Pittsburgh Curling Club
Encyclopedia
The Pittsburgh Curling Club (or PCC) is a curling
club located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
. It is one of only three curling clubs in Pennsylvania, the other two being the Philadelphia Curling Club and the Anthracite Curling Club (formally the Scranton Curling Club). The PCC is an arena curling
club that was founded in 2002 with 12 members, and as of 2009 it has grown to include over 120 members.
Island Sports Center to start offering Learn-to-Curl sessions. Initially, the members had to draw the curling sheet lines and circles by hand prior to playing their games. But as of 2006, the lines are painted on the ice prior to the start of the season.
In 2007, the Pittsburgh Curling Club received its 501(c)(3) status as a charitable organization. The mission of the club is:
, which is on Neville Island, west of Pittsburgh, and has two indoor rinks (Clearview and Olympic) and two semi-enclosed, multi-purpose rinks (Stadium and Garden). From late fall to early spring, the PCC uses the Stadium rink. In September and April, the warmer weather causes the PCC to move to the indoor Olympic rink. The PCC's summer bonspiel
TropiCurl is held in the Clearview rink.
one day per week, held Learn-to-Curl sessions for over 650 brand new curlers, and ran programs for youth (ages 10–17) and junior (ages 18–21) curlers.
allows teams to move between different divisions in the league depending on their records.
Level 1 Instructors, followed by a shortened curling game between the participants.
on the word tropical, TropiCurl is held during the warm summer months, usually on the July 4th weekend
. As an arena curling
club, the summer is the only time the PCC can afford to rent enough arena ice in order to do all of the pre-bonspiel ice preparation (i.e. two days of flooding and scraping). Without this preparation, the ice, which is typically used for hockey and figure skating, would not be suitable for bonspiel curling. With the arena being able to fit five sheets, TropiCurl is able to host up to 48 teams for four days of curling.
Curling
Curling is a sport in which players slide stones across a sheet of ice towards a target area. It is related to bowls, boule and shuffleboard. Two teams, each of four players, take turns sliding heavy, polished granite stones, also called "rocks", across the ice curling sheet towards the house, a...
club located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
. It is one of only three curling clubs in Pennsylvania, the other two being the Philadelphia Curling Club and the Anthracite Curling Club (formally the Scranton Curling Club). The PCC is an arena curling
Arena curling
- History :Prior to around 2000, most Curling clubs in the United States followed the traditional Canadian model, operating in private facilities on dedicated ice sheets. When curling was introduced to a wider American audience during the 2002 Winter Olympics, interest in the sport grew dramatically...
club that was founded in 2002 with 12 members, and as of 2009 it has grown to include over 120 members.
Origin
The Pittsburgh Curling Club was founded in October 2002, after months of emails and discussions between several ex-pat Canadians and local Pittsburgh residents. The twelve founding members rented ice for 26 weeks at Robert Morris University (RMU)Robert Morris University
Robert Morris University is a private, coeducational university in suburban Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1921, the school was named for Robert Morris, who signed the Declaration of Independence, and helped finance the ensuing war with the British.-History:Robert Morris...
Island Sports Center to start offering Learn-to-Curl sessions. Initially, the members had to draw the curling sheet lines and circles by hand prior to playing their games. But as of 2006, the lines are painted on the ice prior to the start of the season.
In 2007, the Pittsburgh Curling Club received its 501(c)(3) status as a charitable organization. The mission of the club is:
...to teach, develop, promote and encourage the sport of Curling; to develop youth and adult programs that lead to local, national and international competition; to coordinate and develop interscholastic competition; and to teach the sport to youth organizations as well as to interested adults by creating public awareness and appreciation for the sport.
Facility
The PCC curls at the Robert Morris University Island Sports CenterIsland Sports Center
The RMU Island Sports Center Ice Arena is a 1,200-seat hockey rink on the western tip of Neville Island in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. The RMU Island Sports Center was built in 1998, and houses several ice and inline skating rinks, a golf range, a miniature golf course, athletic fields, a...
, which is on Neville Island, west of Pittsburgh, and has two indoor rinks (Clearview and Olympic) and two semi-enclosed, multi-purpose rinks (Stadium and Garden). From late fall to early spring, the PCC uses the Stadium rink. In September and April, the warmer weather causes the PCC to move to the indoor Olympic rink. The PCC's summer bonspiel
Bonspiel
A bonspiel is a curling tournament, traditionally held outdoors on a frozen freshwater loch. The word comes from the Scottish Gaelic and means league match . Though not mandatory, curling teams involved in bonspiels often wear theme costumes...
TropiCurl is held in the Clearview rink.
Leagues and Programs
In the 2008–2009 season, the club ran a leagueSports league
League is a term commonly used to describe a group of sports teams or individual athletes that compete against each other in a specific sport. At its simplest, it may be a local group of amateur athletes who form teams among themselves and compete on weekends; at its most complex, it can be an...
one day per week, held Learn-to-Curl sessions for over 650 brand new curlers, and ran programs for youth (ages 10–17) and junior (ages 18–21) curlers.
