Known colloquially as Oakville’s “Lord of the Rinks,” John Base is a local—and international—curling icon. He took to curling at an early age, showing promise from his days at Oakville Trafalgar High School. As a skip, his strategic planning led multiple teams to victory. Base skipped teams to the Ontario School Curling Championship finals on three separate occasions, led rinks to the Ontario Junior Championships twice (in 1981 and 1982), and won the Canadian Junior Championship in 1982.
On the global stage, Base skipped his 1983 team (which included Bruce Webster, Dave McAnerney and Jim Donohoe) to the World Junior Curling Championships, and won a final victory over Norway.
From here, Base skipped teams to the Ontario Provincial Finals nine times, captained 15 Zone Champion teams, and was Champion of the Association of Competitive Curlers Ontario twice. Base also led teams to the 1992 Ontario Mixed Championships final, and saw over 20 wins on the World Curling Tour. A Base-led team also captured the 1994 title as Canadian Curling Tour overall Champion, and in 2004, found victory at the Ontario Provincial Championships.
Base was named Canada’s athlete of the month in March 1983, and All-Star skip in the 1992 Ontario Provincial Playdown. Today, he is a member of the Athlete Advisory Council of the Canadian Olympic Association.
