Today we kick off a campaign to celebrate 125 years of curling in BC.

Throughout 2020 we will be filling the Curl BC Facebook, Instagram and Twitter timelines with the top 125 moments of curling in BC (in no particular order). Today’s post is an oldie, but a goodie, marking the first curling clubs to form in BC, Kaslo and Golden.

Curling has been part of the fabric of BC communities for as long as any of us have been alive. The game had its roots in Scotland but it captured the imagination of sports enthusiasts in Kaslo and Golden in the Kootenays in 1895. From there it spread across the region and eventually, the province.

Back in those days, people played in the open air on frozen lakes and ponds. The first bonspiels saw teams travel with their own sets of rocks using horses and carriages. They faced snow storms, mountain passes and spring melts but that didn’t deter them.

Eventually people would build sheds and have the the curling sheets protected by some of the harsher winter weather.

Then in the 1940s and 1950s there was a big boom and dozens of modern curling clubs were built across the province.

This brought the game to thousands of British Columbians, who embraced the game and made it our own.

The introduction of curling at the Olympics and the popularity of curling at the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics 10 years ago gave another boost to our game.

As we enter this decade and the 125^th anniversary of curling in the province, we must continue to promote, develop and support the sport.

We know you will be there with us to do this.

If there is a special moment in your history that you would like Curl BC to recognize, please call or email Rebecca at rconnopprice@curlbc.ca.

We are also planning to celebrate, alongside Curling Canada, Curling Day in Canada on February 22 and our own provincial day of curling in the fall. We are urging all clubs to sign up for this fun event which will take place on Nov 7, 2020. It is designed to celebrate our curling family and to invite more people to take part in the sport. Information about this event is now live on our website at https://www.curlbc.ca/curling-day-in-bc.