2 April 2025
Roy Sinclair Obituary
World Curling are deeply saddened to learn of the passing of our former President, Roy Sinclair at the age of 96.
World Curling President, Beau Welling said, “Roy was an important pillar of the development of our sport. His love for curling was infectious and his desire to see it continue to grow and succeed was always present. Even after his time as President came to an end, Roy was a frequent visitor to the Head Office and a regular attendee at any gatherings we had in Perth. He will be deeply missed by everyone in the curling community and we want to offer our deepest condolences to his family.”
Roy served as the President of the Royal Caledonian Curling Club (now Scottish Curling) from 1989 to 1990 and went on to hold the office of the President of the European Curling Federation before becoming World Curling Federation President from 2000–2006.
In 2007, Roy was presented with the prestigious Elmer Freytag Award and inducted into the World Curling Hall of Fame as a Builder. Of his many accomplishments in growing the game, Roy had a key input in the drive to return curling to the 1998 Olympic Winter Games in Nagano, Japan where he served as Technical Delegate.
During his time as President, Roy saw wheelchair curling developed and introduced to the Paralympic Winter Games, with the discipline’s first appearance coming in Torino in 2006.
Always a vocal supporter of curling on the international stage, Roy held an active role in the Association of International Olympic Winter Sports Federations (AIOWF) and served on several International Olympic Committee commissions during his tenure as World Curling President.
On the ice, Roy represented Scotland at the Men’s World Championship in Duluth, United States in 1976, taking home the silver medals as part of Bill Muirhead’s rink.
Prior to his retirement at age 64, Roy was an engineer, working with the LMS Railway Company in the Motive Power Department in Perth. Then in the latter part of his career he worked for the Ministry of Defence at Almondbank as an engineering manager.
World Curling offers our sincere condolences to his family and friends in this difficult time.
