Blog

Dear Members,

As the Town of Oakville prepares to open the skating and hockey rink at Wallace Park, we anticipate a significant increase in parking demand. This is expected to impact both the west and east parking lots near our facility. While 25% of the west parking lot is owned by the city, the Oakville Curling Club fully owns the east parking lot.

To ensure that our members and their guests have access to parking, it is crucial that all vehicles are registered with the club. This includes not only your personal vehicles but also those of any friends or family who may visit to watch games or attend club events.

Key Details:

• Registration Requirement: All vehicles must be registered to avoid ticketing.
• Parking Enforcement: The Town of Oakville will be utilizing a license plate scanning system to verify registrations.
• Old Tags Invalid: Previously issued parking tags are no longer valid. Only registered license plates will be recognized.
• High-Traffic Days: Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays are expected to be our busiest days, with the highest potential for parking challenges.

We are collaborating with the town to enforce parking rules strictly, including ticketing unregistered vehicles. Registering your license plate is the best way to avoid issues and ensure smooth access to our facilities.

Action Required:

Please complete the vehicle registration process as soon as possible. If you have any questions or need assistance, contact the club office.

Vehicle Registration can be accessed any time from the Profile dropdown on the home page

Thank you for your cooperation as we work to manage this challenge and maintain a positive experience for all our members.

Sincerely,
Your management team
Oakville Curling Club

Oakville Curling Club is thrilled to announce that one of its finest, Janet Murphy, is headed to Moncton, NB, to compete in the Canadian Senior Women’s Curling Championship from December 1–7, 2024. Representing Team Ontario, Janet and her team are ready to take to the ice, embodying skill, dedication, and an unwavering passion for the sport.

Team Ontario brings together a powerhouse lineup:

• Skip Jo-Ann Rizzo
• Third Janet Murphy
• Second Lori Eddy
• Lead Mary Chilvers

This incredible team has proven they have what it takes to compete at the highest level, and now they’ll battle for national glory in one of curling’s most prestigious events.

For Oakville Curling Club and curling enthusiasts across the province, this is a moment to rally behind Team Ontario. Janet has been a cornerstone of our club, and her journey to the Canadian Senior Women’s Championship reflects her commitment to excellence and the spirit of teamwork that defines curling.

How to Watch:

Fans can catch every thrilling moment on TSN and the Curling Canada streaming channel. Whether you’re a die-hard curling fan or new to the game, this is the perfect opportunity to witness elite-level curling and cheer on Ontario’s best!

Follow the action on TSN here: https://www.tsn.ca/curling/2024-25-curling-on-tsn-schedule-1.2169672

Follow the action on the Curling Canada Broadcast Stream here:  https://plus.curling.ca/

The draw is here:  www.curling.ca/2024seniors/files/2024/09/2024-Seniors-draw-Final.pdf

Let’s send Janet and her team off with the loudest cheers, unwavering support, and pride in knowing they represent not just Ontario, but the Oakville Curling Club community as well.

Go, Team Ontario! Bring home the championship!

Bruce Websters’ masters team of Wayne Martin, Dave Sykes and Steve Smith rolled through the A-Side this past weekend in Milton, ON.  They now move on to the Ontario Masters Championship at the newly built Granite Curling Club of West Ottawa Dec 11-15.

Winning 4 straight games over Scott Rettie, Jim Wilson (Oakville), Glen Warnica (Barrie CC), and Rick Thurston (Dundas Granite). The final game saw them hang tough and show some awesome resilience in getting 4 points in the 7^th end and stealing the 8^th end to win.

Congratulations gents and good luck in Ottawa.

My team won the Martinispiel at MGCC on Nov 2. It is worth noting Cheryl van der Kroon and I have won it 2 years in a row. And this year, we went undefeated - score in our first game was 15-0 and our second game was 12-0 - so no points scored against us.

Also pictured is Carol Sandwell (far right) and my friend Mary Scott (from Burlington)

Submitted by: Kelly Breard

Recently, OCC’s Day Women and The Senators brought their leagues together for a fun and friendly mixed team bonspiel. The spiel consisted of 7 ends and a roll off, followed by lunch and some great prizes!  With 56 curlers making up 14 mixed teams, competition was stiff!

