ELORA – The Elora Curling Club is resurrecting a decades-old tradition – and possibly re-sparking a long-standing rivalry between the Fergus and Elora clubs.
On Jan. 17, the two clubs will duke it out at the Piss Pot Bonspiel.
Caroline Hyndman is the communications volunteer for the Elora club and has been doing some research into the club’s history.
The Elora and Fergus curling clubs are among the oldest in the province, with Elora’s club founded in 1839 and Fergus even earlier in 1834, so there’s lots of history, Hyndman said in a phone interview.
“A lot of members have been sharing their stories with me,” she said. “Stories about the Piss Pot are full of chuckles.”
As far as Hyndman can discern, the Piss Pot Bonspiel started in the 1960s as a friendly rivalry between Elora and Fergus. Sometimes the Arthur Curling Club would take part in it too.
Hyndman has the trophy so she knows this much is true.
“From what we know, this event was held during the holidays between the last week of December and the first day of January,” Hyndman stated in an email.
“It was founded by Mr. George Thomas, Fergus Curling Club. George’s vision was to bring the curling clubs together for a bit of a friendly curling competition and an evening of shenanigans.”
It cost $2 to play and the games started at 7pm “and went into the wee hours of the morning.”
“The play was four ends with a break for beverages and then another four more ends,” she wrote.
“Scores were cumulative over the night until the winner was declared.”
Each club alternated hosting the event and Thomas came up with the trophy – originally a chamber pot – with the winning team and year engraved on the side.
Eventually a handmade wooden stand and a topper with a carved wooden curling rock were crafted and added to the trophy.
Legend has it that as the winner was declared, the chamber pot would be filled with a beverage for all to have a sip. New members had the honour of being first to drink from the pot.
The tradition fizzled out some time in the 2000s, Hyndman said. But to mark Curling Day in Canada this year, the two clubs have agreed to a friendly Piss Pot Bonspiel.
Curling Day in Canada, an event to promote the sport and love of the game, is on Jan. 31 but both clubs were fully booked that day.
So they’re holding the inter-club bonspiel on Jan. 17 and it is open to spectators.
“Elora will hold the Piss Pot Trophy until that event,” Hyndman said. “It won’t have all the exact traditions but the essence will be the same. It’s about building community.”
One of the biggest changes is that women will be allowed to play, which was not the case back in the day.
“When it was founded, it was not inclusive. Women were not allowed to play,” Hyndman said.
“This bonspiel will be mixed now.”
Hyndman said the Elora club has about 260 members including children and an inter-city travel team as well as in-house teams.
The club recently renovated its lounge area, so it should be very comfortable and welcoming for spectators who want to attend.
The hope is that the bonspiel will become an annual event again and generate interest in curling.
“Curling creates lifelong friendships, memories and stories,” Hyndman said.
“And for people new to town, a real sense of belonging.”
The Piss Pot Bonspiel takes place Jan. 17 beginning at 9am at the Elora Curling Club.
