Building Belonging on the Ice: The Rainbow Rockers’ 25-Year Journey
Building Belonging on the Ice: The Rainbow Rockers’ 25-Year Journey
This Pride Month, Curling Ontario is honoured to put a spotlight on the Rainbow Rockers Curling League, a remarkable community that has quietly reshaped what inclusion on the ice looks like. The curling league is for 2SLGBTQIA+ people and allies in the National Capital Region. What began in 2002 as a post bonspiel idea has grown into a powerful, visible and joyful movement. Today the league fields 48 teams curling out of the Ottawa Curling Club across weekly draws, runs learning clinics and social nights, hosts a signature bonspiel and welcomes a steady stream of newcomers eager to find community. The Rainbow Rockers have not just built a league, they have built a home.
The Rainbow Rockers’ focus on development is a quiet engine of change. Their clinics, from beginner refreshers to advanced workshops with professional coaches, mean curlers do not have to choose between learning and belonging. The league’s seeding and relegation structure gives teams a clear path to growth while preserving recreational enjoyment. That structure nurtures confidence and competence and creates athletes who enrich their home club and the broader curling community.
Their flagship event, the Over the Rainbow Bonspiel, has become more than a tournament; it is a touchstone for queer curling across the country. Curlers who have attended the bonspiel consistently praise its welcoming atmosphere and organization, and its reputation draws people who want to compete in a space that celebrates identity as much as sport. This season’s 25th anniversary for the league, coinciding with the Ottawa Curling Club’s 175th and the bonspiel’s 20th edition, is a testament to endurance, creativity and dedicated volunteers.
Caption: Team McAlear with Emma Miskew at the 2026 Canadian Pride Curling Championships in Toronto.
To mark 25 seasons, the Rainbow Rockers are planning a bold celebration. Expect a weekend festival of curling, music and community that expands the Over the Rainbow Bonspiel to include more teams, special alumni matches, storytelling nights with founding members, a commemorative photo exhibit tracing the league’s history, and partner events with the Ottawa Curling Club. The league will also host outreach demos across the city and a community gala to honour volunteers and sponsors. These events are designed to be joyful, visible and inclusive, bringing together longtime members, newcomers and visiting curlers for an unforgettable anniversary season.
The Rainbow Rockers also show how sport can be an important platform for community building beyond the sheet. Their visible presence at Capital Pride, use of inflatable curling to introduce festival goers to the sport, and partnerships with organizations like Capital Rainbow Refuge demonstrate how curling can be an entry point to safety, social connection and joy for newcomers, including people who have fled persecution. Those moments of newcomers laughing on the ice and volunteers guiding them are as vital as any scoreboard win.
“When we hosted a Try Curling event in April with Capital Rainbow Refuge, I watched newcomers, some fleeing persecution and some from much warmer climates, laugh, learn and just be themselves on the ice. Seeing them experience the simple joy of curling and watching our volunteers welcome and support them was truly heartwarming. Moments like that remind me that the Rainbow Rockers are more than a league, we are a community.”
— Kevin Martin, President of the Rainbow Rockers Curling League
Caption: Rainbow Rocker’s Try Curling event with Capital Rainbow Refuge at the Ottawa Curling Club in April 2026.
Their growth has not been without practical challenges. Demand for spots far outstrips available ice time and rising costs present ongoing pressure. Yet despite these constraints the volunteer board and club partners have found ways to expand access thoughtfully: they reserve spots for returning members, manage spares and deposits, and pursue sponsorships to keep participation affordable. The problem they face, too many people wanting to join, is itself a sign of success and it points to a future where clubs and governing bodies must think creatively about capacity, funding and inclusive programming.
The Rainbow Rockers are also a blueprint for how curling can evolve. They show that inclusion is not a token gesture but an intentional set of practices such as outreach, flexible operations, skill development, visible community engagement and sustained volunteer stewardship. If more clubs across Ontario and Canada adopt this mindset, the sport will become richer, more diverse and better equipped to serve communities it historically overlooked. That shift will grow the game and deepen its social impact.
Looking ahead, the Rainbow Rockers’ ambitions are both practical and profound: expanding opportunities to accommodate demand, securing sponsorship to offset costs, continuing to diversify membership, and amplifying advocacy for safe, welcoming spaces. Their 25th season is not just a milestone, it is an invitation to clubs, curlers, funders and allies to invest in an inclusive future where anyone who wants to try curling finds a place to play.
Most importantly, the Rainbow Rockers remind us why sport matters. Beyond strategy and sweeping, curling can be a place of refuge, celebration and transformation. The warmth, resilience and ingenuity of this league have already changed countless lives and their next 25 years offer the promise of making curling a truer reflection of the communities it serves. Curling Ontario applauds the Rainbow Rockers for what they have built and looks forward to working with them and learning from their example as we work together to make our sport welcoming to all.
To learn more or get involved, visit rainbowrockers.org and follow @rainbowrockersottawa on Instagram to see what they’re up to.