Blog

I would like to thank the Oakville Curling Club board for having the confidence in me to lead this club. Having been a member since 2008, I have watched the transition and improvements this club continues to make. This club is awesome in so many ways. From world class ice and ice maintenance, with state-of-the-art ice making equipment, to spectacular events and leagues all season long. But the best part of the Oakville Curling club are the members and volunteers. Their undying devotion to the game and this club has kept the club in an enviable financial position, year after year, so we can keep making improvements.

My vision is to keep making incremental improvements. One of those ways is through food. As a native of Thunder Bay, both curling facilities there have Chinese Food restaurants in them. Would I like to see that here? Maybe. If we could outsource the kitchen area to a local restaurant and our membership could get food, that would be fantastic.

I can see "Friday Night Fish Fry" for our mixed leagues happening. "Wednesday Wings", Tuesday and Thursday Beer and a Burger. This is all pie in the sky at the moment.

I am also a lover of the arts. I would love to see amateur and professional musicians developing and showcasing their talents here at the club. My hope is that the membership embraces some of these cultural events and visit the club for food or drink on a night that they normally do not curl.

My end goal is to make this club even better and more accessible, one member at a time. I have an open-door policy, so please walk in and introduce yourselves and let me know your ideas. Better yet, bring your friends, introduce them to this great game and we can all have a beverage together.

Good luck and good curling to all.
Ian

On February 16^th, YesTV was in the Club to film a segment on learning to curl. This segment airs on YesTV , February 28^th at 10:30pm. If you miss the segment, you can view it on the YesTV YouTube channel.

The 2023 PointsBet Invitational will be hosted at the Sixteen Mile Sports Complex Sept. 26-Oct. 1, 2023. The Oakville Curling Club has been selected as the event’s host club. Sixteen men’s and sixteen women’s teams from Canada will take part in the competition, chasing a prize purse in excess of $350,000 in a sudden-death single-knockout format. For more information follow this link to Curling Canada’s media release

As host club for the event, OCC members are being asked to continue to do what they have magnificently done for other events, volunteer & help during the event. More information about volunteer opportunities will be made available by Curling Canada’s once the volunteer link is live but, in the meanwhile, you can sign up for updates at the bottom of the Curling Canada volunteer page.

As the end of the season approaches, finding available ice time for make-up games becomes more difficult for everybody. As a common courtesy to the other members, we ask that if you are unable to play any of your upcoming games, take a minute to log into the OCC website and use the online system to cancel your game. This will make that timeslot available to others for make-up games.

If you are unsure how to cancel your league game…

1. Log into the OCC site using your member ID.
2. Under the Ice menu, select the Cancel League Ice option (see image).
3. Another page will appear. Fill in the required details and submit the request when you are done.

Have some free time and interested in bonspiels hosted at other area clubs? With the recent website upgrades, you can now preview some of those events online. For those who liked to check the binder kept at the office, don’t worry, that will continue as well in the near term.

From the Curling menu, select the Bonspiels in the Area option to view the upcoming events at other area clubs. Included in the listing are the Event Name, Club, Date of Event and links to flyer(s) and event registration as provided by the area club.  You can also click on the Club name to link directly to the club’s site to get more details and information.

Visit the GameCentre for all your league information.  Teams, Schedules, Standings, Spares, Free Agents and more.

Found on your member menu.

While the crews are hard at work getting the floor replaced, Scott and Chris have been documenting some of the work in picture.  Click on the image below to view the picture album

The Club has opened a project with the Ontario Sport Network and the National Sport Trust Fund. Members can donate to the floor project and receive a charitable tax receipt for their donation!

• About the National Sport Trust Fund
• The OCC's project page

Donate today by clicking here!

Donors will be recognized in the Club when the new floor is complete! For more information about the project and the NSTF, please This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

The National Sport Trust Fund

Like most curling clubs in Ontario, we’re looking for alternate sources of revenue and funding to support our Club over the next few months and into the upcoming curling season. As you know, the Club will be running an operating deficit at least until we can get back on the ice. This means that any and all renovations and other capital projects that had been planned for the near future have been put on indefinite hold.

We’re pleased to announce that the Oakville Curling Club has been given approval to raise funds through the Sport4Ontario tax receipting program of the National Sport Trust Fund. This program, meant to support the development of amateur sports in Ontario, gives the Club the ability to solicit donations from the membership and for the members to receive a tax receipt for their contribution.

Donating to this program is voluntary. There’s no need to commit right now -- the donation window is open until at least the end of 2021 -- and any amount helps (although you must donate a minimum of $10.01 in order to get a tax receipt). Contributing to the fund is simple:

• You donate to the Club’s fund online by clicking here (make sure your choose ‘Project 206: The Oakville Curling Club’) from the drop-down menu;
• You receive a tax receipt for your donation;
• Your donation is held in trust with the National Sport Trust Fund until the Club requests funds from the NSTF in order to complete a project or pay for an expense;
• Repeat as often as you like!

We can't stress enough how grateful we are to have members who are as committed to their Club as you are. We thank you for your continued support in making our Club a safer and more enjoyable place for all. If you have any questions about the NSTF, Sport4Ontario or how the fund works, please reach out to the Club office at any time.

Donate today by visiting https://www.sport4ontario.ca/project-206---the-oakville-curling-club.html.

Projects in Queue

The Board of Directors is exploring a variety of capital projects and improvements. Notably, the rink floor is far past its expected lifespan and is in need of replacement. Planning has commenced on developing a plan to replace the floor in the summer of 2022 and we are currently awaiting a full engineering report on the condition of the floor and replacement options. This project is meant to not only ensure the longevity of the club, but also maintain best possible curling experience for our members and reduce our utilities costs & environmental footprint.

Other potential projects, listed below, were chosen because of their impact on the health safety of everyone at the Club, their return-on-investment potential, their impact on our environmental footprint, and their potential to enhance the member experience. These projects include the following:

• HVAC retrofit, including HEPA and UV air purification, to improve ventilation and air quality in the lounge and locker rooms
• Upgrades to the rink camera and TV equipment to correct deficiencies and allow for live-streaming of games and events
• Insulation in the kitchen and lounge ceiling where necessary
• Upgrades to the men's locker room, including new lockers
• Installation of new accessibility and security features (e.g. automatic door openers, ramps, etc) to improve the member and guest experience

None of these projects are confirmed, and the final selection of projects will be dependent on the necessity of the project itself and how much funding we are able to generate through this and other fundraisers.

If you have any questions about these projects or have an idea about other projects that could be completed, please contact the This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Over the March break we were closed for 3 days while our Head Ice Technician (Scott Foster), Assistant Ice Technician (Kevin Mooney) and our ice team completed a 'Controlled Melt' to our ice surface.

There are two main reasons to melt the ice for maintenance purposes:

Eliminate Dirt & Impurities:

• Despite the fact that we scrape the ice twice per day, there is still a significant amount of dirt, lint, hair, dust etc. that continuously accumulates on the ice surface, and some of that inevitably gets buried in the ice.
• It also eliminates the many knee prints that unfortunately accumulate over time.
• By melting the top quarter inch of ice, most of this dirt floats to the surface where it can be removed with the scraper.
• Cleaner ice not only looks better, but it also improves the bond between the surface and the pebble, which helps the life of the pebble.

To our vibrant and active Club members,

We want to celebrate you and/or your team's experiences on the ice.

• Did you win a bonspiel?
• Did you qualify for an event?
• Did your team score an 8-Ender?
• Did you achieve an impressive curling milestone?

We want to hear about it all!

Go to News & Events > Member Achievements to send us the details and we'll share your story.