u.s. curling news, february 2011

T H E I C E S P O R T O F F I T N E S S A N D F I N E S S E

DEPARTMENTS

Bonspiel Results – P16-19College Curling – P6Comics – P15Curler’s Calendar –P14Letters – P2Member Services – P3Rocket Exhaust – P15Tales from Sheet 9–P14USWCA – P4-5

WELCOME, ATL:Atlanta Curling Clubforms. Page 3.CAPE-TASTIC: Clubraises big bucks for char-ity. Page 3.COLLEGE DEBUT:New club curling event.Page 6.VOLUNTEERS:Working together forchange. Page 8.MOVING ROCKS:Arena clubs create solu-tions for transferringrocks. Page 9.KEY INGREDIENTS:What makes a curlergreat? 3.TUCKED AWAY: Debutcolumnist. Page 19.

INSIDE:

Curling NewsCurling NewsU N I T E D S T A T E S

February/March 2011 • Volume 66 Number 3 Established 1945 • www.usacurl.org • $2.50

• 2011 National Championships, Page 7• 2011 Junior Nationals results, Page 10• 2011 Continental Cup, Page 11• Winter World University Games results, Page 12• Karuizawa International Championships, Page 12• 2011 Club Nationals Preview, Page 13• 2011 World Wheelchair Championship, Page 14• 2011 Senior Nationals results, Page 15

USA’s Blake Morton rink

finished 6th at the World

University Games in

Turkey. Pictured at right

is Morton, 19.

Photo by

Leslie Ingram-Brown

Team North

America

dominated

this year’s

Continental

Cup in St.

Albert,

Alberta.

Teams

skipped by

USA’s Erika

Brown and

Pete Fenson

were part of

Team NA.

See story on

Page 11.

Photo by

Michael

Burns Jr.

Continental Crush

Growth Spurt

Sandra Takata

(left) instructs

Patrick O’Neil (l-

r), Dixon Freeman,

Jeff Williams and

Bob Zasowski at a

curling camp in

Knoxville this sum-

mer. The Great

Smoky Mountains

Curling Club

assisted the Atlanta

members with a

camp to get them

ready to curl. The

Atlanta club is now

an official USCA

member and

searching for local

ice. To learn more

about the new club

in Atlanta, see

story on Page 3.

t has become a common theme:Olympic coverage of curling cre-ates curling craze across the U.S.As NBC embraced curling on its

networks and aired every draw of actionfrom the 2010 Olympic Winter Gamesin Vancouver, the sport once again was

a winner in the hearts of newfound fanseager to pick up a broom and throw astone.

The problem for some, however, isfinding a place to curl when no clubeven exists in your entire state. Theeager folks in Atlanta, embraced thatchallenge.

Please see SCOTS

TOUR on Page 4.

by Terry Kolesar,

Editor

I

Brooms Up Curling

Supplies promotes

the love of curling

nationwide by

donating 2% of our

sales to USA Curling.

www.broomsup.com

1-877-wecurl-2

[email protected]

uring the monthof January, 20Scottish womenfrom the Royal

Caledonian Curling Club inScotland toured the UnitedStates from Boston toSeattle. It has been 10 yearssince the Tour has beenhere. They traveled nearly2,000 miles by air, morethan 3,200 miles by coach,visited 22 USWCA-mem-ber curling clubs andplayed 121 games.

The Scot Tour began inBoston, where they curledat Broomstones and TCCcurling clubs. They thenplayed at the Cape Cod,Nutmeg, Potomac andMayfield clubs. From therethey traveled to Cleveland,Detroit, Exmoor andChicago. Next up wasWisconsin as they curled inMilwaukee, KettleMoraine, Madison, Portageand Green Bay. From therethey traveled to theUSWCA West Region play-ing games in Duluth, CurlMesabi, Fargo-Morehead,and St. Paul. Traveling far-ther west, the Scot Tourended with games and clos-ing ceremonies in Seattle.

A running total score iskept for the games. TheScots prevailed in the com-petition with a final

by Nancy Wilhelm,

U.S. Women’s Curling Association

D

2011USWCA

Scots Toura roaringsuccess

Please see GROWTH on Page 4.

have fielded manysad calls through myoffice in the past fewmonths. It’s winter

time and people, especiallyour newfound fans wegained since the end of therecent Olympic Games, areitching to watch curling onTV. One older gentlemanactually hung up on meabout a month ago when hedidn’t like the reply I had togive him: “I’m sorry, sir,but curling will not be onTV this season.” Explainingthat there would be web-streaming opportunities wasmet with dead air. Anothercaller, more recently, wassad but expressed his loveof the game. He doesn’tcurl in his hometown inFlorida, but he can’t helpbut get caught up everyfour years when theAmericans hit the ice withdreams of Olympic gold intheir eyes.

The struggle lies inmoney, and network inter-est. While NBC is reluctantto reveal its viewershipnumbers post-Olympicsanymore, we’ve been toldthat curling was one of themost-watched sports duringthe Games.

