REGINA, Saskatchewan — Curling has come to stay in the City of Regina in Saskatchewan, Canada. The city is the home of one of the most active curling clubs in the entire country — the Highland Curling Club.

Highland Curling Club, an ice curling club located at Highland Park, is one of three curling clubs in Region 7 organised by the Provincial Curling Association. The other two clubs in the region are the Caledonian Curling Club and the Tartan Curling Club, both in Regina. 

In February 1954, the Highland Curling club was started as the Imperial Curling Club. The Imperial Curling Club was created to build a community of curling rinks to meet the needs of curling lovers in the community and also the needs of the Imperial School students. 

During its creation, a curling rink of three sheets of ice was constructed around the Imperial School in the Highland Park subdivision. Most of the laborers during the construction of the curling rink were members of the community who volunteered – and that’s how the Imperial Curling Club was born. 

As at the time the Club started, it was one of the minor curling clubs around. However, during the late 1950s, the Club participated in the Elementary School Loop, which was one of the most popular leagues at the time. Students from St. Michael’s, Imperial and Highland schools were all part of the League. 

Soon, the Club hit a rock, and members started leaving to other curling clubs that had added artificial ice to their rink. The Club’s decision-makers reached an agreement to purchase an artificial ice plant for the Imperial Curling Club on Nov. 4 1958 to get back their lost members. However, to achieve this, there was a need for an extension to house the power plant. Members of the community were on the ground again, volunteering to build the extension and cut costs. Just as expected, members of the Club who left to other clubs returned. 

Because of the confusion between the Imperial town and the Club’s name, the Club decided to change its name to the Highland Curling Club on Oct. 5, 1970. Although the Club sold its three curling rinks to the Curling Club of Kronau four years after the name change, it built six new sheets of ice, which opened on Nov. 29, 1975. 

The construction of the new six sheets of ice in 1975 marked the rebirth of the Highland Curling Club. The Club, which volunteers from the community built, could now boast a full men’s league, a ladies’ league, a senior men’s league, an afternoon ladies league, a night mixed league, weekend mini spiels, youth programs, beginners programs and several commercial leagues. 

The Highland Curling Club has hosted several city playdowns and many Regina Men’s, Ladies’ and Senior Men’s Bonspiels. In addition, the Club has hosted several tournaments since its rebirth, some of which are the SaskTel Mobility Southern Men’s Playdown in 1988, the Provincial Scott Tournament of Heart in 1995, and the Southern Scott Tournament in 1991. 

The Club is one of the most fortunate curling Clubs in the Saskatchewan province, with a dedicated team of staff that has helped to manage it over the years. Their effort helped this Club become mortgage-free in 1996.

Today the club has been managed by a team of five staff members, with AJ Scott as the general manager. He started working as the club’s general manager in June 2018 and has been doing an excellent job ensuring that the Club keeps dishing out high-quality curling activities in Regina.

In 2020, the Saskatchewan Health Authority declared that some members of the Highland Curling Club taking part in the seniors and masters bonspiel at the curling club on November 13-15 had tested positive for COVID-19. Following this announcement, the season was canceled for the year. 

Speaking of the cancellation, the executive director of Curlsask, Ashley Howard, said, “As tough as that was to hear, I appreciate it…we had an opportunity to plan and to make appropriate decisions.” 

The 67-year old curling club is expected to resume stronger and better than before.

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