Grand National Curling Club

The Grand National Curling Club (GNCC), founded in 1867, was the first National Curling Organization encompassing the entire United States. It remained the national organization until it created the United States Curling Association (USCA) in the 1950s, which split the GNCC into 10 Regions to compete in a U.S. Men's National Curling Championship. The champion would represent the United States in the newly created Men's World Curling Championships.

Grand National Curling Club

Sport	Curling
Jurisdiction	Regional
Membership	73 curling clubs
Abbreviation	GNCC
Founded	1867
Affiliation	None
Official website
www.gncc.org

The GNCC is the union of curling clubs in the Eastern United States. Following the splitting of the GNCC into 10 regions in the 1950s, the GNCC remained as the Eastern US Region, with most of its clubs located in the North-East US From Maine to Virginia. In recent years the growth of new clubs has included both the North-East and South-East United States. As of December 2021, the GNCC includes 73 curling clubs in 18 States. States represented include, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Vermont and Virginia.

Origins and history

In response to a May 1867 advertisement in The Scottish-American Journal, 33 delegates from seven clubs from across the U.S. met on June 26, 1867 in the Caledonian Club rooms in New York City. The seven original clubs were:

1. Caledonian Club (New York, New York)
2. New York Club (New York, New York)
3. Thistle Club (New York, New York)
4. St. Andrew's Club (New York, New York)
5. Paterson Club (Paterson, New Jersey)
6. Caledonian Club (Buffalo, New York)
7. Burns Club (Cleveland, Ohio)

Rather than join the Royal Caledonian Curling Club in Scotland, the delegates decided to form a national organization. On a motion by Mr. James Brand, Caledonian, New York, the new club was called the "Grand National Curling Club of America" and became the first national curling organization in America. Within a few months, additional clubs joined the GNCC from Michigan, Illinois, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

The earliest documented club in the current GNCC geographic area was the New England Curling Club of Boston, established sometime prior to 1839.

In the 1950s a Men's World Championship was being organized. The GNCC reorganized and created the United States Curling Association, dividing the GNCC into 10 Regional organizations. This division was to allow a National Playdown with 10 teams. The Grand National Curling Club became a regional association representing the clubs in the eastern United States. Regional based national playdowns are no longer competed to determine the United States Championships.

The GNCC provides many services to its member clubs. These include, mentoring new clubs, stone rental program for the creation of new clubs, training programs for curlers, coaches and ice technicians, just to name a few. The GNCC also has programs to help clubs perform emergency repairs, programs to help clubs become dedicated ice facilities, and programs to support Junior Curling development. This is NOT an all-inclusive list. New programs are created as needed to help the regional clubs develop and grow. The GNCC works to develop and nurture clubs from initial inception through building dedicated facilities and beyond. The GNCC also has a GNCC Club insurance program available to its member clubs, providing great coverage at reasonable rates.

The GNCC holds many regional championships. Including, Men's, Women's, Mixed, Jr Men's, Jr Women's, Mixed Doubles, Senior Men's, Senior Women's, College, Arena, 5 & Under Men's, 5 & Under Women's and 5 & Under Mixed. The GNCC Holds 2 annual International Events. The oldest dating back to the 1870's is the Gordon International, with the GNCC competing with the Royal Caledonian Curling Club, Montreal Branch. In the 1960s the Ross Tarlton was created with the GNCC competing with the Ontario Curling Association. The GNCC began the Scottish Tour with competition between the GNCC (then representing the entire United States) and the Royal Caledonian Curling Club of Scotland in the late 1800s. The GNCC/Scotland Scottish Tour held a competition every 5 years, alternating between the United States and Scotland. With the creation of the United States Curling Association in the 1950s, the Scottish tour was changed to the United States Curling Association vs the Royal Caledonian Curling Club of Scotland. The Scottish Tour continues to be held every 5 years alternating between the United States and Scotland.

In addition to the activities above, the GNCC represents its clubs to the USCA, acting as the conduit for their clubs to the USCA. In 2022, the USCA Board of Directors removed the GNCC as a member region due to non-compliance with the USCA bylaws. Two-thirds of the USA Curling members voted to ratify the decision at the annual Members' Assembly in October 2022. The GNCC was re-admitted to USA Curling in August 2024.