Only twice has curlingbeen featured live on TV ina non-Olympic year(Olympic Trials, 2005 &2009). NBC partnered withus on the Verizon Ice showsfrom Whistler, BritishColumbia, and RockefellerCenter in past years. Othernetworks have embraced usin the past and shown after-event games or highlightspackages (ESPN, CollegeSports Network, WorldChampionship SportsNetwork, NBC UniversalSports).

Some will argue that anywebstreaming of our

Nationals is better thannothing. While otherswould argue that we shouldonly stream all the sheets ofaction from Nationals if itis TV-ready quality as toavoid setting a precedentfor poor quality. Currently,we are in a five-year jointmarketing agreement withthe U.S. OlympicCommittee, which meansthat they own the broadcastdigital rights to ourNational Championships.

So, for the moment, thisis what we’re offering:Tune in to the 2011 USACurling NationalChampionships via web-stream Feb. 19 for the gold-medal games at http://curl-ing.teamusa.org/live. Inaddition, the gold-medalmatches will air on MidContinent Cable, whichserves TV viewers inMinnesota, North Dakotaand South Dakota.

If you want to talk TV,feel free to call me. Justplease don’t hang up onme. My skin isn’t verythick.

---USA Curling staff mem-

bers are raising funds forPortage County’s BigBrothers Big Sisters Bowlfor Kids Sake event on Feb.26 in Stevens Point, Wis.For the past two years,we’ve been one of the topfund-raising teams for theAmerican Cancer Society’sannual run/walk each fall aswe honor our curlingfriends and family and oth-ers who have lost the can-cer battle. We decided weneeded a winter communityevent and are now channel-ing our inner bowlingskills. I haven’t told theteam yet that my bowlingskills are much like mycurling and running skills,

which have been on displayfor other fund-raisers. Lookout, gutter! If you want todonate to my humility andmy other skilled co-work-ers, drop me a line or anemail and I can help youmake a nice tax-donationfriendly investment to ourarea youth.

---There’s a little town less

than two hours from theUSA Curling nationaloffice that houses worldchampions in the form offootball’s Green BayPackers. Let’s say we addour own recipe for great-ness and start a curlingdynasty for the U.S. on theworld stage comparable,dare I say it...to the likes ofLombardi. Are you withme? That being said, life isabout so much more thansports. Our thoughts andprayers go out to the familyof Gwen Krailo of Nashua,N.H., a USA Curling direc-tor, who lost her husbandrecently after a brief illness.Make today great, every-body.

VOLUME 66, No. 3 FEBRUARY/MARCH 2011

Curling NewsCurling NewsU N I T E D S T A T E SU N I T E D S T A T E S

2 FEBRUARY/MARCH 2011 USA Curling... Dare to curl

Official publication of theUnited States Curling Association

Editor — Terry KolesarAssociate Editor—Rick Patzke

Contributing Editor—David GarberDesign: Terry Kolesar

Next editorial deadline: March 11, 2011

The United States Curling News (ISSN 1064-3001; USPS 392-020)is published five times per year in October, November, February,March and May by the United States Curling Association. TheUSCA and Curling News office is located at 5525 Clem’s Way,Stevens Point, WI 54482. Telephone 715-344-1199. Subscriptionprice for non-USCA members: $16 per year (North America), $26per year (overseas), payable in US currency. Single copy price:$2.50. Advertising rates on request. Established 1945. Periodicalspostage paid at Waupaca, Wisconsin, and additional offices asrequested. Postmaster sends address changes to US Curling News,5525 Clem’s Way, Stevens Point, WI 54482.

United States Curling AssociationOfficers

President Chris SjueVice Presidents Kent Beadle

Dave CarlsonJerome LarsonJames Pleasants

Treasurer Jack BernauerSecretary Bob Pelletier

Directors

Paul Badgero [2012]Kent Beadle [2012]Jack Bernauer* [2011]Craig Brown (AAC) [2011]Dave Carlson [2013]Maureen Clark (AAC) [2011]Lynita Delaney [2012]Janet Farr (USWCA) [2012]Dean Gemmell (AAC) [2011]Nancy Haggenmiller [2013]Peggy Hatch** [2011]Jonathan Havercroft [2013]Cyndee Johnson [2011]Nicole Joraanstad (AAC) [2011]Gwen Krailo [2013]

Jerome Larson [2012]Jan Legacie [2011]Gordon Maclean [2013]Richard Maskel (AAC) [2011]Bob Pelletier [2012]James Pleasants [2013]Leland Rich [2011]Sean Silver [2012]Chris Sjue [2013]Mark Swandby [2011]Ann Swisshelm (AAC) [2011]Beau Welling* [2011]Sam Williams [2011]* Board-elected

** Voice, no vote

Off-site staff:

Coaching Development DirectorScott Higgins

913-449-2933 • [email protected]

National Wheelchair Development CoachSteve Brown

National Wheelchair Curling Outreach Development DirectorMarc DePerno

Head Ice TechnicianDave Staveteig

701-772-0705 • [email protected]

