South Frontenac Stocksport

Jeff Green | Oct 17, 2019

Stocksport, which is played on the ice in the winter and on asphalt the rest of the year, is a sport that has its roots in Austria and Bavaria, but it has taken hold in South Frontenac in recent years.

Karl Hammer, whose family is mainly responsible for introducing the sport to South Frontenac over the last decade, is not only wildly enthusiastic about the sport, he is a pretty good player as well. He has recently qualified for the Canadian national team, which may result in an Olympic experience in 2026 when Stocksport will be a demonstration sport.

Stocksport, also called Bavarian curling, uses a stock instead of a curling stone and can be played on or off the ice.

Originally the local association was called the Kingston and Area Stock Association, but earlier this fall the name was changed to South Frontenac Stocksport.

“We play all of our games in South Frontenac and our members are from here as well, there are about 75, so we thought the name should reflect that,” said Karl Hammer.

Over the last few years, South Frontenac Stock stars have participated in World championships as Americas Cup competitions. One decorated player is Tyler McComish, a former student of Karl Hammers at Sydenham High School. This week, Tyler is heading to China, having been invited to help introduce the game to the Chinese.   

Hammer sees a bright future for Stocksport in South Frontenac, and he appeared before Council this week to talk about a facility that South Frontenac Ice Stock would like to see built at Harrowsmith Centennial Park.

Currently, they are using the tennis courts, which are also used for tennis and Pickleball, and there are a couple of reasons why this needs to change.

For one thing it is hard to share the court for all three uses, and then there is the surface. It is akin to the ice needed for curling as compared to the ice that is needed for skating. For skating the smoother the surface, the better and for curling the ice needs to have a pebble, bumps that the stones can ride over in order to glide and curl.

Similarly, tennis and Pickleball players prefer a smooth surface but IceStock needs a different finish, with some pebble in it as well to allow the stock to glide along the surface instead of grinding to a stop.

As well, there have been concerns raised about damage to the tennis court from stock sport.

But for Karl Hammer, the potential for South Frontenac to be a national centre for Stock Sport by creating a purpose-built facility, with a roof over it for winter use, is something that the township should consider, for recreational and for economic reasons.

“The potential to host events right here in South Frontenac, is something the township should consider. It is good for local business, and good for the local community,” he said. 

Hammer said that a purpose-built facility for Ice Stock could also be used as an outdoor ice surface in the winter.

Hammer also said that the facility could be built in stages as money becomes available. The roof can come later.