Campus group

University of Waterloo Tiddlywinks Club

October 1965-[1968?]

The University of Waterloo Tiddlywinks Club was formed in the Student Village at the University of Waterloo in October 1965.[1]

Charles McLeod, a graduate student in mathematics, was one of the founders of the group and applied for a grant from the Federation of Students (now the Waterloo Undergraduate Student Association, WUSA) to start the club. Initially, the Federation of Students did not take this grant request seriously and laughed at the proposal. However, McLeod was able to convince the committee of the merits of tiddlywinks and was given the grant.[2]

The club had approximately 80 members in 1966. All members were issued membership cards that showed an affiliation to the English Tiddlywink Association and the International Federation of Tiddlywink Association.[3]

The club imported equipment from England however the items were held by Canadian custom officials who suspected the parcel labeled “tiddlywinks” contained something sinister. The parcel was eventually released when a university official explained the game of tiddlywinks.[4]

On February 12, 1966, the University of Waterloo won the Canadian championship in a 16-game playoff with Waterloo Lutheran University (now Wilfrid Laurier University), the only other team in Canada. The final score was 80 to 26 with the University of Waterloo winning 14 of the games.[5]

The University of Waterloo team travelled to Harvard University to compete in the North American Tiddlywink Championship on February 25, 1966, and won. The team had ambitions to then travel to England and compete in the World Championships at either Oxford or Cambridge University.[6] The prize was a trophy donated by Prince Philip known as “Silver Wink.”[7] A photograph of the University of Waterloo team holding a Harvard pennant following their win appeared on page 2 of the Friday, March 4, 1966 edition of the Coryphaeus.

In October 1966, the University of Waterloo team staged a marathon to set the world record of 56 hours of continuous tiddlywinks at Waterloo Square.[8] This event was held to draw attention to the team’s need to raise $4,400 for ten members to travel to England and complete in the World Championships in February 1967.[9] The team successfully set the new record by beating the previous record of 55 hours of continuous play by the Lanchester College of Technology (now Coventry University).[10] However, the club was likely unable to raise enough money to attend the World Championships as there does not appear to be any mention of this event in local or campus newspapers.

On October 28, 1967, the University of Waterloo hosted the North American Tiddlywinks Championship, the first time this event was held in Canada. Five teams challenged the defending University of Waterloo Tiddlywinks Club.[11] The University of Waterloo lost to Cornell University in the final round by a score of 61 to 51.[12] Despite this loss, the team was still eligible to compete in the World Championships at Oxford University in Spring 1968 if they could raise the money to go. Lord Thomson and Coca Cola declined to sponsor the team. It was suggested that the Athletic department help finance the team through the $22 athletic fee charged to students, since this was the only team at the university with world championship caliber at the time.[13] The club was likely unable to raise enough money to attend the World Championships as there does not appear to be any mention of this event in local or campus newspapers.

Following the North American Tiddlywinks Championship, the University of Waterloo Tiddlywinks Club was largely inactive. The club met on Thursday, October 1, 1970 for the first time nearly three years later to try and rebuild the team. Although there was poor turnout at the meeting, club spokesperson Ross Bell remained optimistic. The club was scheduled to meet every Thursday but it is unclear if the club remained active beyond 1970.[14]

Known members of the club include: Jon Ingram, Charles McLeod, John Kohler, Mark Taylor, Henry Sheilds, Helmut Roth, Andy Tomaino, Marie Kennedy, Ihor Gawdan, Paul Gardner, Barry Gillespie, Ronald Rumm, Ross Bell, Paul Freeman, Bill Webb, and Rosie Wain.[15]

Created by NM in 2024.

[1] “U of W. Best in Tiddlywinks.” Kitchener-Waterloo Record, Monday, February 14, 1966, p.20.

[2] Ibid.

[3] Ibid.

[4] Ibid.

[5] Ibid.

[6] “Winkers hopes up.” The Chevron, Friday, November 4, 1966 (v.7, n.14), p. 1. ; “Anyone for Tiddlywinks?” Kitchener-Waterloo Record, Monday, October 3, 1966, p. 3. ; "Twinx trounce Harvard, we laugh." The Coryphaeus, Friday, March 18, 1966 (v.6, n.24), p. 3.

[7] Benintende, Ed. “Tiddlywinks goes after big time: suing us for $4,440. Go forth and wink is marathon’s goal.” The Chevron, Friday, October 14, 1966 (v.7, n.11), p.3.

[8] “Squopping for 56 Hours – No 40 Winks with Tiddlywinks.” Kitchener-Waterloo Record, Friday, October 14, 1966, p. 3.

[9] Benintende, Ed. “Tiddlywinks goes after big time: suing us for $4,440. Go forth and wink is marathon’s goal.” The Chevron, Friday, October 14, 1966 (v.7, n.11), p.3.

[10] “World record set by Tiddlywinkers.” Kitchener-Waterloo Record, Monday, October 17, 1966, p.24.

[11] “It’ll be biggest week at U. of W.” Kitchener-Waterloo Record, Saturday, October 21, 1967, p.2-3.

[12] “Open House a WOW! 20,000 Throng U. of W.” Kitchener-Waterloo Record, Monday, October 30, 1967, p.2-3.

[13] “Cornell flower power squaps UniWat.” The Chevron, Friday, November 3, 1967 (v.8, n.19), p.19.

[14] "Tiddlewink ten tiddle." The Chevron, Tuesday, October 6, 1970 (v.11, n.19), p. 3.

[15] “U of W. Best in Tiddlywinks.” Kitchener-Waterloo Record, Monday, February 14, 1966, p.20. ; Benintende, Ed. “Tiddlywinks goes after big time: suing us for $4,440. Go forth and wink is marathon’s goal.” The Chevron, Friday, October 14, 1966 (v.7, n.11), p.3. ; “Squopping for 56 Hours – No 40 Winks with Tiddlywinks.” Kitchener-Waterloo Record, Friday, October 14, 1966, p. 3. ; “Cornell flower power squaps UniWat.” The Chevron, Friday, November 3, 1967 (v.8, n.19), p.19.