Saturday Curling League Champs
North Bay Granite Club - Sat Open Recreation Curling League
For those familiar with Saturday morning curling, for decades this league was a male-only, industrial league. On Dec 1st, 1962 the brand new Four Seasons Health Center located on top of Thibeault Hill was officially opened, and the 1962/63 Industrial League season kicked off. The Four Seasons boasted an eight-sheet curling facility as well as both 5 and 10 pin bowling!
As 2025 is the North Bay Granite Club’s 75th Anniversary year, the following background is shared:
Back in the early 1960s the Industrial League started with 24 teams with names like ONR, Longyear, DuPont, Nipissing Electrical, The Nugget, Blanchfields, North Bay Concrete, Department of Highways Ontario (DHO), Widdifield Fire Department and H.E. Brown to list a few. By 1964/65 the Industrial Curling League, playing out of the Four Seasons, had 52 rinks competing, using all eight sheets on the Saturday morning 0830, 1030 and 1230 draws. That season, Nipissing Electric’s Earl Wilson skipping Greg Wilson, Keith Wilson and Charlie Stratton won league play and the McCubbin Trophy. Of interest, the following season on April 4th, 1966, the Nugget featured a picture of the DHO rink winners of the Industrial Curling League annual bonspiel skipped by Bob Laronde, Wayne Barker, Brian McKinnon and Granite Club’s own young Dave Cerisano holding the original Industrial League trophy. (This picture features on our North Bay Granite Club’s 75th Anniversary page on the History section.)
This season the Industrial League was rebranded the Open Recreational Curling League, co-sponsored by Kal Tire North Bay and KRB. This past Saturday morning this Open Recreational Curling League played its final set of games. For those unfamiliar with this curling league, it is an “open” league meaning it is open to anyone; also the “recreation” aspect keeps the focus on fun and social. This year the league games enjoyed tremendous ice from master ice maker Bruno Bin and his team. The eight end games were scored and stats were updated each week. If tied after eight ends, each team earned a single point. Following every game both teams threw one Draw To The Button (DTTB) each ,with the better draw earning that team another point. For an added level of fun, each week the DTTB was rotated through team positions ( Leads one week, Seconds the next week, etc). The DTTB was also scored for accuracy with points awarded (covering the pin worth the most at 5 points, earning fewer points as further outward from the pin). These draw points were added up over the 15-game season. How did all of this play out??
The Draw To the Button winning team was Team Philbert (Jeff Philbert, Olivia Forsyth, Stephanie Robitaille and Kevin McAllister). The League play was won by Kal Tire Mechanics (Marsh McCulley, Natasha Gribbon, Marc Chretien and Butch Blair). The playoffs were won by Kal Tire Nokians (Gilbert Waye, Art Thornton, Grayson Gribbon and Steve Banducci) whose names will be put on the current Industrial League Trophy.
The league is looking for new teams to expand the Saturday Morning competition next season. Teams or individuals interested may contact the North Bay Granite Club at (705) 472-6740, also curling registration occurs in September with curling commencing in October! Have a great summer, stay safe and shop local.
