Grand Forks Curling Club

About Grand Forks Curling Club

Grand Forks Curling Club: From the Caledonia Club to ‘Little Ralph’

Curling in Grand Forks reaches back to the 1880s. The Caledonia Curling Club was organized in 1914 and drew more than 100 members in the 1920s before closing in 1935 during the Great Depression. The modern Grand Forks Curling Club was formalized in March 1954, hosted a 52-rink bonspiel with teams from North Dakota, Minnesota and Manitoba that year, and in 1960 opened four sheets of artificial ice at 12th Street and 7th Avenue South, the same year it staged the U.S. Men’s National Championship.

In 2016 the club rebuilt on the same site beside Purpur Arena, putting up a four-sheet rink in a single year with volunteer labor and donor support. Members call it their “Little Ralph,” a nod to Ralph Engelstad Arena, and it has upstairs viewing and live streaming on every sheet. Membership reached a record 326.

The club runs adult and youth leagues, Learn2Curl sessions and mini-leagues, a junior program for curlers aged 10 and up, and annual men’s and women’s bonspiels. It has also hosted the USWCA Senior National Bonspiel for women’s teams.