science

Quebec Challenge Cup

Quebec Challenge Cup is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Quebec Challenge Cup rather than just read about it. In short: The Quebec Challenge Cup (French: Coupe challenge Québec) is a curling challenge trophy. It has been continually contested since 1874, and is thought to be the oldest competitive sport trophy in North America, and the second oldest amateur sporting event in the world.

Key takeaways

Quebec Challenge Cup belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Quebec Challenge Cup to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Quebec Challenge Cup from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The Quebec Challenge Cup (French: Coupe challenge Québec) is a curling challenge trophy. It has been continually contested since 1874, and is thought to be the oldest competitive sport trophy in North America, and the second oldest amateur sporting event in the world. It is competed between curling clubs who are members of Curling Québec and the Ottawa Valley Curling Association.

Format As a challenge trophy, the cup is competed between two clubs: one that currently holds the trophy, and the club that is challenging for it. The competition involves a 10 end "double rink" curling game, where both clubs field two teams to play against the opposing club. The final results are based on cumulative scoring on the two sheets. In the case of a tie, the team that is defending the trophy retains it. The defending team hosts the challenge. There are currently 52 clubs that compete for the trophy, and nine challenges per season, which occur every two to three weeks. Clubs must follow the rotation schedule to compete for the trophy, meaning a wait of 5–7 years per challenge. The Cup is run by the "Canadian Branch", the former governing body of curling in Quebec, from when it was a branch of the Royal Caledonian Curling Club in Scotland. The Canadian Branch is now a separate curling body that oversees competitions among clubs in the Ottawa Valley Curling Association, the Grand National Curling Club and Curling Québec.

History The Quebec Curling Club bought a silver trophy meant to "foster inter-club play" among clubs of Canada on January 19, 1874, for $400 or $700. The first competition was held on February 16, 1874, and involved playing 18 ends with iron stones, instead of the granite rocks used in today's curling. The host Quebec Curling Club team, skipped by William Barbour and William Brodie defeated the Montreal Caledonian Club skipped by W. McGibbon and W. Wilson, 56–37 (Barbour defeated McGibbon 23–19, and Brodie defeated Wilson 33–18). The following season, the two clubs faced off again on January 19 with the same skips. The Quebec Club retained the title, defeating Caledonia 58–38 (Wilson winning 23–21 over Brodie and Barbour winning 37–13 over McGibbon). Nine days later, the Caledonian Club finally won the trophy, beating Quebec by a single point, 46–45. The Montreal Thistle Club then won it before Quebec took it back before the end of the season. In its history, the cup has been challenged for over 1000 times. For the 1000th challenge, instead of the regular challenger versus defender game, the event featured eight clubs from the OVCA competing against eight clubs from Quebec, with Quebec winning by a combined score of 70 to 56.

Traditions The cup involves many alcohol traditions. One such noted tradition is that following the match, the cup is filled with a rusty nail cocktail (Scotch and Drambuie) and passed between competitors. Following the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada, this tradition has been altered, with the drink being poured out into glasses for each competitor instead. Another tradition involves taking a break after five ends to drink, and having the team's leads take a shot of scotch before the game. The host also provides a post-game dinner for both teams.

Eligible clubs Some clubs no longer exist, but still pay dues to the Canadian Branch and so can still compete. The clubs listed on the rotating schedule are: Cornwall, Ottawa, Windsor, Lennoxville, Montreal West, Hudson Whitlock, Brockville, Navy, Baie-D'Urfé, Winchester, Almonte, Prescott, Border, Mont-Bruno, Glengarry, RCMP, Lancaster, Alexandria, Renfrew, Lachine, Otterburn Legion, TMR, Arnprior, North Grenville, Pembroke, Deep River, Laval-sur-le-Lac, Carleton Place, Carleton Heights, Huntingdon, Ottawa Hunt, Cowansville, Governor General's, Manotick, Lanark Highlands, Pakenham, Pointe-Claire, Morrisburg, Danville, Lacolle, Richmond, Sherbrooke, Celanese, Metcalfe, Bedford, Glenmore, St. Lambert, Sutton, Dalhousie Lake, Ormstown, Bel-Aire and Royal Montreal.

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Quebec Challenge Cup

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Quebec Challenge Cup claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Quebec Challenge Cup before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Quebec Challenge Cup ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Quebec Challenge Cup

In research: Quebec Challenge Cup appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Quebec Challenge Cup in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Quebec Challenge Cup is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1874 establishments in Quebec, Curling competitions in Ontario, Curling competitions in Quebec, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Quebec Challenge Cup outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Quebec Challenge Cup in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Quebec Challenge Cup means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Quebec Challenge Cup out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Quebec Challenge Cup in simple terms?

Why does Quebec Challenge Cup matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Quebec Challenge Cup?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Quebec Challenge Cup.