents

* 1923–1927: C. McEwan
* 1941–1942: J. Cassidy
* 1942–1944: Ira Gerry
* 1947–1948: R.H. Smith
* 1948–1950: George Charlesbois
* 1950–1952: George Breckman
* 1953–1957: Len Cameron
* 1957–1959: Dick Symes
* 1959–1961: Tom Fry
* 1961–1963: Ted Childs
* 1963: David Stevens
* 1963–1965: Jim Andros
* 1965–1967: Godon Holt
* 1967–1968: Jack Taylor
* 1968–1970: Jack Kallos Sr.
* 1970–1972: Peter Good
* 1972–1974: Fred Bullough
* 1974–1976: Bob Morrison
* 1976–1978: Ed Howe
* 1978–1980: Tom Crane
* 1980–1982: Rob Sinclair
* 1982–1984: Ron Babcock
* 1984–1986: Peter McCallum
* 1986–1988: Fred Coulson
* 1988–1990: Bill Charlebois
* 1990–1992: Ed Wakewich
* 1992–1994: Ron Campbell
* 1994–1996: Ellie Stecky
* 1996–1998: Alf Childs III
* 1998–2000: Morris Stoyka
* 2000–2002: Paul Finlay
* 2002–2004: Terry Douglas
* 2004–2006: Kris Woznesensky
* 2006–2008: Jack Kallos Jr.
* 2008–2009: Rob Chicorli
* 2009–2011: Sam Barbisan
* 2011–2013: Rose Steadwell
* 2013–2015: Dave Kawahara
* 2015–2017: Stan Nemec
* 2017–2019: Rick Sutton
* 2019–2021: Denise Hardy
* 2021-2023: Ken Kopechanski
* 2023-present: Kevan Stranges