Leagues
The PCC curling league runs from October to March. It is structured as an open, ladder league. As an open league, any combination of men, women, youth, junior, and/or wheelchair curlers can form a team. The ladder system or league systemLeague system
A league system is a hierarchy of leagues in a sport, usually with a system of promotion and relegation between consecutive levels of the hierarchy. They are often called pyramids due to their tendency to split into an increasing number of regional divisions the further down the pyramid one descends...
allows teams to move between different divisions in the league depending on their records.
Learn-to-Curl Sessions
Introductory Learn-to-Curl sessions are held on unused ice sheets during the league and also in September and April outside of the regular league season. Sessions include a video introduction to the sport, stretching exercises, delivery and sweeping instruction taught by the club's United States Curling AssociationUnited States Curling Association
The United States Curling Association is the national governing body of the sport of curling in the United States. The goal of the USCA is to grow the sport of curling in the United States and win medals in competitions both domestic and abroad. Curling’s recent popularity has swelled the USCA to...
Level 1 Instructors, followed by a shortened curling game between the participants.
Community Outreach Programs
The Pittsburgh Curling Club offers free Learn-to-Curl sessions to charitable organizations in the Pittsburgh area. Past participants include:- Tickets for Kids: This charity gives out tickets to sporting, cultural, educational, and family entertainment activities.
- HOPE NetworkHope NetworkHope Network is a non-profit Christian organization in Michigan that helps people with disabilities live independently. Hope Network provides services for people with brain injury and spinal cord injury, mental illness, developmental disabilities, drug and alcohol addictions, and other...
: This charity offers sports, fitness, and recreation opportunities for persons with disabilities.
Bonspiels
The Pittsburgh Curling Club hosts two annual bonspiels.- Steelspiel: held in March as an end of the year "funspiel" for members.
- TropiCurl: held in July, it's an "open" format bonspiel (for teams made up of any combination of men, women and juniors) that attracts curlers from all over the USA and CanadaCanadaCanada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
.
TropiCurl
Named for a punPun
The pun, also called paronomasia, is a form of word play which suggests two or more meanings, by exploiting multiple meanings of words, or of similar-sounding words, for an intended humorous or rhetorical effect. These ambiguities can arise from the intentional use and abuse of homophonic,...
on the word tropical, TropiCurl is held during the warm summer months, usually on the July 4th weekend
Workweek
The workweek and weekend are those complementary parts of the week devoted to labour and rest respectively. The legal working week , or workweek , is the part of the seven-day week devoted to labor. In most Western countries it is Monday to Friday. The weekend comprises the two traditionally...
. As an arena curling
Arena curling
- History :Prior to around 2000, most Curling clubs in the United States followed the traditional Canadian model, operating in private facilities on dedicated ice sheets. When curling was introduced to a wider American audience during the 2002 Winter Olympics, interest in the sport grew dramatically...
club, the summer is the only time the PCC can afford to rent enough arena ice in order to do all of the pre-bonspiel ice preparation (i.e. two days of flooding and scraping). Without this preparation, the ice, which is typically used for hockey and figure skating, would not be suitable for bonspiel curling. With the arena being able to fit five sheets, TropiCurl is able to host up to 48 teams for four days of curling.
Past TropiCurl Winners
- 2009: Team Moretto, Richmond Hill Curling ClubRichmond Hill Curling ClubThe Richmond Hill Curling Club is a curling centre located in the town of Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada. The modern RHCC has been in operation since 1959; however, the original RHCC was established in 1889. The club has a 12-person Board of Directors which is elected by the membership at large...
- 2008: Team Epping, Tam Heather Curling Club
- 2007: Team Durrant, Plainfield Curling ClubPlainfield Curling ClubThe Plainfield Curling Club is a curling club located in South Plainfield, New Jersey. It owns and operates the only curling facility in New Jersey. It was founded in 1963, with the members initially using rented ice and curling outdoors. The current two-sheet structure was completed in 1967.The...
- 2006: Team Inglis, Brampton Curling Club
Affiliations
- Grand National Curling ClubGrand National Curling ClubThe Grand National Curling Club, also known as the GNCC, is the union of curling clubs in New England and the Mid-Atlantic of the United States. It was established in 1867...
- United States Curling AssociationUnited States Curling AssociationThe United States Curling Association is the national governing body of the sport of curling in the United States. The goal of the USCA is to grow the sport of curling in the United States and win medals in competitions both domestic and abroad. Curling’s recent popularity has swelled the USCA to...
- United States Women’s Curling Association
- World Curling FederationWorld Curling FederationThe World Curling Federation is the world governing body for curling accreditation, with offices in Perth, Scotland. It was formed out of the International Curling Federation , when the push for Olympic Winter Sport status was made...