SCC, in conjunction with the Albany and Norfolk Curling Clubs, are very proud to host the Gordon International Competition this weekend, March 13th through 15th. The Gordon International Competition was first held 130 years ago — on February 8th, 1884 — in Montreal, pitting two rinks from the United States against two from Canada. The Milwaukee Curling Club won the first competition by a total rock score of 36 to 28. Thus began a long-standing, friendly rivalry and fellowship between the Canadian Branch of the Royal Caledonian Curling Club and the Grand National Curling Club. Each year, representatives of these curling organizations compete for the Gordon International Medal, originally presented by Mr. Robert Gordon of the St. Andrews Curling Club of New York and the first Patron of the Grand National Curling Club of America. The three-day bonspiel consists of the Friendly events, which begin on Thursday and conclude midday on Friday, followed by the Gordon International Competition games, which end late Saturday afternoon. All Friendly matches are eight ends, with each match determined by points as follows: 5 points for a win (2-½ points for a tie), one point for each end won, and half the difference in the score awarded to the winner. There are no points for blank ends, and no extra ends should the game end in a tie. All Gordon International matches are eight ends, and the outcome is based on the total number of stones scored by each country. This year’s event boasts forty teams; 20 from the GNCC and 20 from the Canadian Branch of the Royal Caledonian Curling Club. Teams from Adirondack, Cape Cod, Schenectady, Utica, Granite, Nashua, Rochester, Norfolk, TCC, Nutmeg, Potomac, Lake Placid, Albany, Bucks County, and Broomstones will represent the GNCC and teams from Ormstown, Canadian Branch, Point Claire, TMR, Lennoxville, Lachine, Hudson Legion, Gordon Comm, Glemore, Royal Montreal, Valleyfield, Prescott, Boucherville, Danville, Baie D’Urfe, Mont Bruno, Lacolle, Brockville, Huntington, and Bedford will represent the Canadian Branch of the Royal Caledonian Curling Club. There will be matches at both the Schenectady Curling Club (48 games) and Albany Curling Club (24 games) on all three days. There will be an additional 8 games played at the Norfolk Curling Club on Friday and Saturday only. This year’s event marks the 131st year of the Gordon International, and the 119th time the competition has been held, making the Gordon the oldest, continuously competed amateur athletic event in North America. The competition has been played nearly every year, except when interrupted by smallpox epidemics (1885-87), a lack of ice (1892-93, 1897-98 and 1902), or World Wars (1916-18,1945). Two other awards have been added to the Gordon International Competition over the years. In 1968, Addison Hastings of the Ardsley Curling Club presented the first Gordon International Bowl—now the Add Hastings International Bowl—to the Canadian Branch of the Royal Caledonian Curling Club. This award is given annually to the rink on either side that has the largest margin of victory in any single Gordon medal game. In 1988, the James C. Stevens Memorial shield was introduced in memory of Jim Stevens, Canadian Branch curler and Honorary Life Member of the Grand National Curling Club. The shield is awarded to the winner of the Gordon International Friendly games. We welcome our friends from the GNCC and the Canadian Branch of the Royal Caledonian Curling Club, good curling!
Posted on: Wed, 12 Mar 2014 12:43:11 +0000
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