Blog

The season is upon us. Welcome to all the new members and welcome back to our returning members. We are a month into the season and so far it has been a blast. If you have been away at the cottage or just golfing/biking/pickleballing up a storm; and curling has not been the first thing on your mind. Here is what you missed.

We had the new Curling Group (Grand Slam of Curling) in at the beginning of the summer season testing out their streaming equipment. They will be streaming all games this season and they used our backyard as their testing site. They brought in some heavy hitters with Jennifer Jones, Brent Laing, John Epping, Lisa Weagle and our own Jim Wilson. We even had the new CEO Nic Sulsky here overseeing the cool action.

We had a full Youth Camp filled with 48 kids having a fun filled week led by Stephanie Thompson and her awesome team of Oakville Members Helen Garside, Jestyn Murphy, Colsen Flemington and Andrew Skelton.

Our popular summer league saw a record 400 people register for Recreational/Competitive Men’s and Women’s leagues as well as Doubles leagues. Each week brings a new set of opposition and the early rivalries have started. These leagues continue through to Oct 3^rd.

The Stu Sells Oakville Tankard had 52 (28 men’s and 24 women’s) teams this year compete for the coveted title as the Stu Sell Tankard champion. We had the likes of Brad Gushue, Bruce Mouat, Ross Whyte, and Andreas Schwaller here as well as Stefania Constantini (Italy), Rebecca Morrison (Scotland) and local favourites Danielle Inglis compete. The final outcome saw a Swiss Sweep as Andreas Schwaller, Benoit Schwartz, Sven Michel and Pablo Lachat defeated Germany’s Marc Muskatewitz in an extra end. Xenia Schwaller and her team of Selina Gafner, Fabienne Rieder and Selina Rychiger defeated Calgary’s Kayla Skrlik in the women’s final. Congrats to all that competed. Special thanks to Rick Brady and his volunteer group who waved the Oakville support flag throughout this event and made it a great success.

This weekend will see the United We Curl bonspiel run for its second spirited year. This event is in support of the LGBTQIA+ community. We are looking forward to this outstanding event.

Next weekend will see the return of the International Gathering. Rick Brady and his crew have done a miraculous job organizing this event that opens up its doors to curlers from around the globe.

Our club has and is playing host to two U18 events. We had the Jr. Slam Series here the Labour Day weekend and we will have the Stu Sells U18 event here on Thanksgiving Weekend. Combined with the U18 event will be 4 draws of curlers competing in the Stu Sells Toronto. Watch for more details if you would like to stop in and have a second chance to see the World’s best curlers in action at the Oakville Curling Club.

Some changes in the club you will notice when you stop in. We have updated our coffee and registration stations to clean up and make better use of the areas. We have finally cleaned up the Tub Chairs and had them resurfaced in leather. The Women’s locker room will have an additional 22 lockers added to meet the overwhelming demand.

The ice area will have some new life this year. We have mounted our new murals and the official unveiling will taking place during the Open House on Sunday September 22^nd at 3pm.

And here we go!!

On behalf of the Oakville Curling Club Board of Directors, and our staff I’d like to welcome all of our members back for the 2024/2025 curling season. I hope you have all had a wonderful summer and we look forward to seeing all of your familiar faces in the near future. A special welcome to all of our new members. We know you will enjoy your time at the Oakville Curling Club!

For those of you that have not seen the notification, we will be having an Open House at the OCC on Sunday, September 22^nd between 3pm and 5pm. It will be a great opportunity to catch up with all of your curling friends and enjoy a beverage. We will also be unveiling our winning submission for the Sheridan College Mural Design Competition during the Open House. We hope you can make it!

The ice is fantastic and there have been a number of touch ups at the club that will add to your enjoyment.

It will be a busy year on and off the ice, with a number of capital projects to begin shortly. We will be addressing some drainage issues at the north side of the building and will be looking to become compliant with the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (“AODA”) by the mandated 2024/2025 deadlines.

Once again, we welcome you back and look forward to seeing everyone.

Good curling to all.
Greg Irwin

We’re looking for an OCC men’s team to be part of history!

Submitted by Ross Scarrow – OCC/Ross Tarlton Liaison

The Ross Tarlton is an invitational men’s curling competition pitting teams from clubs in the Ontario Curling Association (CurlON) with those from the Grand National Curling Club (GNCC) of the USA. This is a yearly event which alternates between sites in the United States and in Canada.

This competition hosts 32 teams (16 teams from the GNCC and 16 from the CurlON) and the winning side is determined by the aggregate number of stones won after the teams plays 4 games. You can think of it as a Ryder Cup for curling! The identity of the winning side is a carefully guarded secret which is revealed at the closing banquet the final day of play. Although all of the competitors play to win, this is not a competitive bonspiel. The true intent of the bonspiel is to promote friendship and camaraderie between GNCC and Curl ON curlers.

The first edition was held in November 1967 at the Board of Trade Country Club in Woodbridge, Ontario. That makes it over 55 years old! After an enjoyable 2023 Ross Tarlton bonspiel hosted by the Niagara Falls Curling Club, the 2024 edition will be hosted by the Nashua NH and Petersham MA Curling Clubs, November 7th to 9th inclusive.

Last November, a team skipped by Matt Lawton was the OCC representative. We are looking for another OCC team to take in the experience for 2024. The cost to enter this 3 day bonspiel is $440. The memories are priceless.

If your team would be interested in being the Oakville Curling Club representative to the Ross Tarlton this year, please contact Ross Scarrow at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. who will be able to forward you further details.

The purpose of the Governance Committee is to:

1. Monitor whether the Board is complying with its obligations as set out in the organization’s bylaw, policies, and procedure.
2. Meet quarterly, or more often as required to recommend updates when necessary.
3. Present recommendations to the Board.

At this time, we are seeking representation from our members-at-large. If you have an interest in volunteering for this committee please contact Loraine Fedurco, Secretary, at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Are you aware of club wide emails that have gone out, but you are not receiving them? 

• always check spam/junk folders first
• add This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. as a safe senders/whitelist account

Even after taking these step, service providers may still be blocking emails based on filtering

Please contact James Francolini if you cannot see club emails. 

Hello OCC Youth,

Oakville Curling Club has partnered with the Oakville Festivals of Film & Art to help promote the documentary CURL POWER. It tells the story of five best friends from B.C. who juggle their teenage lives to try and win the Canadian Junior Curling Championship. 

It is with great pleasure that we announce the results of the Mural Design Challenge as voted on by you, the members.