Avery, Frank

Year Inducted / Année Intronisé:

1974

Province / Province:

British Columbia

Category / Catégorie:

Builder

Biography / Biographie:

Frank Avery came to Vancouver in 1930 and curled at the Vancouver Forum on thePNE grounds from its inception in 1931. Avery worked tirelessly to promote curling and spent hours teaching “green” curlers the finer points of the game. Avery was elected to the Canadian Curling Hall of Fame in 1974.

In 1935, Avery’s rink won their first of six provincial championships between 1935-46. In 1937, Avery’s rink became the first from BC to enter the Macdonald Brier competition, which represented the national curling championship. They also represented BC in 1939, 1942 and 1946. Avery later won the senior national championship in 1966 and 1967.

He was the driving force behind the creation of the Vancouver Curling Club in 1948 at Hillcrest Park. The first attempt at building this club was halted in 1939 due to war. He was largely responsible for bringing the Brier to Vancouver in 1950 and making BC a curling power. More than 25,000 people watched the event at the Kerrisdale Arena.

Frank Avery of Vancouver, British Columbia was inducted into the Canadian Curling Hall of Fame in 1974 in the builder category.

[source: http://www.bcsportshalloffame.com/inductees/inductees/bio?id=118&type=person]