Brad Gushue, Mark Nichols, Russ Howard, Jamie Korab and Mike Adam (L-R) of Canada celebrate winning gold during the Turin 2006 Winter Olympic Games. (Clive Rose/Getty Images) After the 1964 Innsbruck Games, the International Olympic Committee unkindly bumped Eisschiessen (German curling) from the demonstration sport roster. Canada re-introduced the sport at the 1988 Calgary Winter Olympics to the delight of curlers around the globe.
Among the host city's privileges is the selection of the demonstration sports, and in that year, curling seemed a natural, all-Canadian selection. With some two million curlers across the country, the sport inspires such a fierce devotion that Canadians have come to call the sport their own.
Given the game's basic simplicity, there is likely no one inventor. Sliding rocks across the ice has been played on many frozen ponds in many different countries. Scotland and Holland both have laid claim to the sport. Scotland originated concept of the curling community when they founded the first Scottish Club in 1510, with more rinks being established steadily in the centuries since.
Curling was successfully exported to England, Sweden, New Zealand, Switzerland, Austria, Italy, France, the United States and Canada. In 1807, the first North American club was established in Montreal, and soon a second club was formed in Quebec City.
A Scottish export to Canada
From 1816 to 1823, some 40,000 Scottish immigrants settled in Ontario and brought their love of curling with them. Curling clubs in Kingston and Toronto developed a friendly rivalry with their Quebec counterparts and regularly played tournaments against each other. The game's popularity spread through the rest of the country, and curling leagues have become social and athletic events from east to west.
Shannon Kleibrink releases the stone during the bronze medal match of between Norway and Canada during at the Turin 2006 Winter Olympic Games. (Elsa/Getty Images) The Brier, Canada's national men's championship event, was first held in 1927. In 1935, the Dominion Curling Association, later renamed the Canadian Curling Association, was formed as Canada's governing body. The women's national championship, now known as the Tournament of Hearts, was first held in 1961.
In 1924, Colonel Robertson-Aikman's rink from England won the gold ahead of Sweden and France. Held as a demonstration sport, the medal winners were the only three countries to compete. Canada followed up at the 1932 Olympics, with William Burns' team decisively capturing gold ahead of the United States.
The curling world championships debuted in 1959. Canada won the inaugural title and the subsequent six titles. At the 1988 Games, the Canadian women's team, skipped by Vancouver's Linda Moore, won gold ahead of Sweden. Moore remarked afterwards, 'I know it is only a demonstration sport, but to us it is still a gold medal." Ed Lukowich led Canada's men's rink to capture bronze behind Norway and Switzerland.
Canada continued to battle powerhouse teams from Sweden, Switzerland, Norway, Germany and the United States at subsequent Olympics. In 1992, Julie Sutton's rink went head to head with Norwegian powerhouse Dordi Nordby and lost, claiming bronze for Canada at the Albertville Games.