Head Games OfficialBill Forsythe

USA Curling National Office5525 Clem’s Way

Stevens Point, WI 54482Office: 715-344-1199 • Fax: 715-344-2279

E-mail: [email protected] • Web site: www.usacurl.orgCHIEF OPERATING OFFICER:

Rick Patzke, [email protected] OF MEMBER SERVICES:

Bev Schroeder, [email protected] OF COMMUNICATIONS:

Terry Kolesar, [email protected]:

Sandy Robinson, [email protected] SERVICES COORDINATOR:

Dawn Leurquin, [email protected] ASSISTANT:

Christy Hering, [email protected]

AMERICAN CURLING FOUNDATION & MUSEUMThe Museum is located at the Chicago Curling Club,

555 Dundee Road, Northbrook, IL 60062CURATOR: James M. Miller Jr.

2011 Glendale Ave.Northbrook, IL 60062847-272-7224

UNITED STATES WOMEN’S CURLING ASSOCIATIONOFFICERS

PRESIDENT Nancy SeitzFIRST VICE PRESIDENT Maureen GuaySECOND VICE PRESIDENT Bridget MatzkeSECRETARY Mary Ann HulmeTREASURER Carolyn MacLeodUSCA LIAISON Janet FarrPROMOTIONS & Nancy WilhelmPUBLIC RELATIONS

It’s winter: Get me somecurling on my TV

Ideas? Complaints? Send

your thoughts to Curling

News Editor Terry Kolesar

[email protected]

715-344-1199, Ext. 202

From the Editor’s Desk

Thankyou,

Duluth

DearEditor,

I want tosincerelythank all themembers ofthe DuluthCurling Clubthat helpedin any wayto make theU.S. Mixed Doubles Championship thesuccess that it was. I am aware of all thework that goes into this kind of event andyou exceeded all expectations. Yvonneand Glen, umpires, the ice makers, break-fast staff, Flo and all the volunteers on theclocks and on the ice - thank you.

To all the participants of the MixedDoubles Championship - thank you -we all volunteer for you to have thebest event possible.

MaryPat ShandorChief Umpire

Wanted: VintageCurling News copiesDear Editor,My collection of the U.S. Curling

News starts in 1964. I have April 1962and January 1963. If anyone has anyNorth American Curling News maga-

zines pre-1964, I would be prepared to pur-chase these or exchange for Scottish curl-ing items.

Kind regards, Robbie [email protected]

I

Your contact: Bev Schroeder, [email protected]; 1-888-287-5377, Ext. 203

FEBRUARY/MARCH 2011 3USA Curling... Dare to curl


You’re always on the button with our unique curling gifts for home,hearth and warm room.

JeweleryDesktop Curling GamesNotepaper and Notecards

Trivets and TowelsPlaying Cards

Bumper Stickers and More

www.onthebuttongifts.com

Eight-Enders

Certifications

Kettle MoraineOn Dec. 3, 2010, during

the Friday Night MixedLeague at the KettleMoraine Curling Club,Hartland, Wis., an eight-ender was laid by the LarryMaier rink. The eight-enderhappened on Sheet 2 in theseventh end. Curling withMaier were Cyndy Seitz,Jeff Moylan and KatieCarrera.

NutmegAn eight-ender occurred

during the in-houseAchilles Bonspiel held onJan. 15 at the NutmegCurling Club. It is a new-member bonspiel at theclub and the teams are com-prised of three new curlersfrom the last Olympics ormore recently, and oneexperienced curler. Curlingon the team were CharrissaLin, John Larson, AndyVojt and Mary Reilly.

St. PaulOn Nov. 19, 2010, at the

St. Paul Curling Club, St.Paul, Minn., an eight-enderwas laid by the LoniStrassman rink duringleague play. The eight-ender happened on Sheet 8in the fifth end. Curlingwith Strassman wereRachel Orvik, MichaelGerba and Erin Gerba.

SuperiorIt was a Monday night

league game, on Feb. 2,2009, at the SuperiorCurling Club, Superior,Wis., when an eight-enderwas laid by the JimBradshaw rink. The eight-ender occurred on Sheet Din the third end. Curling onthe team were JimBradshaw, Todd Malpass,Patrick Plys and DaveStrang.

MankatoAn eight-ender was laid

on Jan. 12 at the MankatoCurling Club, Mankato,Minn., during theWednesday evening openleague. Curling on theteam were Mary Maidl,Russ Weingartz, JakePalmer and Anna Martin.

Cape Cod Curling Clubhosted its sixth Curling forCharity event in November.Twelve teams from localorganizations, such as

police departments,research institutes, churchesand area businesses partici-pated. It is a requirementthat players have not previ-ously curled, so club mem-bers were busy trainingmore than 70 wannabes for

the event. Each team was required

to raise $1,000 and theevent sponsor contributed$2,500. Club members soldraffle tickets, and donationswere taken at the door,which resulted in $20,500

being raised. Friends andfamily members came tocheer on their friends,resulting in a packed housefor the entire day.

