Plainfield Curling Club
Encyclopedia
The Plainfield Curling Club (or PCC) is a curling
club located in South Plainfield
, New Jersey
. It owns and operates the only curling facility in New Jersey. It was founded in 1963, with the members initially using rented ice and curling outdoors. The current two-sheet structure was completed in 1967.
The PCC season runs from late October through early April. As of the 2009–2010 season, the club holds league
play seven days per week, hosts five annual bonspiel
s, and has programs for juniors (teenagers) and “little rockers” (ages 6–12).
The PCC currently has over 160 active members. The club had a significant increase in membership for the 2002–2003 season, after U.S. television coverage of curling in the 2002 Winter Olympics
increased awareness of the sport. There was a similar spike in membership for the 2006-2007 season due to the 2006 Winter Olympics
television coverage.
Plainfield Curling Club is part of the Grand National Curling Club and part of the United States Curling Association.
All PCC bonspiels are open to curlers from other clubs. The PCC Stone is a men's competition. The other bonspiels are "open" format; that is, teams may be made up of any combination of men and women.
on Saturday night, "Bonsqueal" is held on the final weekend
of the season before the club closes for the summer. Each year there is a different pig
-related theme (examples: “Piggy Buffet’s Hog-aritaville,” “South Pork,” “Sow Pacific”). There is DJ
and live band
entertainment on Friday and Saturday night, as well as a costume
contest.
Due to the amount of entries typically in upwards of 30 teams, and the limitation of only two sheets of ice, games begin Wednesday night, and are limited to six ends (finals have eight ends). This necessity to shorten games, however, has not hindered the popularity of the event. The ice is turned off for the season after the conclusion of the final games on Sunday afternoon.
Curling
Curling is a sport in which players slide stones across a sheet of ice towards a target area. It is related to bowls, boule and shuffleboard. Two teams, each of four players, take turns sliding heavy, polished granite stones, also called "rocks", across the ice curling sheet towards the house, a...
club located in South Plainfield
South Plainfield, New Jersey
South Plainfield is a Borough in Middlesex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 23,385....
, New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
. It owns and operates the only curling facility in New Jersey. It was founded in 1963, with the members initially using rented ice and curling outdoors. The current two-sheet structure was completed in 1967.
The PCC season runs from late October through early April. As of the 2009–2010 season, the club holds league
Sports league
League is a term commonly used to describe a group of sports teams or individual athletes that compete against each other in a specific sport. At its simplest, it may be a local group of amateur athletes who form teams among themselves and compete on weekends; at its most complex, it can be an...
play seven days per week, hosts five annual bonspiel
Bonspiel
A bonspiel is a curling tournament, traditionally held outdoors on a frozen freshwater loch. The word comes from the Scottish Gaelic and means league match . Though not mandatory, curling teams involved in bonspiels often wear theme costumes...
s, and has programs for juniors (teenagers) and “little rockers” (ages 6–12).
The PCC currently has over 160 active members. The club had a significant increase in membership for the 2002–2003 season, after U.S. television coverage of curling in the 2002 Winter Olympics
2002 Winter Olympics
The 2002 Winter Olympics, officially the XIX Olympic Winter Games, were a winter multi-sport event that was celebrated in February 2002 in and around Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. Approximately 2,400 athletes from 77 nations participated in 78 events in fifteen disciplines, held throughout...
increased awareness of the sport. There was a similar spike in membership for the 2006-2007 season due to the 2006 Winter Olympics
2006 Winter Olympics
The 2006 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XX Olympic Winter Games, was a winter multi-sport event which was celebrated in Turin, Italy from February 10, 2006, through February 26, 2006. This marked the second time Italy hosted the Olympic Winter Games, the first being the VII Olympic Winter...
television coverage.
Plainfield Curling Club is part of the Grand National Curling Club and part of the United States Curling Association.
Bonspiels
The Plainfield Curling Club hosts six annual bonspiels.- The Pursuit of Happiness Bonspiel, October
- Founders’ Bonspiel, November
- Robert BurnsRobert BurnsRobert Burns was a Scottish poet and a lyricist. He is widely regarded as the national poet of Scotland, and is celebrated worldwide...
Thrifty Bonspiel, January - Junior Bonspiel, for teenage curlers, February
- PCC Stone Bonspiel, March
- "Bonsqueal", March/April (see below)
All PCC bonspiels are open to curlers from other clubs. The PCC Stone is a men's competition. The other bonspiels are "open" format; that is, teams may be made up of any combination of men and women.
"Bonsqueal"
Named for the popular pig roastPig roast
A pig roast or hog roast is an event or gathering which involves the barbecuing of a whole hog...
on Saturday night, "Bonsqueal" is held on the final weekend
Workweek
The workweek and weekend are those complementary parts of the week devoted to labour and rest respectively. The legal working week , or workweek , is the part of the seven-day week devoted to labor. In most Western countries it is Monday to Friday. The weekend comprises the two traditionally...
of the season before the club closes for the summer. Each year there is a different pig
Pig
A pig is any of the animals in the genus Sus, within the Suidae family of even-toed ungulates. Pigs include the domestic pig, its ancestor the wild boar, and several other wild relatives...
-related theme (examples: “Piggy Buffet’s Hog-aritaville,” “South Pork,” “Sow Pacific”). There is DJ
Disc jockey
A disc jockey, also known as DJ, is a person who selects and plays recorded music for an audience. Originally, "disc" referred to phonograph records, not the later Compact Discs. Today, the term includes all forms of music playback, no matter the medium.There are several types of disc jockeys...
and live band
Band (music)
In music, a musical ensemble or band is a group of musicians that works together to perform music. The following articles concern types of musical bands:* All-female band* Big band* Boy band* Christian band* Church band* Concert band* Cover band...
entertainment on Friday and Saturday night, as well as a costume
Costume
The term costume can refer to wardrobe and dress in general, or to the distinctive style of dress of a particular people, class, or period. Costume may also refer to the artistic arrangement of accessories in a picture, statue, poem, or play, appropriate to the time, place, or other circumstances...
contest.
Due to the amount of entries typically in upwards of 30 teams, and the limitation of only two sheets of ice, games begin Wednesday night, and are limited to six ends (finals have eight ends). This necessity to shorten games, however, has not hindered the popularity of the event. The ice is turned off for the season after the conclusion of the final games on Sunday afternoon.
Affiliations
- United States Curling AssociationUnited States Curling AssociationThe United States Curling Association is the national governing body of the sport of curling in the United States. The goal of the USCA is to grow the sport of curling in the United States and win medals in competitions both domestic and abroad. Curling’s recent popularity has swelled the USCA to...
- Grand National Curling ClubGrand National Curling ClubThe Grand National Curling Club, also known as the GNCC, is the union of curling clubs in New England and the Mid-Atlantic of the United States. It was established in 1867...
- Mid Atlantic Curling Association (Comprising the Plainfield, Philadelphia, PotomacPotomac Curling ClubPotomac Curling Club is a curling club started in 1961 and currently curling in Laurel, Maryland. Operating out of the National Capital Curling Center, a dedicated curling ice facility at the Gardens Ice House operated under a long-term lease since 2002, the group maintains four lanes of dedicated...
, and Chesapeake curling clubs.) - U.S. Women’s Curling Association