Member clubs

Main article: List of curling clubs in the United States § GNCC

State	Club Name	City/Town	Type	Sheets	Year Founded	Notes
Alabama	Rocket City Curling Club	Huntsville	Arena	5	2018	Hosted at the Ice Sports Center in Huntsville, Alabama
Connecticut	Hartford Curling Club	Hartford	Arena	3	1908	Originally incorporated 1908-1973, re-incorporated 2015. Hosted at Veterans Memorial Ice Skating Rink in West Hartford, Connecticut
	LBI Curling Club	Bridgeport	Paper			Named after Long Beach Island, NJ
	Norfolk Curling Club	Norfolk	Dedicated	2	1956	Destroyed by arson in December 2011, rebuild completed in October 2013
	Nutmeg Curling Club	Bridgeport	Dedicated	3	1960	Dedicated facility acquired in 2006
Delaware	Diamond State Curling Club	Newark	Arena	1-5	2017	Hosted at the Patriot Ice Center in Newark, Delaware
Florida	Jacksonville Granite Curling Club	Jacksonville	Arena		2017	Hosted at Veterns Memorial Arena in Jacksonfille, Florida
	Loggerhead Curling Club	Lake Worth	Arena	4	2019	Formerly the Palm Beach Curling club. Hosted at Palm Beach Skate Zone in Lake Worth, Florida
	Orlando Curling Club	Orlando	Arena		2014	Hosted at Ice Factory in Kissimmee, Florida, and at Daytona Ice Arena in South Daytona, Florida
	Tampa Bay Curling Club	Tampa Bay	Arena		2017	Hosted at Florida Hospital Center Ice in Wesley Chapel, Florida
Georgia	Atlanta Curling Club	Atlanta	Arena	5	2010	Hosted at Atlanta Ice Forum
	Peachtree Curling Association	Marietta	Dedicated	3	2015	Dedicated facility acquired in 2015
Maine	Belfast Curling Club	Belfast	Dedicated	3	1959	Facility constructed 1962
	Pine Tree Curling Club	Portland	Arena	3	2015	Hosted at William B. Troubh Ice Arena in Portland, Maine
Maryland	Chesapeake Curling Club	Easton	Dedicated	3	1980	Located at the Talbot County Community Center in Easton, Maryland. No ice due to renovations during the 2005-2006 season
	Potomac Curling Club	Laurel	Dedicated	4	1961	Acquired dedicated facility in 2002
Massachusetts	Blackstone Valley Curling Club	Hopedale	Arena		2016	Hosted at Blackstone Valley IcePlex in Hopedale, Massachusetts
	Boston Curling Club	Boston	Paper		1890	Originally outdoors at Fresh Pond, Cambridge, Massachusetts and later on Scarboro Pond in Boston, Massachusetts
	Broomstones Curling Club	Wayland	Dedicated	4	1968	The largest dedicated curling club in the Boston area
	Canadian Club of Boston	West Roxbury	Paper		1961	Currently plays on ice belonging to The Country Club in Brookline, Massachusetts
	Cape Cod Curling Club	Falmouth	Dedicated	3	1969	Curling in current facility since 1975
	Colonial Curling Association	Worcester	Arena	3	2016	Hosted at Fidelity Bank Worcester Ice Center, Worcester, Massachusetts
	Curling Club of the Berkshires	Pittsfield	Arena	4	2017	Hosted at The Boys and Girls Club in Pittsfield, Massachusetts
	Lower Cape Curling Club	Orleans	Arena	3	2018	Hosted at Charles Moore Arena in Orleans, Massachusetts
	Merrimack Valley Curling Club	Lowell	Paper		2008	Formerly the 2006 Greater Lowell Curling Club (paper), now plays at the Nashua Curling Club
	Nantucket Curling Club	Nantucket	Arena		2016	Hosted at Nantucket Ice in Nantucket, Massachusetts
	New Pond Curling Club	Walpole	Natural Ice		1951	Started in 1951 with three stones originally from the Lake Placid Curling Club, founded to experience curling on natural (outdoor) ice
	North End Curling Club	Boston	Arena		2017	Hosted at Steriti Memorial Rink in Boston, Massachusetts
	Petersham Curling Club	Petersham	Dedicated	2	1960	Dedicated facility built in 1960
	South Shore Curling Club	Bridgewater	Arena	5	2010	Hosted at Bridgewater Ice Arena in Bridgewater, Massachusetts
	The Country Club	Brookline	Dedicated	4	1920	The site of the first indoor artificially-created ice rink dedicated to curling on December 19, 1920
	Weston Curling Club	Weston	Paper		1960	Affiliated with Broomstones Curling Club in Wayland, Massachusetts
New Hampshire	Granite Curling Club (Hollis, NH)	Nashua	Paper			Plays out of Nashua Country Club
	Mount Washington Valley Curling Club	Conway	Arena		2011	Hosted at Ham Public Ice Arena in Conway, New Hampshire
	Nashua Country Club	Nashua	Dedicated	4	1928	Curling began in 1928 on a frozen pond which is now the thirteenth hole. Dedicated ice shed construction began in 1947
	Plymouth Rocks Curling Club	Plymouth	Arena	4	2014	Hosted at Plymouth State University Ice Arena in Holderness, New Hampshire
New Jersey	Jersey Pinelands Curling Club	Mount Laurel	Arena	5	2014	Hosted at The Igloo Ice Rink in Mount Laurel, New Jersey
	Plainfield Curling Club	South Plainfield	Dedicated	2	1963	Current indoor facility constructed in 1967
