The San Francisco Bay Area Curling Club (SFBACC) is a non-profit corporation serving the needs for the play and development of 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

San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Go ...

and its surrounding outskirts. Headquartered in

Oakland Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third largest city overall in the Bay A ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, it is the largest curling club in California as well as in the

Mountain Pacific Curling Association The Mountain Pacific Curling Association (MoPac) is a regional association of the United States Curling Association encompassing the states of Arizona, California, Idaho, Oregon, Montana, Nevada, and Utah. MoPac sends regional representatives to ...

. The San Francisco Bay Area Curling Club is a registered non-profit corporation in the state of California. The SFBACC is a member of the

and also of the United States Curling Association.

History

The San Francisco Bay Area Curling Club (SFBACC) was founded March 13, 1958 in

Mountain View, California Mountain View is a city in Santa Clara County, California, United States. Named for its views of the Santa Cruz Mountains, it has a population of 82,376. Mountain View was integral to the early history and growth of Silicon Valley, and is the ...

. In the club's early years, it had a dedicated curling facility called the Peninsula Curling Rink. By the early 1970's the dedicated facility was closed and the club was curling on arena ice. Starting in 1994 the SFBACC began curling at Solar4America Ice at San Jose, renting ice for short seasons until 2006 when regular league times were established. Also in 2006 the club expanded to nearby Fremont to begin curling at Solar4America Ice at Fremont. With interest in the sport continuing to grow throughout the San Francisco Bay Area the club expanded again in the summer of 2009 to

. From 2009 to 2018 the club conducted activities at the three separate locations in San Jose, Fremont, and Oakland. In early 2018 the SFBACC allowed the newly formed Silicon Valley Curling Club (SVCC) to take over all curling activities at Solar4America at San Jose and Solar4America at Fremont.

Oakland Ice Center

Prior to 2018, the SFBACC curled a
Oakland Ice Center
located in the city's Uptown district. The rink is owned by the city of Oakland and operated by Sharks Ice, LLC. As of December 2019, the club's affiliation with the Oakland Ice Center had ended.

Current facilities

In March 2022, the club opened a new 5-sheet dedicated facility in East Oakland.

Events

The SFBACC has hosted the Golden Gate

Bonspiel A bonspiel is a curling tournament, consisting of several games, often held on a weekend. Until the 20th century most bonspiels were held outdoors, on a frozen freshwater loch. Today almost all bonspiels are held indoors on specially prepared ar ...

annually each spring during Memorial Day weekend since 2008. The tournament was previously held at Solar4America Ice at Fremont and will held at the new dedicated facility in Oakland moving forward. The club teaches Learn-to-Curl events throughout the year to expose new people to the sport. During the

Winter Olympic Games The Winter Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'hiver) is a major international multi-sport event held once every four years for sports practiced on snow and ice. The first Winter Olympic Games, the 1924 Winter Olympics, were he ...

interest is especially high and so the club hosts numerous Learn-to-Curl events, lesson series, and instructional leagues to teach thousands of people. In October 2013 the SFBACC played host to the

World Curling Federation The World Curling Federation (WCF) is the world governing body for curling accreditation, with offices in Perth, Scotland. It was formed out of the International Curling Federation (ICF), when the push for Olympic Winter Sport status was made. T ...

Olympic Celebration Tour, which brought 2010 Olympic silver medalist Carolyn McRorie to Oakland to participate in multiple clinics.

Competitive titles

*2013 USCA Arena Curling Women's National Championship - Silver Medal *2014 USCA Arena Curling Women's National Championship - Bronze Medal *2015 USCA Arena Curling Women's National Championship - Gold Medal *2016 USCA Arena Curling Women's National Championship - Gold Medal *2017 USCA Arena Curling Women's National Championship - Bronze Medal *2018 USCA Arena Curling Men's National Championship - Silver Medal

References

{{Reflist

External links

Official San Francisco Bay Area Curling Club WebsiteSan Francisco Bay Area Curling Club Dedicated Ice Website

Golden Gate BonspielMountain Pacific Curling AssociationUnited States Curling Association
Curling clubs in the United States Curling clubs established in the 20th century Sports clubs and teams established in 1958 Sports clubs and teams in San Francisco 1958 establishments in California Curling in California Sports in Oakland, California