Now thirty years old, the present home of the Penticton Curling Club still looks relatively new and up to date. With six sheets, clubhouse, lounge, trophy cases and locker and change room facilities, this is a nice curling rink.
Along Eckhardt Avenue at Vees Drive, the rink is part of the large sports and cultural complex which includes the
South Okanagan Events Centre,
Penticton Memorial Arena, the
Penticton Trade & Convention Centre and the
Cleland Community Theatre.
Every once in a while the stars align and things go right for a change. Such was the case for the Penticton Curling Club in 2012 when, after a great season, it learned that the Penticton Curling Club was awarded the 2013 Continental Cup to be held in January of 2013. As bonspiels go, the Continental Cup is a big deal. The
Continental Cup of Curling is a curling bonspiel held annually between teams from North America against teams from the rest of the world with each side represented by six teams. This is the bonspiel which affords bragging rights to either North America or
The Rest of the World, depending on the outcome. Inaugurated in 2002, the Continental Cup has seen The World win four times and North America nine times. The 'spiel was not held in 2005, 2009 and 2010. Incidentally, North America won in Penticton - home town advantage? Truth be told, all events until 2014 were held in Canada.
Naturally, the Penticton Western News was shameless in tooting their horn for them in the following well deserved news article.
Penticton Curling Club sweeps
to amazing season
Thu Mar 15th, 2012 8:00pm
As the curtains close and the credits roll on yet another amazing curling season, it is a show we not will soon forget.
Penticton was the host of the Okanagan high school play downs, regions 3, 4, and 7, Dominion Club Challenge and the Eagles Western Canadian Bonspiel. In November, the Canadian Curling Association announced that the Penticton Curling Club, partnered with the City of Penticton, was awarded the 2013 Continental Cup to be held in January 2013. This will be the first international curling event that Penticton has hosted.
As we hang up our curling brooms, and dust off the golf clubs, there are so many people to thank for their contribution to the clubs success.
As they say, behind every great club there is a team of dedicated members.
I would like to introduce a Penticton curler, director of the Penticton Curling Club board, and vice-chair of the 2013 Continental Cup Host Committee. For many, he needs no introduction, Cy Gladish lives a very active lifestyle. He is a curler, hockey player and an avid golfer.
But what you might not know about Cy is he is also a great teacher and dedicated volunteer in the curling community. Cy is dedicated to the sport of curling and to achieving personal excellence both on and off the ice. His curling career began in his 30’s. His interest in curling began with his father, Art Gladish, who played in Calgary’s Super League.
Among his many past achievements, he won men’s zones, and qualified for the provincials a few times, he was also in the B.C. provincial mixed finals in 1994. Cy played for many years in the Kelowna Super league with the likes of Rick Folk [a two-time world curling champion].
When asked how this year’s season went for him, he calls it a soft year.
His soft year saw him win the South Okanagan Skins League (consisting of teams from Peachland to Osoyoos). His mixed team won the A division in the Bush Spiel in Summerland, and if that is not enough of an accomplishment, he was in the finals in Senior Men’s, the Men’s Evening League and the competitive Wednesday Mixed League.
From the Penticton Western News