When it is played in Canada, there
are twice as many Canadian participants. This
is because when play is in the U.S., there are not as many curling clubs
to accommodate the curlers as there are in the Montreal area.
ORIGINS
Curling clubs began springing up in
the mid-1880's in both Canada and the United States and it was natural
that international contests would soon follow. On January 25th, 1884,
Mr. Robert Gordon of New York City presented a handsome gold medal
to the curlers of the United States and Canada to be played for in
annual competition.
The Gordon International
Curling Medal has been played for on 102 occasions with Canada
winning 75 times and the United States winning 27 matches. From
1970-1997 the United States only managed to win once, by 4 stones
in Boston in 1982. The total rock count to date is 29,148 to 25,406
in favor of the Canadians. 1998 was the 21st time The Utica
Curling Club has hosted this event.
Its official name is THE
GORDON INTERNATIONAL CURLING MEDAL.
|
Note the unique folding shields
which tuck into the back of the medal. |
ROBERT GORDON
Mr. Robert Gordon was
a member of the St. Andrews Curling Club of New York and was
the first patron of the Grand National Curling Club of America,
retaining that honor until his return to Scotland in the summer
of 1884. He was born in Dumfries, Scotland, November 17, 1829,
and educated in Scottish schools and Glascow University. In 1849,
when he was 20 years of age, he came to New York and was connected
in business with the firm of Maitland Phelps & Co., a financial
house. Mr. Gordon retired from business in April of 1900, and he
died at Christchurch in 1918 at the age of 89.
Robert Gordon of New York City was elected
the first patron of the Grand National at its inception in 1867. Through
the Grand National, Mr Gordon had presented "The Gordon Champion
Rink" medal to the curlers of the United States in 1869. Then
on January 25 1884, Mr. Gordon gave "...... the Gordon
International Curling Medal ..... to the curlers of the United
States and Canada ...... to be played for at Montreal and the United
States alternately under the direction of the officers of the Canadian
Branch of the Royal Caledonia Curling Club.
EARLY COMPETITION
The first match for the Medal was played
at Montreal on February 8, 1884 and was won by the Milwaukee Curling
Club. Terms of the original rules governing the Match established
Montreal as the venue of play, and the Canadian Branch of the RCCC
as the governing authority. It was originally
intended to hold the matches at the same time as the Montreal Carnivals
on the ice on the St. Lawrence River. However , these did not
last long: so in 1889, as a result of a request
made jointly to the Canadian Branch by the Donor of the Medal and
the GNCC, it was mutually agreed to have the Match alternate between
Canada and the United States. The first match in the United States
was at the "fine new covered rink"
of the Albany
City Curling Club on February 20, 1890.
Records indicate that over the 114 year
period, matches were postponed due to smallpox epidemics in 1885,
1886, and 1887; due to lack of ice in 1897, 1898, and 1902; and due
to Wars in 1916, 1917, 1918 and again in 1942 and 1945.
POINTS AND TROPHIES
The winner is decided by whichever country
has the highest
total rock count. It
appears that for the inaugural games and for some years thereafter
the games were 21 ends, but has now settled down to 10 end matches.
All participants receive a crest and each member of the winning country receives
a medal.
|
In honour of Canada's 100th
birthday, the Grand National Curling Club presented "The
Gordon International Bowl" to be awarded each year
for the highest plus single score on either side during the
Gordon International Medal matches. In 1975, at the
request of the Grand National, its name was changed to "The
Add Hastings International Bowl". Mr. Hastings
was the original donor of this trophy. He was a member
of the Ardsley Curling Club and President of the Grand National
Curling Club of America (1949-1951). |
Since 1951, play has been expanded to include "Friendly" matches. There
are currently two Gordon matches and two Friendly matches. The
Gordon games consist of 10 ends and the Friendlies of 8 ends.
In 1988, another trophy was added to the competitions, The
James C. Stevens Shield. This
shield is awarded to the team with the highest total point score
of the Friendly matches.
We do not know who serves on the Gordon Committee. As it is a Branch
committee, they make the decision, being by election or appointment. We
don't know for how long they serve; some members have served for multiple
years. As to the composition of the Branch and Gordon teams, this too
is determined by the Branch. As mentioned above, the Gordon has been
conducted under the direction of the officers of the Branch since 1884
and they have conducted this annual event very successfully.
Until 1901, the Match was played with two rinks on a side, then
by agreement, the rule was changed to provide for the Medal to be
played for by two or more rinks on each side - the number being arrived
at by agreement each year. Today, when the medal is played for in
the United States, there are 20 Canadian teams and 20 American teams
each playing two ten-end games. The outcome is determined by the
total number of stones scored by each country in the two games. There
are two other competitions within the Gordon International. The J.C.
Stevens Memorial Shield has been presented since 1988 to the point-total
winner of the Friendly games. The Add Hastings International Bowl
has been awarded since 1968 to the rink on either side that has the
largest plus score in any single Gordon game.
[This history is taken, with thanks, from information provided by
Utica's Tom Garber at the 1998 Gordon Competition]
Blue text: written by Hu Whitehead,
PCCC historian.
Black text: as written on this
website: http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/rppurdy/history.htm As of July 2009, however, this site is no longer available.
