Prescott Curling Club welcomes Scottish players for Strathcona Cup

It is an event that occurs every five years, with Scottish curlers taking on Canadians across the country in a friendly competition. 

Playing for the Strathcona Cup, the town of Prescott, Ont. is gearing up to host games at their rink on Saturday, with Prescott Curling Club President Gary Albers making sure the three sheets of ice are perfect.

"It's just a friendly, but it is a competition," Albers tells CTV News Ottawa. "It's the total rocks that both countries score over the various games that are played."

The event dates back to 1903, and rotates between both countries every five years.

Sixty curlers arrived in Canada on Jan. 11 and have been criss-crossing the county, with a west, central and east team of 20 players. 

The central team will make stops in Trenton, Kingston, Prescott, Kemptville and Russell over the coming week. 

"Every community is doing something," Albers said. "We're going to meet them at the 401 and parade them down through to the club."

"There's lots of ceremony involved, a piper, flag raising, honour guard, so it's going to be a fun event with lots of history," he added. 

Prescott Curling Club member Stephen Gibson (left) and club president Gary Albers overlook the outdoor rink at Sarah Spencer Park in Prescott, Ont. (Nate Vandermeer/CTV News Ottawa)

The club approached the town of Prescott when they were named as a host, to help with funding and promotion. 

"We're really happy that the town has rallied behind us and they are providing us support," Albers said.  "We're a volunteer club, so we rely on volunteers to operate, and the members have stepped up to help out and to participate in the event so very happy about that and it's just been fun to get all the exposure of our little club here."

The host club is also doing something unique this year, by holding a couple of friendly matches on the outdoor rink at Sarah Spencer Park.

"The Prescott Curling Club started on the (St. Lawrence) river and that was our first choice for a venue, but unfortunately mother nature didn't help us out at all this month," said curling club member Stephen Gibson. 

Gibson travelled to Scotland to curl in the 2018 event, and made it his mission to have the central Scotland team make a stop at his home club in Prescott. 

"We played over there for 29 days, we curled 25 of those days over there and most times it was two games a day," Gibson said. "It was a lot of fellowship and fun."

The public is also welcome to attend the outdoor event for free, and have a chance to try out the game on open ice. 

"This is the only outdoor venue going on the whole tour that we know of and it gives everybody an opportunity to come and see what curling is all about," Gibson said. 

"After we're done, the Little Rocks are going to be here and they are going to play a game and then the general public is invited to throw some rocks on the natural ice if they like," he said. 

"We're hoping to see a few hundred people here and they can watch curling and get a gist of the game and maybe we can even pick up some new members out of it," he added. 

Curling rocks at the Prescott Curling Club. (Nate Vandermeer/CTV News Ottawa)

Gibson said the last time the club held an outdoor game was in 1993 on the waterfront for their 100th anniversary.

"The town has been very supporting," he added. "There's hot chocolate, cake, and all kinds of goodies out here for the people that come along."

The first tour between the two countries dates back to 1903, when Scotland sent a group to curl in Canada and the northeast U.S. 

When the Canadians mounted a return tour to Scotland in 1909, the Strathcona Cup was donated by Lord Strathcona, a builder and philanthropist, best known for driving in one of the last spikes of the transcontinental railway. 

The event kicks off at the Prescott Curling Club at 10 a.m. Saturday, with a complete schedule of events available on the club website. 

The three Scottish curling groups will finish their tour with a final game and banquet in Ottawa on Feb. 2.