'A' Trophy - Royal Caledonian Curling
Club Trophy (Presented to the Canadian Branch by the
Royal Caledonian in 1898 to commemorate the Diamond Jubilee of
Queen Victoria). We refer to it as the ROYAL VICTORIA JUBILEE . It
is the Premier Trophy of the Canadian Branch, being emblematical
of the single rink Championship of the Branch.
Note : The trophy has the date 1897 engraved on it. It was presented to
the Canadian Branch in 1898. The Royal Victoria Jubilee was started
in 1899. It started as a double-rink competition, but was changed
to a single-rink basis in 1914. Prior to 1954, irons were used. In
1954 a "granite" section was introduced. Now it is "granite" only. Before
the receipt of this trophy, Branch Tankards were the main competition. They
were presented for competition on a five-year basis, and at the end of
the five years the winning clubs played down for outright possession of
the Tankard. The third Tankard in this series, was presented in 1893,
and ran through until 1898. Thus the Royal Victoria Jubilee was not
started until 1899. I wonder if this is how the Tankard got associated
with the Briar.
Nash won it in 1964, Redston in 1991 & 1996, Moon in 1998 & 2004,
and Haliburton in 2005.
Hu Whitehead,
PCCC Club Historian