These events not onlyraise needed funds for char-itable organizations, but

they also increase aware-ness and position the clubas a force for good in thecommunity. Moreover, sev-eral participants ultimatelyjoin the club. Charity andcurling – a winning combi-nation.

Level I InstructorP. J. FeinsonIvar GailansCharlene HarmonRenee HarmonScott HeatwoleSusan Hopkins-HeatwoleNancy JennettJason Jorski

Larry LiebermanJoe MeccaTim O’DonnellAlan L. RobertsJulie RosoffJeff SteffekLynn TaylorBarbara ThomsonJeff Turnham

Lucinda TutterowJustin WalkerNicholas Witcraft

Level II InstructorJason Sethi

Level I OfficialSue RyanGwen M. Thorson

Curling for Charity at Cape Cod nets over $20,000

Submitted by The Atlanta Curling Club

he Atlanta Curling Clubrecently held Curling Camp2010, its first official event, inconjunction with the Great

Smoky Mountains Curling Club at theIce Chalet in Knoxville, Tenn. Since noone in the Atlanta club had curledbefore, they relied on members of theKnoxville curling club to teach andcoach them through many drills, strate-gy sessions and practice games.

A lot of focus was placed on trainingthe leadership of the Atlanta club, sincethey will need to be the trainers back inAtlanta. Currently the ACC is obtain-ing equipment and looking for an icerink in the greater Atlanta area thatthey will be able to call home.

ACC members enjoyed the practiceends they played in Knoxville. Manymembers found that curling is a bitharder than they realized it was goingto be, and that it really is a game ofboth skill and strategy. However, some-times it just clicked and some quitegood shots were made.

Jeff Williams, ACC vice presidentand curling beginner, made a nice but-ton shot in one end, ultimately scoring

his first curling point. “It really feltgood as I released it, and I was amazedhow it looked like it would be spot onwhen it got to the other end,” he said.

Encouraged and excited, theAtlantans returned to the south, work-ing out the next steps toward gettingtheir curling club up and running.Many members are also seriously con-sidering signing up for the next RockyTop Bonspiel in Knoxville, scheduledfor June 2011.

Founded in February 2010, whilewatching curling during the WinterOlympics, the Atlanta Curling Clubwas first formed as an online commu-nity on Facebook, intended to gathertogether curlers, curling enthusiasts andpeople who just wanted to try curlingtogether.

The ACC still has a sizable presenceon Facebook where there have beenmany brainstorming discussions aboutforming the curling club, and wherearticles and links have been publishedto curling resources.

Visit the Atlanta Curling Club attheir new website, http://atlcurling.org.Also, visit the Great Smoky MountainsCurling Club’s web site at http://curl-knoxville.com.

Curling Camp 2010 kicksoff Atlanta Curling Club

Eric Kortebein (left) of the Great Smoky Mountains Curling Club assists David Corbin,

Dan Weddermann and Maxwell Williams at a camp held for the Atlanta club members.

T

Volunteers needed at

World Seniors,Mixed Doubles

in St. Paul

The St. Paul CurlingClub is looking for fourexperienced – at least Level1, preferably level 2 certi-fied – individuals to workas game umpires at the2011 World SeniorChampion-ships and WorldMixed DoublesChampionship in St. Paul inApril.

Volunteers would workdirectly with the headumpires for each event toprovide assistance andrelief to the head umpires.The positions would be vol-unteer with no financialcompensation; meals wouldbe included.

This is a great opportuni-ty for people looking togain international experi-ence. Event dates are April16-23. There are other vol-unteer opportunities avail-able as well.

If you are interested infinding out more or signingup to volunteer, contactMike O’Neil [email protected].

by Russ Lemcke,

Cape Cod Curling Club



score of 1,072 for theRoyal Caledonian’s and672 for the USA. Needlessto say – even with the rig-orous schedule, the Scotwomen prevailed.

For complete details ofthe Tour, for photos and theitinerary, and to learn moreabout the women of thetour, please go towww.uswca.org. Click onUSWCA Tours, Scot Tour2011.

The USWCA will besending a Team of USAwomen to Scotland in2016. You can learn moreabout becoming part of thattour by talking with yourclub’s USWCA representa-tive, or by visiting theUSWCA website. AnotherScot Tour will be back inthe United States in 2021.

USA to tourScotland in 2016

SCOTS TOURContinued From Page 1

GROWTHContinued From Page 1

Winning attitude is greatest asset“What would you try if

you knew you could notfail?” Definitely that tripletakeout comes to mind; orsigning up for the regionaland then for the nationalplaydowns and then – ofcourse – the OlympicTrials.

The phrase is not myown, and it doesn’t pertainonly to the aspirations ofcurlers. But the expectationof finding success in whatyou choose to do is some-thing that creates a winner,and fuels the determinationthat makes it a reality.When it comes to curling,that winning attitude on the

ice flows from strategy toteamwork to execution.

