Robert Campbell started his curling career at the Charlottetown Curling Club in 1980. Not long after, he was competing at the Provincial level.
Robert won the Prince Edward Island Junior Men’s Curling Championship in 1985 playing third for skip Kent Scales, with Andy MacDonald at second and Philip Gorveatt at lead, The Scales foursome lost the final of the Canadian Junior Men’s Curling Championship to Kevin Martin, however all four members of the Island rink were named to the all-star team. The Scales foursome was also named the Sport PEI Team of the Year for 1985.
Robert had an illustrious curling career which saw him win eight PEI Men’s Curling Championships. His first trip to the Canadian Men’s Championship was in 1991, skipping his team of third Peter Gallant, second Mark O’Rourke, and lead Mark Butler. As a rookie skip at the Brier, Robert and his team finished with a 6-5 winning record.
They same four won the Provincial title in 1993, 1995, 1997 and 1999. At the 1995 Brier, the team finished round-robin with a highly credible 7-4 record.
Playing third stone for John Likely in 2002 brought another provincial men’s title to Robert. Eric Broderson at second and Jeff Smith at lead rounded out the team.
In 2003 he had another Tankard win, skipping the team of Kevin Champion (third), Phillip Gorveatt (second), and Mike Dillon (lead), and in 2007 he played lead for the winning Peter Gallant team, along with Kevin Champion (third) and Mark O’Rourke (second).
In 1989 Robert won the PEI Mixed title with Angela Roberts (third), Mark O’Rourke (second) and lead Kathy O’Rourke. They went ton to win the Canadian title in Brandon, Manitoba, with Robert being named to the all-star team as skip.
Twenty one years later, in 2010, he again won the PEI Mixed title, going on to win his second Canadian title, again in Manitoba. The team consisted of third Rebecca Jean MacDonald (MacPhee), second Robbie Doherty, and lead Jackie Reid. Robert was again named to the all-star team as skip. Robert and Rebecca Jean then represented Canada at the World Mixed Doubles Curling Championships in St. Paul, Minnesota, where they went 4-3 before losing in a tie-breaker.
In 2013 Robert won the PEI Mixed again with the same team of Robbie, Jackie and Rebecca Jean.
In addition to his impressive haul of Provincial and Canadian titles, Robert was also runner-up three times in the PEI men’s event, and in 1991 and 1992 he was runner-up in the finals of the McCain Superspiel, falling to legends of the sport Ed Werenich in 1991, and Russ Howard in 1992. However 1996 was third time lucky, when Robert’s team won the McCain SuperSpiel East over Don Westphal.
Robert was also the fifth player at two Canadian Men’s Championships, in 2001 with Peter MacDonald, and 2015 with Adam Casey.
In addition to his outstanding achievements on the ice, Robert has served on the Board of Directors at the Charlottetown Curling Club. He has helped coach many teams over the years, and has volunteered his time for many curling clinics that have been held at the Club.
Robert Campbell has had an incredible curling career, but more than even the titles, he has always had the respect of his peers in the sport. Often regarded as one of PEI’s most versatile curlers, he could always adapt his game to whatever was in the best interest of the team. In 2017 he was inducted into the PEI Curling Hall of Fame, and in 2022 the PEI Sports Hall of Fame came calling….
An outstanding curler, he rightly joins the greats of PEI Curling, and can proudly call himself a member of the PEI Sports Hall of Fame.
Inducted by David Campbell, November 2022