New York	Albany Curling Club	Albany	Dedicated	2	1955	Curling happened on the frozen lake at Albany's Washington Park from 1866 to 1902, prior to the 1955 incorporation of the Albany Curling Club
	Amherst Curling Club	Macedon	Paper			Reportedly used by some curlers out of the Rochester Curling Club
	Ardsley Curling Club	Ardsley	Dedicated	3	1932	Also home of the New York Caledonian's Curling Club. Initially played out of St. Andrew's Curling Club, its current dedicated facility was constructed in 1966
	Brooklyn Lakeside Curling Club	Brooklyn	Arena	5	2014	Hosted at the LeFrak Center at Lakeside in Prospect Park, Brooklyn
	Finger Lakes Curling Club	Ithaca	Arena	4	2017	Hosted at Community Recreation Center The Rink in Ithaca, New York. The 2018-2019 season was cut short due to structural issues.
	Kayuta Lake Curling Club	Forestport	Natural Ice	Varies	2001	Holds the annual Kayuta Lake Curling Club Winterfest bonspiel on outdoor natural ice in February. Ice conditions permitting.
	Lake Placid Curling Club	Saranac Lake	Arena	5	1981	Hosted at Saranac Lake Civic Center in Saranac Lake, New York since 2013
	Long Island Curling Club	Syosset	Arena	4	2008	Hosted at the Long Island Sports Hub in Syosset, New York
	New York Caledonian Curling Club	Yonkers	Paper			Curls out of the Ardsley Curling Club
	Rochester Curling Club	Rochester	Dedicated	4	1961	A two-sheet dedicated facility was constructed in 1966 and expanded to four sheets in 1972. RCC maintains a connection to the Royal Caledonian Curling Club in Edinburgh, Scotland
	Schenectady Curling Club	Schenectady	Dedicated	4	1907	Front Street facility at Mohawk Golf Club constructed and opened in 1924 with artificial ice introduced in 1928. Current facility on Balltown Road constructed in 1952
	St. Andrew's Curling Club	Dobbs Ferry	Paper		1903	Curls out of the Ardsley Curling Club
	Utica Curling Club	Whitestown	Dedicated	6	1868	The facility on Francis Street was destroyed by fire in 1995. The current facility on Clark Mills Road opened in 1996
North Carolina	Charlotte Curling Association	Charlotte	Dedicated	4	2010	Current dedicated facility opened in 2014. Formerly known as the Charlotte Centre Curling Club
	Coastal Carolina Curling Club	Wilmington	Arena	4	2011	Hosted at the Wilmington Ice House in Wilmington, N.C.
	Triangle Curling Club	Durham	Dedicated	4	1995	Opened its own dedicated facility in 2015
Pennsylvania	Anthracite Curling Club	Wilkes-Barre	Arena	4	2006	Hosted at Toyota SportsPlex in Coal Street Park in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania since 2010. Formerly known as the Scranton Curling Club and hosted at the Ice Box in Pittston, Pennsylvania 2006-2008
	Bucks County Curling Club	Warminster	Dedicated	4	2010	Dedicated ice since 2015
	French Creek Curling Club	Meadville	Arena	4	2016	Hosted at Meadville Area Recreation Complex (The "MARC") in Meadville, Pennsylvania
	Nittany Valley Curling Club	Pennsylvania	Arena		2019	Hosted at Pegula Ice Arena at Penn State University
	Philadelphia Curling Club	Paoli	Dedicated	2	1957	Current facility constructed and opened in 1966
	Pittsburgh Curling Club	Pittsburgh	Dedicated	4	2002	New dedicated facility opened Stowe Township in February 2020. Formerly hosted at Robert Morris University Island Sports Center in Glenfield, Pennsylvania
	Rail City Curling Club	Altoona	Arena		2018	Hosted at Galactic Ice in Altoona, Pennsylvania
Rhode Island	Ocean State Curling Club	Smithfield	Arena	5	2009	Hosted at Smithfield Municipal Ice Rink in Smithfield, Rhode Island since 2019
South Carolina	Charleston Curling Club	Charleston	Arena		2017	Hosted at Carolina Ice Palace in Charleston, South Carolina
	Palmetto Curling Club	Greenville	Arena	4	2010	Hosted at Greenville County Pavilion Recreation Complex in Greenville, South Carolina
Vermont	Green Mountain Curling Club	Burlington	Paper		2005	Currently play at the Bedford Curling Club in Bedford, Quebec (10 minutes into Canada from the I-89 crossing)
	Rutland Rocks Curling Club	Rutland	Arena		2007	Hosted at Giorgetti Arena in Rutland, Vermont
	Woodstock Curling Club	Woodstock	Arena		2008	Also known as Upper Valley Curling. Hosted at Wendell A. Barwood Arena in White River Junction, Vermont.
Virginia	Blue Ridge Curling Club	Charlottesville	Arena	3	2016	Hosted at Main Street Arena in Charlottesville, Virginia
	Curling Club of Virginia	Richmond	Arena	3	2011	Hosted at The Richmond Ice Zone in Chesterfield, Virginia
	Roanoke Valley Curling Club	Roanoke	Arena		2018	Hosted at Berglund Center in Roanoke, Virginia

