Curling has a long history on PEI, possibly beginning with the arrival of the first Scottish settlers in 1770. The Charlottetown Curling Club is a member-based organization whose history dates back to 1887.
The Early Years, 1887–1938
The club's original ten members conducted their first indoor curling games at the City’s Excelsior Rink, until it burned down. Curling continued for a few years with rental ice, but the CCC was rendered inactive by 1911. Curlers were forced to play on the Government Pond and other ice-patches around the City, as well as its windswept harbour.
In 1913, the Charlottetown Curling Club was re-organized, with the goal to build a dedicated open-air curling rink, some 140 feet by 45 feet, on Grafton Street (close to the City’s busy Fish Market). Shares were sold in the rink at a princely $2 a piece, and in only a few months the game of curling was back on solid footing.
In 1938, in yet another critical turning point for Island curling, the venerable city club acquired the spacious Charles Coles property (at 32-36 Euston Street), providing for the very first time an Island facility designed solely for the sport.
The Euston Street Years, 1938–2021
When the five-sheet facility on Euston Street opened its doors in 1945, it ushered in not only a new era of curling for the Charlottetown Curling Club, but also signalled further change to come. During the first 60 years of the club's existence, the city's male establishment formed the leadership and membership was not extended to women. Women were only allowed to become members in 1950, and the terms of membership were restrictive, including men being given priority ice times and women being required to work in the kitchen during bonspiels. It wasn't until 1978 that women were allowed to vote at annual meetings.
Once the Charlottetown Curling Club adopted a more accessible and inclusive membership structure, curling flourished in the capital region, producing numerous provincial champions in the junior, women's, men's, mixed, senior, master, and club categories. The Club operated successful competitive, recreational, and commercial leagues, as well as vibrant Little Rocks and junior programs, and rented the facility to a number of groups for bonspiels.
Over the years, the Charlottetown Curling Club hosted a variety of provincial and national curling championships, including the Scotties Tournament of Hearts three times (1984, 1999, and 2011).
The Charlottetown Curling Club was unable to open in the fall of 2020 due to mechanical issues. Combined with the devastating economic impacts of COVID-19 and an unsustainable business model, it was decided by the members in March 2021 that renovations to the existing club were not feasible and the building would be put up for sale with the proceeds from the sale to be used towards the construction of a new facility. Working groups were established to plan for the sale of the building and to investigate future construction opportunities and partnership models.
While there was significant private interest in the purchase of the building and property, the Charlottetown Curling Club signed a purchase and sale agreement with the Province of PEI, with the sale finalized in November 2021. Members expressed their support and were comforted in knowing that their long-time home would continue to be used by the provincial government for community-related purposes.
Following the closure of the Euston Street property as a curling club and exhausting discussions with other partners, representatives of the working groups and the Town of Stratford met to discuss the possibility of the construction of a new recreational/curling facility within the town, which could provide a new home to curling in the capital area.
The Path Forward from 2021
While the Charlottetown Curling Club no longer owns the facility on Euston Street, the membership-based organization still exists. At the 2020–2021 Annual General Meeting in November 2021, a strong group of curlers and community leaders stepped up to join the Charlottetown Curling Club Board of Directors, bringing a wealth of knowledge and experience in the areas of governance, operations management, government and community relations, communications, infrastructure planning—and in the sport of curling from player, coach, and administrative perspectives.
The Town of Stratford and Charlottetown Curling Club Board of Directors continue to work towards a curling facility being constructed as part of a multi-sport recreational/wellness complex in Stratford.
