Ontario’s New Curling Future Begins
Ontario’s Groundbreaking and Member-Driven New Curling Future Begins
A revitalized organization that will both preserve history and streamline operations and serve its members better will take effect on May 1, it was announced today.
The new-look Curling Ontario is the result of an extensive review process, consultation period, and membership approvals, and will combine Curling Ontario (formerly covering the southern part of the province only), the Northern Ontario Curling Association (NOCA) and the Ontario Curling Council into one.
At the same time, Curling Canada has consistently assured the Ontario curling community that both Northern Ontario and Ontario will continue to have separate teams at its national championship events.
“We can’t reinforce enough how important this merger will be for the future of curling in Ontario at all levels,” said NOCA President Hayley Smith, Curling Ontario Board Chair Tim McChesney, and Ontario Curling Council Board Chair Gerry Sundwall in a joint statement. “By unifying our efforts, we are creating an exceptional foundation for programs, services, and benefits to thrive. Our focus is no longer divided — it is singular: delivering value to our members and ensuring a sustainable future for the sport as we continue in our shared commitment to building for the next generation of curlers.”
With the merged organization officially coming into effect in less than two months, a transitional board of directors is assembled from the three organizations’ existing boards to govern the merger. The existing senior leadership teams for the three organizations will be jointly planning and developing the next steps in the process for the merged organization, providing progress reports and news along the way.
The historic merger was the result of shared ambitions from all three organizations to find ways to more efficiently and dynamically deliver services to their members, while strengthening and aligning infrastructure and governance policies.
“We are proud and thankful for the support and collaboration that was shown in the process that led us to today’s announcement, and confident that we are in a much better place for our sport as we look to the future,” said Curling Ontario Executive Director Matt Allen, Executive Director for Northern Curling Association Laura Forget, and Manager of Programs and Operations for the Ontario Curling Council Erin Jarvis. “We know that a unified and transparent plan that encompasses high performance, club development and participation will deliver significantly better value to our members and will position our organization and our sport to grow and thrive in the future.”
Contacts:
Matt Allen
Executive Director
Curling Ontario
matt@curlingontario.ca
Laura Forget
Executive Director
Northern Ontario Curling Association
laura.forget@curlnoca.ca
Erin Jarvis
Manager – Programs & Operations
Ontario Curling Council
erin@ontcurl.com