For women of the UnitedStates Women’s CurlingAssociation, that same atti-tude runs through our pas-sion for the sport off the iceas well. Building strongeralliances with other clubs,winning the respect andfriendship of curlers wher-ever we go and winningnew devotees of the sport inthe most unexpected places;how could we fail to grow

support for curling if wespread the word? USWCAexists to develop, nurtureand promote the sport ofcurling among today’swomen and youth. Ourmembers love the sport andknow that the stronger theprograms, the greater theopportunities and thebroader the network ofcurlers, the more certain wecan be that curling willremain a strong and vitalsport for the future.

For the past year, I havehad the pleasure of witness-ing that winning attitude onan almost daily basis. Un-daunted by the challengesand inspired by the oppor-tunities, we have continuedour traditions, broadenedour programming and tack-led the modernizing of ourorganization to better servethe new curling generation.I turn the gavel to newleadership this month, andit is with confidence thatwhen it comes to buildingopportunities for womenand youth in curling, thesewomen will never stop try-ing and they will not fail.

By Nancy Seitz,

USWCA President

[email protected]

Building relationships, mentoring newcurlers is USWCA backbone

Scots Tour has long, rich historyThis 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

Tours to Scotland:1955 – United States of

America and Canada: Eightladies from each country

1966, 1976, 1986, 1996,2006 – A tour team of 20USWCA members

Tours to the United States:

1958 – A team of 16ladies

1963 – Three teams East,three teams West

1971, 1981, 1991 – A

tour team of 20 RoyalCaledonia Curling ClubLadies’ Branch Members

These unforgettableexchange curling tours hadtheir beginning when ajoint team of eightAmericans and eight

Canadians visited Scotlandfor a month in 1955. Theopportunity to reciprocatesome of the famousScottish hospitality came in1958, when 16 Scottishladies arrived to spend oneweek in Montreal, oneweek in Ontario and twoweeks in the USA fromIllinois to Massachusetts. Itwas at the WinchesterCountry Club that this firstteam to visit America hadtheir farewell dinner, Feb.8, 1958.

The first tour that washeld exclusively in theUSA was participated in by24 Scottish ladies whenthey returned in 1963. Allsix rinks flew into Chicago

and curled against membersof the area’s eight clubs.From there the team wasdivided, three rinks curlingin Wisconsin andMinnesota, three rinks trav-eled east to curl in NewYork and Massachusetts allwere reunited once again inthe Boston area.

It was in 1966 that thefirst exclusively AmericanTeam toured Scotland when20 USWCA memberscurled at all eight of thecurling centers existing atthat time. As a result of thissuccessful tour, theUSWCA became the firstassociate member of theRCCC Ladies’ Branch inOctober 1967.

At that time a definiteschedule for these exchangevisits of an alternate five-year program of three-weektours was agreed upon.

As Jean Gow, captain ofthe 1958 Scottish Team,said in her speeches here:

“The primary purpose ofthese exchange tours is thefun of curling and the inter-national goodwill engen-dered by the friendlymatches. And as both asso-ciations have always fullysubscribed to this purpose,there has never been a tro-phy to compete for and it ishoped that that will alwaysremain the case: to truecurlers “winning” newfriends is reward enough!”

The 2011 Scottish

Ladies USA Tour pin

www.united.com/usoc – Use promo code: 903AW

Advertise in the Curling News

Have an event you’d like to advertise in the U.S.

Curling News? For the latest rates and deadlines,contact Editor Terry Kolesar at 715-344-1199, Ext.202 or [email protected].

They went to Facebook andcreated an interest groupand then traveled toKnoxville, Tenn., and helda curling camp. Even moreexcited now, they wentback home and formallystarted a club, got acceptedby the Grand Nationalregion and became USACurling members.

Since the flame wassnuffed in Vancouver, 14new clubs have formedacross the U.S. and becomeofficial USA Curling mem-bers. The sport has nowfound a home in 39 of 50U.S. states. The new totalmembership is not yetknown (dues are collectedeach January but someclubs file late, and typicallythe total membership num-ber is revealed months later,so please stay tuned).

In 2002, USA Curlinghad 11,510 members. By

2006, we had 12,231. Justtwo years later we hadclimbed to 14,395. As ofFeb. 8, 2011, with 117 of167 clubs reporting duesand rosters, we have 14,478members. Some of thosemissing clubs are some ofour larger ones inMinnesota, which shouldtake us well over the15,000 mark. Of those 117clubs that have reportedmembership numbers sofar, 90 percent have shownan increase in curlers.

The Grand Nationalregion has added the mostclubs since Vancouver, withseven new sites and severalmore in the developmentalstages.

Now, I’m no mathemati-cian, but I know that meansgrowth. How much growthwill the Sochi 2014Olympic Games bring? Wecan’t wait to find out.