Events

These events are GNCC Sponsored Events, and do not include the events that are sponsored by the GNCC Member Clubs.

• Men's
  • Francis Dykes Bonspiel (5 and under)
  • Ross Tarlton
  • Senior Men’s
  • Gordon International
  • Gordon-Emmet – The oldest consecutive event in North America.
• Women's
  • Senior Women’s
  • Elisabeth Childs Challenge (5 and under)
• Mixed/Open
  • Senior Mixed
  • Raymond Kayser Memorial Bonspiel (5 and under)
  • Mixed Doubles
  • Arena Club Championship (open event for arena club members only)

Past presidents

Presidents of the Grand National Curling Club:

Number	Year Start	Year End	Name	Home Club
1	1867	1870	Bell, David	Caledonian
2	1870	1872	Dalrymple, Alexander	St. Andrew's
3	1872	1873	Macnoe, George	Caledonian
4	1873	1874	Hoagland, Andrew	St. Andrew's
5	1874	1877	Hamilton, John L.	Caledonian
6	1877	1879	Johnston, John	Milwaukee
7	1879	1881	Stevens, James	Jersey City
8	1881	1883	Patterson, John	New York
9	1883	1885	McLaren, William P.	Milwaukee
10	1885	1887	Stewart, James	Yorkers
11	1887	1888	McArthur, John	Chicago
12	1888	1890	Grieve, George	American
13	1890	1892	Peattie, John	Utica
14	1892	1893	Nicholson, Thomas	St. Andrew's
15	1893	1894	Watt, John	Thistle
16	1894	1895	Thomas, Edwin L.	Yorkers
17	1895	1897	McCulloch, John	St. Paul
18	1897	1898	Thompson, Alexander	United
19	1898	1899	Morrison, David G.	Manhattan
20	1899	1900	McGaw, John	Boston
21	1900	1901	Conley, James F.	Empire City
22	1901	1902	Munson, Alfred H.	Utica
23	1902	1903	Edwards, William D.	Jersey City
24	1903	1904	Thaw, James	Thistle
25	1904	1905	Allen, George B.	Utica
26	1905	1906	MacNee, Forrest	St. Andrew's
27	1906	1907	Johnson, Herman I.	Utica
28	1907	1908	Lehmann, John A.	Empire
29	1908	1909	Watt, Thomas J.	Thistle
30	1909	1910	Allen, W. Fred	Utica
31	1910	1911	Archibald, Henry	Caledonian
32	1911	1912	Calder, Frederick M.	Utica
33	1912	1913	Peene, George W.	Yorkers
34	1913	1914	Emmet, Richard S.	Mohawk
35	1914	1916	Johnson, Delos M.	Utica
36	1916	1920	Vaughen, Frank G.	Mohawk
37	1920	1922	Gurley, Nelson R.	Utica
38	1922	1923	Cluett, Walter H.	The Pines
39	1923	1926	Farrell, Thomas H.	Utica
40	1926	1928	Blanchet, Sidney F.	Saranca Lake
41	1928	1929	Halliday, Alexander B.	St. Andrew's
42	1929	1931	Curran, Sherwood S.	Utica
43	1931	1933	Porter, Alexander S.	The Country Club
44	1933	1935	Calder, John W.	Utica
