The Plainfield Curling Club (or PCC) is a

nonprofit A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...

curling Curling is a sport in which players slide #Curling stone, stones on a sheet of ice toward a target area that is segmented into four concentric circles. It is related to bowls, boules, and shuffleboard. Two teams, each with four players, take t ...

club located in South Plainfield,

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

. It owns and operates the only dedicated 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 2018–2019 season, the club holds league play seven days per week, hosts six annual bonspiels, and has programs for juniors (

teenager Adolescence () is a transitional stage of human physical and psychological development that generally occurs during the period from puberty to adulthood (typically corresponding to the age of majority). Adolescence is usually associated wi ...

s) and “little rockers” (ages 6–12). It also hosts supervised programs for members of the public to try curling. 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 The 2002 Winter Olympics, officially the XIX Olympic Winter Games and commonly known as Salt Lake 2002 (; Gosiute dialect, Gosiute Shoshoni: ''Tit'-so-pi 2002''; ; Shoshoni language, Shoshoni: ''Soónkahni 2002''), were an international wi ...

increased awareness of the sport. There was a similar spike in membership for the 2006–2007 season due to the

2006 Winter Olympics The 2006 Winter Olympics (), officially the XX Olympic Winter Games () and also known as Torino 2006, were a winter multi-sport event held from 10 to 26 February in Turin, Italy. This marked the second time Italy had hosted the Winter O ...

television coverage. Interest in the sport at the club again peaked after the

2010 Winter Olympics The 2010 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XXI Olympic Winter Games () and also known as Vancouver 2010 (), were an international winter multi-sport event held from February 12 to 28, 2010 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, with ...

. Plainfield Curling Club is part of the Grand National Curling Club and part of the United States Curling Association.

Notable members, past and present

* Jacqui Kapinowski, lead, Wheelchair curling at the 2010 Winter Paralympics (4th) * Janice Langanke, skip, 2011 U.S. Women's Club National Championship (1st) * Dean Gemmell, lead, 2012 United States Men's Curling Championship (1st) * Cameron Ross, lead, 2012 World Junior Curling Championships (5th) * Steven Szemple, second, 2015 World Junior Curling Championships (5th)

Notable media appearances

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, featuring

Stephen Colbert Stephen Tyrone Colbert ( ; born May 13, 1964) is an American comedian, writer, producer, political commentator, actor, and television host. He is best known for hosting the satirical Comedy Central program ''The Colbert Report'' from 2005 to ...

and the

Men's Curling Team of John Shuster, Jason Smith,

Jeff Isaacson Jeffrey Glen Isaacson (born July 14, 1983) is an American curler. He is a two-time Olympian, playing on the United States men's curling team at the 2010 and 2014 Winter Olympics. Career Isaacson played as second on John Shuster's team which w ...

, John Benton, and Chris Plys.

Annual events

The Plainfield Curling Club regularly hosts several bonspiels each year and most all are open to curlers from other clubs. Unless noted, teams for these bonspiels are "open" format; that is, teams may be made up of any combination of men and women. * The Founders' – Held in November, this internal bonspiel pays tribute to the club founders. * PCC Junior Bonspiel – Held in January, for teenage curlers. *

Robert Burns Robert Burns (25 January 1759 – 21 July 1796), also known familiarly as Rabbie Burns, was a Scottish poet and lyricist. He is widely regarded as the List of national poets, national poet of Scotland and is celebrated worldwide. He is the be ...

Thrifty – Held in January, this Scottish-themed bonspiel features a Burns supper with

haggis Haggis ( ) is a savoury pudding containing sheep's offal, pluck (heart, liver, and lungs), Mincing, minced with chopped onion, oatmeal, suet, spices, and salt, mixed with Stock (food), stock, and cooked while traditionally encased in the anima ...

bagpipes Bagpipes are a woodwind instrument using enclosed reeds fed from a constant reservoir of air in the form of a bag. The Great Highland bagpipes are well known, but people have played bagpipes for centuries throughout large parts of Europe, N ...

, and a reading of Address to a Haggis. * Jersey Curlz – Held in February/March, this women's bonspiel is a United States Women's Curling Association (USWCA) circuit event. * The P.C.C. Stone – Held in March, this men's bonspiel pays tribute to Peter C. Christofferson, father of founding member Ken Christofferson. * The Bonsqueal – Held in April, this popular open end-of-season bonspiel features a new pig-related theme each year (in reference to the curling term) with a Saturday night pig roast. Due to its popularity, games are 6-ends each except for the finals. In addition, the Plainfield Curling Club occasionally hosts other bonspiels, including Mid-Atlantic Curling Association (MACA) events, the Mid-Atlantic Women's Bonspiel, friendly competitions with other area clubs, and continues to be one of the host clubs for the Herries Maxwell trophy, an event played every ten years between Scotland and the USA.

Affiliations

* United States Curling Association * Grand National Curling Club *Mid Atlantic Curling Association (''Comprising the Plainfield,

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

, Potomac, and Chesapeake curling clubs.'') *U.S. Women's Curling Association

References

External links