Broomstones Curling Club is the largest curling club in the Boston area, with a membership of over 200 active curlers, four sheets, and curling leagues every day of the week during the winter curling season. Broomstones is affiliated with the Grand National Curling Club. A unique feature of the club is its origin by and separate maintenance of three separate curling clubs in the area that combined to share resources, but maintain individual identity for national competition purposes.
History
The sport of curling was introduced to the Boston area in the 1800s , and the first indoor curling club in the United States was opened in Boston, MA in 1881. The Boston area was home to the first ever curling game held on purpose built artificial ice, in the Boston Arena, on January 18, 1911 A large number of curling clubs formed in the late 1800s and early 1900s, either curling on outdoor ice, or indoors within the purviews of a Country Club or other sporting organization. Some clubs did not have their own ice, but instead rented access from others. Three Boston-area curling clubs, the Brae Burn, Wellesley, and Weston country clubs had been renting ice from The Country Club, and wanted to have their own ice. When Wellesley and Weston denied petitions to build a curling facility, the curling members of those country clubs decided to affiliate and build a facility which the respective clubs could share. At the time, it was decided that the clubs would maintain their own identities, memberships, and finances. Broomstones, Inc. was established to act as the owner of the facility, and two of the three clubs rented ice-time from it. The arrangement was successful, and in 1978, Brae Burn joined Broomstones. Over the years, a group identity and sense of camaraderie was established, and in 1992, Broomstones became more than just the facility owner; it became a curling club in its own right. Today, the Brae Burn, Wellesley and Weston curling clubs still exist as independent entities, but most curlers at Broomstones are members of the Broomstones Curling Club, Any Broomstones member can choose to also join one of the other three clubs. Broomstones Curling Club, like many American curling clubs, has enjoyed a huge increase in membership since Curling has become a Winter Olympic Sport in the 1990s. Broomstones is part of the Grand National Curling Club and part of the United States Curling Association.
