The Victoria Figure Skating Club has produced champions and has provided thousands of young participants a chance to compete in this elegant sport on blades. The club was born in the legendary Patrick Arena in Oak Bay in 1926, the year after the Victoria Cougars won the Stanley Cup on the same ice sheet. It moved to the old Willows Fairground site before settling into the then new Memorial Arena for a fruitful 53-year run. The VFSC was the second largest skating club in Canada during the 1960s and its past and continuing success is attributable to dedicated and knowledgeable coaches and volunteers. The club is proud of its two Canadian champions and has treated many appreciative fans to Ice Capades and championship competitions over its three quarters of a century existence.
Skip Flora Martin s Victoria Curling Club rinks dominated Canadian senior women s curling in the 1970s and early 1980s. Flora's rinks were stellar during that golden period winning back-to-back national titles in 1974 at Halifax and 1975 at Swift Current, then again in 1979 at Vernon and 1980 at Fredericton. Her rinks included 1974 and 1975 national champion teammates Edna Messum, Doreen Baker, Betty Stubbs and the 1979 and 1980 national championship team of Martin, Messum, Elsie Humphrey and Verle McKeown. Flora attributes their rinks remarkable national level success to the amount of work she and her teammates were willing to do. They loved playing the game and it showed. The Martin rinks played in all the bonspiels and shorties they could find and also managed to curl three times a week at their home Victoria Curling Club. All that effort paid off handsomely with five BC titles, two BC runner-up finishes in open women's play and four national titles.