A twenty member women's team is chosen every 10 years to compete and represent the United States in Scotland. Tour participants are selected based upon several criteria including physical and social stamina as well as dedication to the organization and game of curling.
For information about the tour that left in November 2016, go to the Scot Tour 2016 page.
The Incoming Scot Tour, scheduled for January 2021, arrived in October 2022 after being delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. For information about this tour, go to the Scot Tour 2021 (2022) page.
A photo that appeared in the Chicago Tribune of the First Tour in 1955.
Tours to Scotland:
- 1955 - United States of America and Canada: 8 ladies from each country
- 1966, 1976, 1986, 1996, 2006, 2016 - A tour team of 20 USWCA members
Tours to the United States:
- 1958 - A team of 16 ladies
- 1963 - 3 teams East, 3 teams West
- 1971, 1981, 1991, 2001, 2011, 2022 (delayed from 2021 due to the COVID-19 Pandemic) - A tour team of 20 Royal Caledonia Curling Club Ladies' Branch Members
These unforgettable exchange curling tours had their beginning when a joint team of 8 Americans and 8 Canadians visited Scotland for a month in 1955. The opportunity to reciprocate some of the famous Scottish hospitality came in 1958 when 16 Scottish ladies arrived to spend 1 week in Montreal, 1 week in Ontario and 2 weeks in the USA from Illinois to Massachusetts. It was at the Winchester Country Club that this first team to visit American had their Farewell Dinner, February 8, 1958.
The first tour that was held exclusively in the USA was participated in by 24 Scottish ladies when they returned in 1963. All 6 rinks flew into Chicago and curled against members of the areas' 8 clubs. From there the team was divided, 3 rinks curling in Wisconsin and Minnesota, 3 rinks traveled east to curl in New York and Massachusetts, all were reunited once again in the Boston area.
It was in 1966 that the first exclusively American Team toured Scotland when 20 USWCA members curled at all eight of the curling centers existing at that time. As a result of this successful tour, the USWCA became the first Associate Member of the RCCC Ladies' Branch in October 1967.
At that time a definite schedule for these exchange visits of an alternate 5 year program of 3-week tours was agreed upon.
This article was written by Shirley P. Elwell of the Milwaukee Kilties and printed in the United States Women's Curling Association Historical Review 1947-1997