Utica women capture Senior Bonspiel

he 29th Annual USWCASenior Women’s NationalBonspiel – “Lights ‘nIce” – was held in

Janesville, Wis., at the BlackhawkCurling Club Dec. 1-5. Twenty-four teams from the four regions ofthe United States Women’s CurlingAssociation participated.

Lights ‘n Ice began with a kitparty at The Armory DinnerTheatre on Wednesday evening.Participants were welcomed byrepresentatives from Wisconsin’sGovernor’s Office, county officials,Janesville’s city manager and thepresident of the Blackhawk CurlingClub. Entertainment was providedby The Blackhawk Boys – the curl-ing club’s own musical troupe. Theskip’s meeting was conducted byCarolyn MacLeod who served the29th Bonspiel as the head official.

Opening ceremonies took placeat 7:45 a.m. on Thursday with thefirst stone thrown by USWCAPresident Nancy Seitz. On hand tosweep the stone were past presi-dents Janet Farr, Peggy Jacobs,Judy Maier and Anne Robertson.

Thursday evening the partici-pants enjoyed cocktails and dinnerat one of three house parties hostedby members of the BlackhawkCurling Club, and a Lights ‘n Icecocktail was invented especially for

these parties.Curling continued Friday and the

bonspiel banquet was held thatevening at Janesville’s renownRotary International BotanicalGardens. The banquet was theinaugural evening for the Garden’sbeautiful Holiday Light’s display.

Saturday – the day when theteams for Sunday’s finals aredecided. The games were verycompetitive and the ice was fast.

Sunday was dedicated to thefinal events and the determinationof the champion.

Because BCC is three sheets, thefourth and third events were playedat 8 a.m. - and the second and firstevents games were held at 10:30.Each draw was led onto the ice bya piper and a drummer, and ofcourse the Piper was paid.

Congratulations to all the 2010Senior Bonspiel participants andespecially to the 2010 championsfrom the Utica Curling Club. Hereare the results of the 29th AnnualUSWCA Senior Women’s National

Bonspiel:1EW–Utica: Susan Williams, CarolJones, Ylva Cortright, MJ Walsh1ERU–Chicago: Susan McDonald,Marilyn Wilson, Joby Berman,Judy Johnson2EW–Hibbing: JoAnn Getz, JaneMiettunen, Sue Vidmar, MicheleDrlaca2ERU–Philadelphia: RosemaryMorgan, Jo Hess, MaggieMcMahon, Adrianne Hiser

3EW–Arden Hills: MyrnaMacKinnon, Maureen Guay, JudyTaylor, Michelle Christianson3ERU–Ardsley: Diane Muldowney,Nancy Clancy, Mieko Takiguchi,Kris Liddle4EW–Aksarben: Kelly Stephens,Sigrid Festersen, Jean Vorachek,Bobbie Greenspan4ERU–Albany: Roberta Crain,Florence Springstead, Linda Felice,Gloria Martino

T

Winners of the 29th USWCA Senior Women’s Bonspiel from the Utica

Curling Club are (l-r) Susan Williams, Carol Jones, Ylva Cortright and

MJ Walsh.

by Nancy Wilhelm,

USWCA Public Relations Chairwoman

Winners of the first- and second-event at the 29th annual USWCA Senior

Women’s Bonspiel celebrate with a toast (above). Winners of the third- and

fourth-event winners put up a toast as well (below). The event took place in

December at the Blackhawk Curling Club in Janesville, Wis.

By Carla Casper and David

Garber

Bette J. Kriwanek, 86, died Dec.21, 2010. Bette married RussKriwanek in 1948. They begancurling in 1960 at the Green BayCurling Club, which had beenfounded in 1958. Bette and Russsoon developed a love for curlingand their fellow curlers. Theychaired and otherwise volunteeredat the popular Green Bay SummerBonspiel from its inception in 1971to the mid-1990s. For decades theyactively volunteered to help atmost GBCC events.

The Kriwanek’s founded B&BSpecialty in 1973, a curlingpin/merchandise company whichsupplied many pins for clubsnationwide.

In 1976, Bette was honored tobe one of 20 women on theUSWCA Scotland Tour Team. Thefollowing year, she and Russ wentback to Scotland so she couldshow him the country and peopleshe had fallen in love with. Theyear after that they organized atour group to visit and curl inScotland. She used to say: “If thereis such a thing as reincarnation, Iwant to come back as a Scotbecause they are so much fun.”

Bette served as the first womanpresident of the Green Bay Curling

Club in 1981. She served twoterms. She organized all club histo-ry files like only she could do.Bette also served as BadgerWomen’s State President duringthis time.

Russ and Bette were also greatambassadors for U.S. Curling aswell, attending at least 16 WorldChampionships. They made manycherished friends around the world.In 1989 they chaired and ran theMedia Center at the World CurlingChampionships in Milwaukee, thefirst to include both men andwomen.

Bette was also committed to hercommunity, volunteering for manylocal and civic organizations. Sheserved on the local PBS channelboard of directors and also on thatof the Catholic Women’s Club. Shewas Secretary of the AllouezBeautification Committee, a mem-ber of The Home EconomicsAssociation, Theta Phi Alpha, andWisconsin Czechs.

