Detroit Curling Club
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The Detroit Curling Club is an organization that promotes the sport of
curling Curling is a sport in which players slide stones on a sheet of ice toward a target area which is segmented into four concentric circles. It is related to bowls, boules, and shuffleboard. Two teams, each with four players, take turns sliding ...
in the
Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...
area. Its home is a four-sheet facility located in
Ferndale, Michigan Ferndale is a city in Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. It forms part of the Detroit metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 19,190. Ferndale is well known in the Detroit area for its LGBT population and progr ...
. It is one of the oldest curling clubs in the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
, founded in 1840. It is the oldest in Michigan, and the present-day club was founded in 1885 following the merger of several organizations.


Origins and history

The Detroit Curling Club was founded by local farmers and was one of several organizations that had been formed in the Detroit area post-civil war. These groups largely contested their games on a frozen Orchard Lake - in recent years, divers have found curling rocks from these games at the lake's bottom. The club first moved to an outside facility next to the Detroit Athletic Club and built its first indoor facility in 1906 at 1236 Forest Avenue in Detroit. In 1979, the facility was bought out by an expanding
Wayne State University Wayne State University (WSU) is a public research university in Detroit, Michigan. It is Michigan's third-largest university. Founded in 1868, Wayne State consists of 13 schools and colleges offering approximately 350 programs to nearly 25,000 ...
, and the club moved to a new home in West Bloomfield, Michigan. Hard times fell on the club in the mid-1990s when small membership numbers and high taxes threatened the life of the club. For a few years, the club looked for a new, dedicated facility that would suit the club for years to come. An arrangement was drawn up with the city of Ferndale, the club purchased land in Martin Road Park, then donated the land back to the city, and leased the property for 99 years. This allowed the club to build a new rink with curling in mind. The current facility opened in January 2002. With network coverage of curling during the 2002 and 2006 winter Olympics, membership has soared and in February 2006, a single day open house drew a crowd of 500 first-time curlers. The facility also doubles as a community center in the summer time when the club does not curl as it is too difficult to maintain the ice during the summer heat. The club is a founding member of the
Ontario Curling Association CurlON (formerly the Ontario Curling Association) is the governing body of curling in Southern Ontario. Northern Ontario is governed by the Northern Ontario Curling Association (NOCA). The CurlON sends a team to represent Team Ontario at all majo ...
despite being in a different country. Members are allowed to play in provincial championships in Ontario. Detroit's curling ties to Canada date back to 1917 when they first played against teams from Kitchener and
Waterloo, Ontario Waterloo is a city in the Canadian province of Ontario. It is one of three cities in the Regional Municipality of Waterloo (formerly Waterloo County, Ontario, Waterloo County). Waterloo is situated about west-southwest of Toronto. Due to the c ...
.


References


External links

* Curling clubs established in 1885 Curling clubs in the United States Sports teams in Detroit 1885 establishments in Michigan Sports in Oakland County, Michigan Curling in Michigan {{Detroit-sport-stub