45	1935	1937	Patterson, Jr., C. Campbell	The Country Club
46	1937	1939	Anderson, John	Schenectady
47	1939	1941	Davies, Robert L.	Utica
48	1941	1943	King, Franklin	The Country Club
49	1943	1945	Lydgate, Theodore H.	Schenectady
50	1945	1947	Williamson, Clifton P.	St. Andrew's
51	1947	1949	Hurd, Kenneth S.	Utica
52	1949	1951	Hastings, Addison B.	Ardsley
53	1951	1953	Hill, Lucius T.	The Country Club
54	1953	1954	Davis, Richard P.	Schenectady
55	1954	1956	Joy, John H.	Winchester
56	1956	1957	Searle, William A.	Utica
57	1957	1958	Smith, Dr. Deering G.	Nashua
58	1958	1959	Seibert, W. Lincoln	St. Andrew's
59	1959	1961	Reid, Ralston B.	Schenectady
60	1961	1963	Cushing, Henry K.	The Country Club
61	1963	1965	Wood, Brenner R.	Ardsley
62	1965	1966	Parkinson, Fred E.	Utica
63	1966	1968	Childs, Edward C.	Norfolk
64	1968	1970	Rand, Grenfell N.	Albany
65	1970	1972	Neill, Stanley E.	Winchester
66	1972	1974	Milano, Dr. Joseph E.	NY Caledonian
67	1974	1976	Neuber, Dr. Richard A.	Schenectady
68	1976	1978	Cobb, Arthur J.	Utica
69	1978	1980	Hamm, Arthur E.	Petersham
70	1980	1982	Will, A. Roland	Nutmeg
71	1982	1984	Cooper, C. Kenneth	NY Caledonian
72	1984	1986	Porter, David R.	Wellesley
73	1984	1986	Millington, A. Wesley	Schenectady
74	1988	1989	Dewees, Dr. David C.	Cape Cod
75	1989	1991	Owens, Charles D.	Nutmeg
76	1991	1993	Mitchell, J. Peter	Garden State
77	1993	1995	Lopez, Jr., Chester H.	Nashua
78	1995	1997	Freeman, Kim	Schenectady
79	1997	1999	Williams, Samuel C.	Broomstones
80	1999	2001	Hatch, Peggy	Philadelphia
81	2001	2003	Garber, Thomas	Utica
82	2003	2005	Pelletier, Robert	Potomac
83	2005	2007	Chandler, Robert P.	Broomstones
84	2007	2009	Krailo, Gwen	Nashua
85	2009	2011	Thomas, Carl	Kayuta Lake
86	2011	2013	Macartney, Dick	Coastal Carolina
87	2013	2015	MacKenzie, Sally	Nutmeg
88	2015	2016	Banino, Chris	Ardsley
89	2016	2018	Krailo-Lyons, Gwen	Nashua
90	2018	2020	Brown, Charlie	Schenectady
91	2020	2022	Guzman, Benj	Broomstones
92	2022	2024	Hogan, Robert (Bob)	Peachtree
93	2024	Present	Conrad, Kristen	Charlotte

In 2018, the GNCC implemented a "New Management Plan". This expanded and reorganized its leadership positions. As part of this change, the highest-ranked officer of the GNCC is now "Chairman of the Board of Directors", eliminating the position of "President".

External links

• Grand National Curling Club