Montague Curling Rink

Montague Curling Rink

The Town of Montague located in eastern Prince Edward Island (PEI) is a community which was developed by Scottish settlers in the early 1800s. Like most communities at the time, development of the town was focused around the water. Blessed with the beautiful Montague River flowing into the Gulf of St. Lawrence, shipbuilding and exporting of goods from base industries in the area, fishing and farming made the Town develop. As the town grew and became the focal point of the area, churches, schools and hospitals were built to service both the town residents and the citizens of south eastern PEI. Montague remains a hub for education, sports facilities, commerce and health for all surrounding communities.

Curling first started in Montague with a one-sheet rink that was attached to the old hockey rink. Natural ice was the order of the day. Later a dedicated two-sheet curling rink with artificial ice was built alongside the junior high school. The new rink allowed curling to grow in the town.

In the mid 1970s a group of enthusiastic curling members decided to build a new four-sheet curling club. That group (led by Doug McGowan and his committee of Harry Campbell, Paul Seres, Peg Sullivan, Evelyn MacLure and Hugh Robbins) succeeded in acquiring enough funding and financial backing to build a new facility. That is the rink we have now.

One of the first things that had to be done was to dissolve the two existing curling organizations, the Montague Men’s and the Montague Ladies’ Curling Clubs, and form a new organization called the Montague Regional Athletic Complex Association (MRACA). That was a very symbolic move at the time because the old ways of having a “curling” or “social” club were abandoned and a new way of looking at the sport that allowed easier access for people was provided to the community.

Over the years the Montague Curling Rink has represented PEI at many national championships such as the Brier, Scotties, Mixed, Dominion, Firefighters, Legion, Stick Curling and Juniors.

Membership has held steady over the last number of years with current membership at 120 adults and 35 juniors. The facility is run by a Board of Directors and has two staff, Manager Larry Richards and Iceman Bruce Rourke. Most all fundraising, events and bonspiels are run on a volunteer basis by the members.