Grand National Curling Club

The Grand National Curling Club (GNCC), founded in 1867, was the first National Curling Organization encompassing the entire United States. It remained the national organization until it created the United States Curling Association (USCA) in the 1950s, which split the GNCC into 10 Regions to compete in a U.S. Men's National Curling Championship. The champion would represent the United States in the newly created Men's World Curling Championships.

The GNCC is the union of curling clubs in the Eastern United States. Following the splitting of the GNCC into 10 regions in the 1950s, the GNCC remained as the Eastern US Region, with most of its clubs located in the North-East US From Maine to Virginia. In recent years the growth of new clubs has included both the North-East and South-East United States. As of December 2021, the GNCC includes 73 curling clubs in 18 States. States represented include, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Vermont and Virginia.

Origins and history
In response to a May 1867 advertisement in The Scottish-American Journal, 33 delegates from seven clubs from across the U.S. met on June 26, 1867 in the Caledonian Club rooms in New York City. The seven original clubs were:


 * 1) Caledonian Club (New York, New York)
 * 2) New York Club (New York, New York)
 * 3) Thistle Club (New York, New York)
 * 4) St. Andrew's Club (New York, New York)
 * 5) Paterson Club (Paterson, New Jersey)
 * 6) Caledonian Club (Buffalo, New York)
 * 7) Burns Club (Cleveland, Ohio)

Rather than join the Royal Caledonian Curling Club in Scotland, the delegates decided to form a national organization. On a motion by Mr. James Brand, Caledonian, New York, the new club was called the "Grand National Curling Club of America" and became the first national curling organization in America. Within a few months, additional clubs joined the GNCC from Michigan, Illinois, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

The earliest documented club in the current GNCC geographic area was the New England Curling Club of Boston, established sometime prior to 1839.

In the 1950s a Men's World Championship was being organized. The GNCC reorganized and created the United States Curling Association, dividing the GNCC into 10 Regional organizations. This division was to allow a National Playdown with 10 teams. The Grand National Curling Club became a regional association representing the clubs in the eastern United States. Regional based national playdowns are no longer competed to determine the United States Championships.

The GNCC provides many services to its member clubs. These include, mentoring new clubs, stone rental program for the creation of new clubs, training programs for curlers, coaches and ice technicians, just to name a few. The GNCC also has programs to help clubs perform emergency repairs, programs to help clubs become dedicated ice facilities, and programs to support Junior Curling development. This is NOT an all-inclusive list. New programs are created as needed to help the regional clubs develop and grow. The GNCC works to develop and nurture clubs from initial inception through building dedicated facilities and beyond. The GNCC also has a GNCC Club insurance program available to its member clubs, providing great coverage at reasonable rates.

The GNCC holds many regional championships. Including, Men's, Women's, Mixed, Jr Men's, Jr Women's, Mixed Doubles, Senior Men's, Senior Women's, College, Arena, 5 & Under Men's, 5 & Under Women's and 5 & Under Mixed. The GNCC Holds 2 annual International Events. The oldest dating back to the 1870's is the Gordon International, with the GNCC competing with the Royal Caledonian Curling Club, Montreal Branch. In the 1960s the Ross Tarlton was created with the GNCC competing with the Ontario Curling Association. The GNCC began the Scottish Tour with competition between the GNCC (then representing the entire United States) and the Royal Caledonian Curling Club of Scotland in the late 1800s. The GNCC/Scotland Scottish Tour held a competition every 5 years, alternating between the United States and Scotland. With the creation of the United States Curling Association in the 1950s, the Scottish tour was changed to the United States Curling Association vs the Royal Caledonian Curling Club of Scotland. The Scottish Tour continues to be held every 5 years alternating between the United States and Scotland.

In addition to the activities above, the GNCC represents its clubs to the USCA, acting as the conduit for their clubs to the USCA. In 2022, the USCA Board of Directors removed the GNCC as a member region due to non-compliance with the USCA bylaws. Two-thirds of the USA Curling members voted to ratify the decision at the annual Members' Assembly in October 2022.

Events
These events are GNCC Sponsored Events, and do not include the events that are sponsored by the GNCC Member Clubs.
 * Men's
 * Francis Dykes Bonspiel (5 and under)
 * Ross Tarlton
 * Senior Men’s
 * Gordon International
 * Gordon-Emmet – The oldest consecutive event in North America.
 * Women's
 * Senior Women’s
 * Elisabeth Childs Challenge (5 and under)
 * Mixed/Open
 * Senior Mixed
 * Raymond Kayser Memorial Bonspiel (5 and under)
 * Mixed Doubles
 * Arena Club Championship (open event for arena club members only)

Past presidents
In 2018, the GNCC implemented a "New Management Plan". This expanded and reorganized its leadership positions. As part of this change, the highest-ranked officer of the GNCC is now "Chairman of the Board of Directors", eliminating the position of "President".