Bette Kriwanek is survived byRuss, three children, and fivegrandchildren.

Long time club-mate CarlaCasper writes, “No one will everknow all the wonderful thingsBette has done because she didthem quietly from her heart with-out a need for recognition.”

College Curling

Intercollegiate club curling premieres



Last chance to sign up for National Tourney

hirty two teams ormore will gather inChicago startingMarch 11 to com-

pete in the 20th NationalCollege Curling Champion-ship event at the NorthShore and Chicago curlingclubs, just north ofChicago.

Special note to newteams and teams with littleexperience: Don’t be timid!It’s the best curling experi-ence you will ever have.The event format dividesthe championship into sepa-rate divisions based onteam experience so teamswith similar experienceplay against teams at theirown competitive level.Each of the four divisionswill have awards pins forfirst-, second-, and third-place teams.

All divisions play at thesame time so you will be

playing alongside experi-enced curlers. You willmeet really good curlersand learn more in threedays than you will in a yearat home. You will also meetand socialize with morethan a 100 curlers fromaround the country.

For information regard-ing how to enter the tourna-ment, eligibility, hotelinformation, a local mapand general event informa-tion, visit www.collegecurl-ing.org.

To enter, contact registrarDr. Robert Richardson,[email protected] with check for $120must be in hands of Dr.Richardson no later than 5p.m. March 1. The samedeadline applies to insureteams receive the low hotelrate of $69 plus tax pernight. Checks should bemade out to the IllinoisState Curling Foundation.

The schedule of eventsfor the 20th annual tourna-ment will be:

• One game Fridayevening, includes hot din-ner

• Two games Saturday,includes lunch and dinner

• Finals on Sundaymorning, includes lunch

In addition to the mealslisted above, a continentalbreakfast will be availableat the curling lodge onSaturday and Sunday.

Through the first 19championship events wehave seen teams from morethan 135 schools and over athousand student/curlersparticipating in theseevents. Along the way atleast 40 certified curlingclubs all over the countrydonated ice time, andcountless instructors,coaches and mentors tohelp get new curlers intotheir curling careers. Many

who began curling inschool have gone on tobecome dues-paying mem-bers of regular clubs aroundthe country.

From the beginning in1992 with five teams in LaCrosse, Wis., then severalyears at the Wauwatosaclub, where the event grewsteadily, it then moved tothe larger Madison club inMcFarland, Wis. The pro-gram and championshipthen moved again to St.Paul, Minn., where it grewto 32 teams.

Finally, and currently, theChicago Community Trust,the Illinois State Curling,and support from theUSCA now hosts the 20thannual championship at twoclubs in Chicago.

We look forward to arecord event with 40 teamsfrom all over the country in2011.

As always we thank the

dozens of clubs that haveprovided ice time andinstruction, the clubs host-ing regional college eventsand the National Tourna-ment, and the many, manyworkers who helped runcollege events over the pastyears.

Finally thanks to theboard of directors of theISCF, the staff of the U.S.

Curling News (especiallyTerry Kolesar) and USCAsupport, and the administra-tion staff of the ChicagoCommunity Trust. Specialthanks to Dr. RobertRichardson, who for manyyears has done so muchadministrative work for allour events.

We hope to better solidi-fy our relationship with theUSCA so that the collegecurling program can contin-ue and insure that thisworthwhile program cancontinue to expose the sportto more and more peopleand contribute dues-payingcurlers to our sport.

by Rich Larko, College

Tournament Coordinator

T

20th annual tournament on tap March 11-13 in Chicago

This curling season sawthe beginning ofIntercollegiate Club Curlingat two sites in the upperMidwest. Five colleges anduniversities took part in tworounds of competition fol-lowed by a playoff.

The first round tookplace at the Green BayCurling Club on Dec. 4 andpitted the University ofWisconsin-Green Bay, LakeSuperior College (Duluth,Minn.) and MichiganTechnological University(Houghton, Mich.) againsteach other. The secondround and the playoffs tookplace at the Copper CountryCurling Club, Calumet,Mich., on Jan. 22-23, withLake Superior College andMichigan TechnologicalUniversity being joined byCarroll University(Milwaukee, Wis.) andFinlandia University(Hancock, Mich.).

The “Intercollegiate ClubCurling” format sets clubagainst club rather thanindividual rinks againsteach other. Each club is per-mitted to bring as manyplayers as they want and tosubstitute between games asmuch as they want. Theresults on ice are attributedto the club and not to a spe-cific rink of four players.All events are “open,” thatis, any combination of menand women are permittedon ice.

