The Currier Cup
This event, now usually held in January or February, is probably the longest annual sports trophy competition in North America. The annual Ottawa CC versus the Buckingham CC competition began in 1861 when Joseph Currier donated the cup. He was the man who had built and lived in 24 Sussex Drive. See the picture above and our History.
Any club member who wishes to play in this event, which alternates each year between venues, should contact the Member's Services Director. The host club supplies a meal and refreshments.
The Ottawa-Rideau Challenge
This rivalry has been going on since 1909. The Rideau is the other downtown Ottawa curling facility that began when some disgruntled Ottawa members left this club to form their own curling group. The issue was this club's temperance policy.
That isn't the case anymore as the annual event takes place between Christmas and New Year's Day, adding to the spirited competition. Relatives and friends visiting club members are welcome to participate. The venue alternates annually between clubs and the host club provides a meal at no charge to visiting club.
The Roy Blair Bonspiel
Curl with a distinguished curler at skip and enjoy the chance of participating in a Calcutta in mid-April. In the Roy Blair participants declare what position they would like to play. Then a draft night is held where players are called up by positions (leads go first) and choose which skip they wish to play for. A few days after the draft night each team plays in a number of truncated games in a "points" bonspiel format. The winning rink is the one that accumulates the most points after the Blair is done.
Roy Blair represented the spirit of the Ottawa in that he was a great curler but also wanted everyone, no matter what their skill level, to participate. His life ended early in a tragic drowning accident in 1977.
The Gordie Perry Bonspiel
Established in 1961, this late April bonspiel is meant to be a fun outing to end the curling season. The seven-day event sees players of all skill levels compete in any combination of four (4) players. Novice curlers to "professional" curlers are all on the ice at the same time.
The emphasis is on fun and rubbing shoulders with the famous and not so famous. The important thing is to rub shoulders. Special event nights occur during the last few days of the spiel, live entertainment is supplied as well as a great closing night banquet.
Gordie Perry was an exceptional Ottawa Curling Club member who began this spiel in 1961. He was the last skip to win an "irons" play championship in 1950. An excellent athlete he played in the 1931 Grey Cup for Montreal when they won the national championship. He is also in Canada's Sports Hall of Fame, the Ottawa Sports Hall of Fame, the New Brunswick Sports Hall of Fame, the Quebec Sports Hall of Fame and the Canadian Football Hall of Fame.
His spiel is still goes strong just like Gordie did – he lived to be 100 years young.
The Club Championship
The OCC Club Championship wraps up the year.
Our men's and women's champions will represent the Ottawa CC in the Dominion Curling Club Championship.
Quebec Challenge Cup
The Quebec Challenge Cup is the oldest competitive trophy in North America, and has been continually contested since 1874. The series is open to any club involved with the OVCA or Curling Quebec as an event under the Canadian Branch. Due to the vast number of clubs waiting to challenge for the Cup, it is typically a 5-7 year cycle to get another chance to challenge for this large, prestigious trophy.
The Quebec Challenge involves having a 10-end double rink curling game. At the conclusion of each challenge, the Cup is awarded to the club with the highest aggregate score.
The Ottawa Curling Club challenged for the Cup (Challenge #801) on April 5, 1998, and Ottawa narrowly lost to cup-holders R.C.N. (Navy) C.C. by a score of 12-11. Ottawa defaulted Challenge #858 in March 2004, and the Cup remained with R.C.N. (Navy) C.C. Ottawa also did not participate in Challenge #912 on November 22, 2009, and the Cup was retained by Baie d’Urfé.
On Oct 1, 2016, our OCC double rink skipped by Spencer Cooper and Eddie Chow challenged the Quebec Challenge Cup holders, Cornwall Curling Club (Challenge #968), and emerged victorious! For the first time since 1957, the Quebec Challenge Cup trophy resided at the Ottawa Curling Club!
