History of the Pacific International Cup
In 1998, a group of curlers got together and decided that a competition involving Club Champions would benefit grass roots curling. They recognized that while there were many opportunities for competitive curlers to test their skills in cash bonspiels, super leagues and competitive playdowns leading to the Brier, there was still an opportunity to provide club curlers, the grass roots of our game, with the opportunity to participate in premier events.
B.C. Club Challenge
They created what is today known as the BC Club Challenge (originally the Pacific Club Challenge), an event first limited to men's Club Champions from Lower Mainland clubs of the Pacific Coast Curling Association. The inaugural Club Challenge was in the spring of 1999 at the Royal City Curling Club in New Westminster with 16 Club Champions participating. It was very successful and the organizing group committed to continue the event and with the full support of the Pacific Coast Curling Association, the Club Challenge expanded to include events called Island North and Island South. The BC Interior Curling Association supported the concept and worked with the Club Challenge to initiate events in the interior. In 2005, the Mainland event expanded to include women's club champions.
With the strong partnership with CurlBC, the BC Club Challenge now includes six BC Club Challenge events allowing Club Champions from every curling club in the province to participate in a regional BC Club Challenge Championship. Winners of these events receive regional bragging rights as the best Club Champions and a paid entry into the Pacific International Cup to challenge the rest of the world.
Pacific International Cup
In 2000, the Pacific Coast Curling Association decided to extend the success of the interclub event by supporting the creation of an international competition - another opportunity for Club Champions and the winners of the Club Challenge. An organizing committee was formed and this original committee remains as the core contingent of the Pacific International Cup volunteers. The Richmond Curling Club entered the partnership as the permanent home for the Pacific International Cup.
An invitation to participate was extended to every curling association in geographic proximity to the Pacific Coast Curling Association. The response was positive and warmly received by all of the invited associations. In 2002 the Canadian Curling Association assisted the promotion of the Pacific International Cup for two years by sending the Pacific International Cup champion to represent Canada in an all expense paid curling competition in Japan. The 2002 Pacific International Cup champions from the Gibson's Curling Club won the bronze medal in Japan and the 2003 Pacific International Cup champions from the Vancouver Curling Club were gold medalists.
In 2004, the Pacific International Cup expanded to include a women's competition for four Mainland and four international women's teams. With the support of our friends from Alaska, the Japanese event was replaced with a trip for the top BC teams to the Curling Classic in Fairbanks. In 2005, the Pacific International Cup was expanded to 32 teams with sixteen international teams (eight men's and eight women's) competing against eight men's and eight women's Club Champions from BC who qualified through the BC Club Challenge events. In 2006, resulting from strong demand, four additional international men's teams were added to the event.
2006 Pacific International Cup
The 2006 Pacific International Cup was an immense success. Thirty four men's and women's teams from Alaska, Arizona, Australia, British Columbia, California, China, Chinese Taipei, Minnesota, Texas, Utah, Washington and Yukon played well and enthusiastically. The women's championship round included China (Gold), British Columbia - Chilliwack Curling Club (Silver) and British Columbia - Golden Ears Curling Club (Bronze) and British Columbia - Campbell River. The men's championship round included British Columbia - Golden Ears Curling Club (Gold), China (Silver), British Columbia - Salmon Arm Curling Club (Bronze) and British Columbia - Peace Arch.
There were several notable achievements. The men's team from Golden Ears (Cal Fister) recorded the first repeat as Champions. Cal Fister had previously won in 2001. The Chinese National Team became the first team from Asia to win Gold. The women's team from Chilliwack (Lisa Deputan) became the first successive women's Silver medalist. Mo McLeod from Golden Ears repeated her 2004 Bronze medal performance. The Fister and Deputan teams will represent the Pacific International Cup at the Fairbanks Yukon Title Curling Classic.
The good fellowship and good sportsmanship matched the high caliber of curling. Each year the curlers cast votes to determine which teams demonstrated sportsmanship and the spirit of the game. The 2006 women's sportsmanship award went to Texas and the men's award to Australia.
Players and spectators alike enjoyed the 2006 Pacific International Cup. Texan, Dan Johnson on dansbonspielblog.com commented "The Pacific International Cup is destined to be the premier event of Western North America, if it's not already. It is so well run and the competition level so high for club curlers that it will be the event every one wants to attend." We are sure that 2007 will help to prove Dan right!
2007 Pacific International Cup
The 2007 Men’s and Women’s Champions from the Valley Curling Club and the Royal City
Curling Club will represent the Pacific International Cup in the Fairbanks Yukon Title Curling
Classic in November 2007 as part of their prize package.
Fellow competitors voted for the men’s team from Utah and the women’s team from Castlegar to
receive the Team Sportsmanship awards as best demonstrating skill and the spirit of the Pacific
International Cup.
In the 8 year history of the Pacific International Cup:
- 66 men’s and 31 women’s teams from B.C. clubs have participated;
- 70 men’s and 23 women’s teams from outside B.C. have participated;
- 16 different curling associations (country or State) have had teams participating; and
- 39 of the 92 B.C. curling clubs have had teams participating.
There are 11 administrative regions in Curl BC. Every region has had at least one curling club
participate in the Pacific International Cup and nine of the 11 regions have had two or more clubs
participate in the Pacific International Cup.
All contents of this Web site are Copyright © 2007 - , PIC and B. Ettie O'Connell. All rights reserved.
Last updated: July 31, 2007
