The perfect Christmas gift for a curling fan? A limited number of copies of the highly acclaimed book ‘World Capital of Curling’ by recently inducted Canadian Curling Hall of Famer Terry Jones remain available.
Regarded to be “one of the most remarkable publishing projects in the history of any Canadian sports association,” the book has been made available at Curling Alberta’s main floor offices at the J. Percy Page Centre on 118th avenue and Groat Road in Edmonton.
The book was recently reviewed by John Korobanik in The Morning Cup publication at the Canada Cup in Leduc.”In telling the history of the Northern Alberta Curling Association the oversized, high-gloss production is 360-plus pages of historical documentation, incredibly personal memories from some of the country’s all time greatest curlers and profiles on the legends of the game, including builders and innovators who made NACA a powerhouse in curling for decades. “Author of previous historical books on Wayne Gretzky, the Edmonton Oilers and the Edmonton Eskimos, Jones has scored an eight-ender with his latest project.
“While it may have taken Terry Morris and Darwin Davidiuk of the Northern Alberta Curling Championship Society some effort to convince Jones to do the book, it was definitely worth their time and effort. The society wanted to produce an extremely high-end book to celebrate the Centennial of NACA and, at the same time, commemorate the end of NACA’s existence with the merger of the three provincial curling associations into the new entity of Curling Alberta.”
Korobanik quoted author Jones in the publication: ‘They wanted to produce a publication to not only record the history of the game in the area where it achieved it’s greatest glories and ultimate successes, but to feature those greats of the game with a rich tapestry of anecdotes and seldom-seen pictures,” explained Jones, who has covered some of curling’s most memorable moments, including 27 Tim Hortons Briers. “The concept was to create a treasure trove of memories and memorabilia.” It certainly does that and will bring back stirring memories for long-time followers of the sport and the association. Initially the book was not intended for retail sale. It was to be presented to the living individuals who made up the 100-member century club of notables, plus each of the 98 clubs who made up NACA would receive one copy for each sheet of ice in their building, to be used as a fundraiser. Eventually the society decided to make
240 available for sale, at a cost of $100.
