The Toronto Cricket Skating and Curling Club is a private sport and social club located in
Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
, Ontario, Canada. The club offers a variety of sporting and social programs including aquatics, cricket, croquet, curling, figure skating, fitness classes, lawn bowling, squash and tennis. The club also provides additional services including daycare, children's camps, health services, and social events for adults and children.
History
The history of Toronto Cricket Skating and Curling Club dates back to 1827, when the Toronto Cricket Club was founded. The Toronto Curling Club was organized in 1836 and the Toronto Skating Club sometime in the mid-eighteen hundreds. In 1957 these three clubs amalgamated into the athletic and social club it is today.
The merger was seen as beneficial for the memberships of all the clubs. The Toronto Cricket Club had struggled financially since the 1930s; the Toronto Skating Club had outgrown its premises on Dupont Street and both operated on a seasonal basis. By joining forces the new club could remain open all year-round.
After months of negotiations and careful planning by both clubs another proposal came forward. The Toronto – Victoria Curling and Bowling Club was looking for a new facility after the club's property was expropriated by the expanding University of Toronto. On 10 April 1957, the membership voted unanimously to further the recent merge with the third club and call the new entity the Toronto Cricket Skating and Curling Club.
Amalgamation was a bold step. With its success, a proud tradition of sporting excellence was not only maintained, it thrived. The Toronto Cricket Skating and Curling Club hosted such prestigious international events such as the North American Skating Championships, The Davis Cup and the Sahara Cup. Brier champions trained at the club, as did renowned skaters like
Barbara Ann Scott and
Toller Cranston
Toller Shalitoe Montague Cranston, CM (April 20, 1949 – January 24, 2015) was a Canadian figure skater and painter. He won the 1971–1976 Canadian national championships, the 1974 World bronze medal and the 1976 Olympic bronze medal. ...
.
In the 60 years since amalgamation, the club's membership has nearly doubled, and the regulations and facilities have evolved to meet the changing tastes of each generation. What has not changed is the original vision and pursuit of excellence that was at the heart of the Toronto Cricket Skating and Curling Club in 1957.
Athletics
Toronto Cricket Skating and Curling Club is perhaps best known for its
figure skating
Figure skating is a sport in which individuals, pairs, or groups perform on figure skates on ice. It was the first winter sport to be included in the Olympic Games, when contested at the 1908 Olympics in London. The Olympic disciplines are me ...
programme that is run by Olympic skaters
Brian Orser
Brian Ernest Orser, (born 18 December 1961) is a Canadian former competitive and professional figure skater and coach to Olympic champions. He is the 1984 and 1988 Olympic silver medallist, 1987 World champion and eight-time (1981–88) Can ...
and
Tracy Wilson
Tracy Wilson, (born September 25, 1961) is a Canadian former competitive ice dancer. With partner Rob McCall, she won the Canadian national championship seven times (1982–1988), is a three-time World bronze medallist, and the 1988 Olympic ...
. The two have coached many elite-level skaters to national, international, world and Olympic titles including skaters such as
Yuna Kim
Yuna Kim (; born September 5, 1990), also credited in eastern name order as Kim Yuna or Kim Yeon-a, is a retired South Korean competitive figure skater. She is the 2010 Olympic champion and 2014 Olympic silver medalist in ladies' singles, ...
(2009 & 2013 World Champion, 2010 Olympic Champion, 2014 Olympic Silver medallist),
Gabrielle Daleman
Gabrielle Daleman (born January 13, 1998) is a Canadian figure skater. She is a 2018 Olympic gold medalist in the team event, the 2017 World bronze medalist, 2017 Four Continents silver medalist, 2014 CS Autumn Classic champion, and two-time C ...
(2018 Olympic Team Gold medallist and 2017 World bronze medallist),
Evgenia Medvedeva
Evgenia Armanovna Medvedeva (alt. spelling: Yevgenia Medvedeva; rus, Евгения Армановна Медведева, p=jɪvˈɡʲenʲɪjə mʲɪˈdvʲedʲɪvə; born 19 November 1999), is a competitive Russian Figure skating, figure ska ...
(2018 double Olympic Silver medallist, 2016 & 2017 World Champion),
Yuzuru Hanyu
is a Japanese former competitive figure skater. He is a two-time Olympic champion (2014, 2018), a two-time World champion (2014, 2017), a four-time Grand Prix Final champion (2013–2016), the 2020 Four Continents champion, the 2010 World J ...
(2014 & 2017 World Champion and 2014 & 2018 Olympic Champion) and
Javier Fernandez (2015 & 2016 World Champion and 2018 Olympic Bronze medallist).
The Toronto Cricket Skating and Curling Club hosts a number of other sports that include:
* Aquatics
* Cricket
* Croquet
* Curling
* Fitness
* Lawn Bowling
* Skating
* Squash
* Tennis
All athletics include leagues, clinics, lessons and free play for members of the club.
References
External links
Official websiteat
ESPN CricInfo
ESPN cricinfo (formerly known as Cricinfo or CricInfo) is a sports news website exclusively for the game of cricket. The site features news, articles, live coverage of cricket matches (including liveblogs and scorecards), and ''StatsGuru'', a ...
{{Authority control
1827 establishments in Canada
Sports clubs established in 1827
Multi-sport clubs in Canada
Curling clubs in Canada
Figure skating clubs in Canada
Clubs and societies based in Toronto