Chilliwack/Burnaby – The BC Curling Hall of Fame will be officially established on June 7th, 2025 in conjunction with the Curl BC Annual General Meeting held at the Kelowna Curling Club in Kelowna, B.C.
Among the BC Curling Hall of Famers who will make up the inaugural class of inductees in the new provincial hall will be Paralympian curler Sonja Gaudet of Vernon, B.C. and Bernie Sparkes of Chilliwack, B.C., the only two British Columbians who have been selected for induction in the World Curling Hall of Fame, Canadian Curling Hall of Fame and BC Sports Hall of Fame. Gaudet was also awarded the Order of Sport in 2020 when she was inducted into Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame.
“We wanted to find a way to inaugurate our curling hall in a way that best represented the rich history for our sport in BC,” said Earlene Graham of Coquitlam, B.C., the BC Curling Hall of Fame Committee Chair and member of the Board of Governors of Curl BC. “Retroactively inducting those who were already representing curling in either the World Curling Hall of Fame, Canadian Curling Hall of Fame and BC Sports Hall of Fame was that inspired solution.”
Curl BC will commemorate its inaugural class online beginning this spring and with a special event at the Annual General Meeting in Kelowna. It plans to build out a virtual BC Curling Hall of Fame, as well as inviting member clubs to serve as local community showcases or hubs of the new Hall. Interested member facilities will be encouraged to apply to be part of the BC Curling Hall of Fame on a “satellite” basis.
Gaudet is Canada’s most decorated wheelchair curler, having represented the country at three Paralympic Games, winning gold at Turin (Pinerolo) 2006, Vancouver 2010 and Sochi 2014. Born and raised in North Vancouver and now living in Vernon, B.C., Gaudet was the flag bearer for the Canadian Paralympic team at Sochi. She also won three world wheelchair championships in 2009, 2011 and 2013, part of a five-year period in which her largely B.C.-based team dominated wheelchair curling on the global stage. Those extraordinary accomplishments saw her land in the Canadian Curling Hall of Fame in 2013, the BC Sports Hall of Fame and Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame in 2020, along with the World Curling Hall of Fame in November of 2024. She is among the select group of Canadians to be featured on a Canada Post stamp, reflecting her status as one of the all-time great Canadian Paralympians.
Sparkes is a three-time gold medalist at the World Curling Championships (1966 in Vancouver, 1968 in Pointe-Claire, Que. and 1969 in Perth, Scotland). The Alberta-born and raised Sparkes represented his birth province in what is now the Montana’s Brier national championship three times (1966 Halifax, 1968 Kelowna and 1969 Oshawa) before moving to Vancouver in 1970 and rounding out a storybook career by representing British Columbia in the Brier with a silver medal in 1987 in Labatt, and bronze medals in 1976 in Regina and 1978 in Vancouver. He made a total of 12 appearances at the Brier, including eight in representing BC.
Sparkes won nine men’s provincial curling championships in BC, along with one Masters over-70 title in 2014 and one mixed championship. A former young baseball prospect in the Brooklyn Dodgers organization, Sparkes was inducted into the Canadian Curling Hall of Fame in 1974, the BC Sports Hall of Fame in 1995 and the World Curling Hall of Fame in 2021.
The BC Curling Hall of Fame will begin this year by inducting a baseline of inductees that have been previously honoured as members of at least one of three major halls: World Curling Hall of Fame, Canadian Curling Hall of Fame and BC Sports Hall of Fame. Archival records from the past 50 years have been considered.
“On behalf of our Chair of the Board of Governors Lyle Sieg, the Board and management team of Curl BC, we are very pleased to be moving forward with a plan to inaugurate the BC Curling Hall of Fame with a special class of 64 curlers and other builders and pioneers of the sport,” said Scott Braley, CEO of Curl BC. “Headed by Sonja Gaudet and Bernie Sparkes, this special class spans more than 100 years of curling achievement in British Columbia and represents what we believe to be a deserving starting point and dynamic cross-section of those who have helped shape curling history, heritage and culture in our province.”
Going forward, up to seven curlers, teams, builders and pioneers of the sport of curling in British Columbia will be inducted each year in the BC Curling Hall of Fame.
“We are very proud of our comprehensive baseline class and we look forward to receiving future nominations to the BC Curling Hall of Fame in the months and years ahead, with more details on selection criteria and timelines to come at www.curlbc.ca,” said Graham, who expects to operate from an annual March 31st deadline for new nominations beginning in 2026.
If you have any relevant information or materials that can enhance the BC Curling Hall of Fame, please do not hesitate to contact Bryan Chan at bchan@curlbc.ca.
