Bowdoin Curling practices several times throughout the week. Our on campus practices occur at Sidney J. Watson arena. We treat the hockey ice to make it suitable for curling and introduce new curlers to the sport. For specialized practices and competitive games, we travel to Belfast Curling Club where we practice and compete with several other Maine based teams.
Sidney J. Watson Arena. Home of Bowdoin Curling
The Sidney J. Watson ice arena opened on January 18, 2009 and is adjacent to Farley Field House. In addition to a seating capacity of 1,900 and standing room for several hundred more, it boasts the best and most energy-efficient refrigeration and dehumidification systems, seating design and home team accommodations of any Division III collegiate arena.
In the summer of 2009, Watson Arena became the first newly constructed ice arena in the United States to earn coveted LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification from the United States Green Building Council (USGBC).
Watson Arena is treated before curling practice by watering down a layer of “pebbles” on the ice. We have a full set of 16 solid granite curling stones that we use during on-campus practices. Here we introduce beginners to the basics of curling before we travel to our home club in Belfast, Maine.
The Belfast Curling Club opened in February of 1959 and its the oldest curling club in Maine. It boasts 3 sheets of some of the best curling ice in New England. Belfast is home to collegiate curling in Maine and hosts a variety of tournaments, or bonspiels, throughout the year. Club membership reaches across all of Maine and tournaments often bring in curlers from Canada making this a truly international sport.