By the bell, Team Ham swept their way to a clear victory and their name on a trophy, not to mention some impressive gift cards. Team: Skip: Bill Ham, Vice: Maureen Pike, Second: Tony Discenza, Lead: Karen Jones 

Not to be locked out of the house, Team Anderson delivered a decisive runner up score. Skip: Tina Anderson, Vice: Don Cook, Second: Michelle Werbowski, Lead: David Kane 

For their competitive spirit and style in the hack, Team Scarrow secured the high score among low teams. Skip: Janet Scarrow, Vice: Mark Lukowski, Second: Jeannette Briggs, Lead: Andrew Briggs

Team Rowland clinched the runner-up position. Skip: Sheila Rowland, Vice: Larry O'Brecht, Second: Diane Ruygrok, Lead:  Daniel Laferrirere

Teams also competed in a 1-rock-each roll off. Team Gullacher hammered this part of the competition with the highest overall roll off score. Skip: Liane Gullacher, Vice: Alan Morrison, Second: Brenda Ulbikas, Lead: John McKinnon

While they delivered an impressive game score, Team Trimble were taken out of the roll off competition with the lowest score, but we gave them a prize anyway. Skip: Larry Trimble, Vice: Fran De Brabandere, Second: Gregory Pass, Lead: Joanne Kaptein.

Overall our curlers shared some laughs, made new curling friends and delivered positive feedback to organizers. Stay tuned for a repeat in 2025!

We gratefully thank our Lead Sponsor: Maple Lodge Farms, as well as our Community Sponsors: Pipers Heath Golf Club, Blackforest Pastry Shop, and Metro. 

Thank you to the organizing committee: Larry Trimble, Peter Campbell, Larry O’Brecht, Roy Gorka, Liane Gullacher, Sharon Bishop and our tireless Social committee: Denise Norman, KJ Terry, Laurel Best.

Dear Members:

The Oakville Curling Club takes pride in running great leagues and ensuring that games are completed as scheduled. We also recognize that from time to time, people get sick or have business/family commitments. If for whatever reason you cannot make your game, we need you to do two things:

1. Notify your opposition – In “Gamecenter” – Click on your league and then on “Teams”. Find your oppositions name and click on their name. A phone number and email address will show up. Send them a quick note. Everyone understands, but it is common courtesy to let your opposition know.
2. Cancel your Game – At the top of the homepage there is a “Cancel League Ice” button. Fill it out and it lets Casey know what ice she can make available for others for make-up games or practice. There is nothing more frustrating to fellow members than seeing a prime sheet available that could have been used for either a make-up game or practice.

All we are asking is for everyone to do their part. It is the little things that make this club an awesome experience for all.

Thank you for your consideration.

A reminder to OCC members that while the OCC Mural Design Challenge has concluded we will be accepting donations through December 31, 2024. I think we can all agree that the winning submission by Tamsin Carne has added a lot of colour and vibrancy to our facility. Well done Tamsin!! For those of you who wish to donate please see the link below. All donations over $10 are tax deductible.

https://oakvillecurlingclub.com/index.php/resources/mural

Thank you for your support.
Greg Irwin

We had an 8-ender! It happened in the early draw of the Monday Night Fun league.

Congratulations to Jim Logan (skip), John Pender, Liam Hickey and Heidi Baiden.

Thanks to Alan Morrison, we have an interesting piece of trivia to share. Out of the 152 members who play in our Senior Ladder this year, only 8 were on a team in the 2004 season : the aforementioned Alan Morrison, Doug Clark, Fred Fairs, Gerald Gowan, Glenn Anderson, Ken Musgrave, Larry Trimble, and Peter Campbell.

After a little more digging, there are also a pair of curlers on our current spare list who were on a team in 2004 : Don Goddard and Tom Tennison.

I am not sure what this says about us old guys. At the risk of waxing philosophical, perhaps this just shows how change is such a big part of life.

Both our men's and women's teams won qualifying spots this weekend into the Ontario Club Championship in Whitby November 1-3.

Both teams won three straight games

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.

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.