There is only one eligi-bility requirement to partici-pate in Intercollegiate ClubCurling. The participants

must be membersof a formally rec-ognized club ontheir college/uni-versity campus.One of the pri-mary goals ofIntercollegiateClub Curling isthe promotion anddevelopment ofon campus curlingclubs. Whilemany college/uni-versity campuseshave curlers who participatein curling activities at near-by community curlingclubs, few have formallyorganized into campusclubs. There are manyadvantages to being a rec-ognized on campus club,including added studentbody exposure to curlingactivities and access to stu-dent organization funds thatmay help defray the costs ofcurling activities.

The second immediategoal of Intercollegiate ClubCurling is to increase theopportunities for curlersattending a college or uni-versity to compete againsttheir peers at other academ-ic institutions. Trying tojuggle classwork and curl-ing can make it very diffi-cult for students to dedicatean entire weekend to a tra-ditional bonspiel.

By keeping the timecommitment to a minimumand not locking the on-iceteams to specific individualcurlers, more students areable to participate in morecompetitive events. This

year’s events sawone “triangularmeet” and one“quadrangularmeet” each witha round robin for-mat. There isgreat potential forthese formatsplus a “dual” or“head-to-head”format to makefrequent and reg-ular competitionsbetween college

curling clubs possible.Maintaining a smaller eventsize also makes it easier forthe college clubs to organ-ize and host events andminimize ice time require-ments if rental costs areinvolved. Our two eventsthis year had draws startingevery three hours witheight-end games. With thisformat, a four-team roundrobin that started at 9 a.m.was completed by 5 p.m.

Looking to the future,building on the concept ofcompetitive curling at thecollege club level couldvery well result in the estab-lishment of college curlingassociations or conferences.As with other sports, net-works of nearby, closely-related schools competingon a regular basis will pro-vide an element of rivalryand the interest among thestudent bodies that suchrivalries produce. Increasedinterest may allow curlingto transition from a clubsport to a varsity sport atsome schools.

For Canadians, the con-

cept of varsity-level curlingin colleges and universitiesis far from unusual. In fact,there are several establishedconferences north of theborder that hold regularlyscheduled college curlingcompetitions. There is noreason to believe that curl-ing could not make thistransition here in the U.S.One of the participatingschools in this year’s tour-nament, Lake SuperiorCollege, has already estab-lished a varsity level curlingprogram and its students arereaping the benefits.

“I already have studentsstaying at LSC to take partin the varsity program, andhave had inquiries fromhigh school aged juniorcurlers looking for anavenue to stay competitiveafter juniors while they con-tinue into post secondaryeducation,” said RobertCarr, coordinator of curling,Lake Superior College. “I

think my team is even moreexcited about this programthan I am. The two bon-spiels held this season(Green Bay, Wis., andCalumet, Mich.) were veryenjoyable for me and ourteam as we had the opportu-nity to play against andmeet other students from avariety of schools across thenorthern states.”

Looking ahead to the2011-12 season, I am hop-ing to hear from students orfaculty advisors from col-lege curling clubs in otherregions of the U.S. who areinterested in competingagainst other colleges oruniversities in their area.

For the record, congratu-lations to the Lake SuperiorCollege Huskies for win-ning the first College ClubCurling championship, fin-ishing the two rounds ofcompetition with a 5-1record and sweeping theplayoffs.

by Gordon Maclean,

Chairman, College

Curling CommitteeCompetitors from the four schools competing in the second

round of the Intercollegiate Club Curling Championship get

together for a group photo. Lake Superior College of Duluth,

Minn., went on to win the championship.

Submitted photo



he 2011 USACurling NationalChampionshipswill take place

Feb. 12-19 at Scheels Arenain Fargo, N.D. The winningteams will represent theU.S. at the 2011 WorldChampionships. TheWomen’s Worlds will takeplace March 19-27 inEsbjerg, Denmark, whilethe Men’s Worlds will beplayed April 2-10 inRegina, Saskatchewan,Canada.

The teams will play in aweeklong round robin fol-lowed by the Page playoffsFeb. 18-19 to determine thechampions. The PeteFenson and Erika Brownteams are the defendingchampions.

To order tickets and jointhe fun, you can still gettickets at the door or log onto http://2011usacurlingna-tionals.com.

Here is a look at the fieldof 20 competing teams andtheir hometowns:

MEN’S QUALIFIERS:Team Birr: Todd Birr

(Mankato, Minn.), GregRomaniuk (Snohomish,Wash.), Doug Pottinger(Eden Prairie, Minn.),Kevin Birr (St. Peter,

Minn.),Tom O’Connor (GoldenValley, Minn.)

Team Brown: CraigBrown (Madison, Wis.),John Shuster (Duluth,Minn.), Greg Johnson(Appleton, Wis.), DerrickCasper (De Pere, Wis.),Jeremiah Dotlich(Hermantown, Minn.)

Team Disher: CraigDisher (Rolla, N.D.), KevinKakela (Rolla, N.D.), ChadCarlson (Devils Lake,N.D.), Peter Annis(Owatonna, Minn.), JohnBenton (St. Michael,Minn.)

Team Fenson: PeteFenson (Bemidji, Minn.),Shawn Rojeski (Chisholm,Minn.), Joe Polo (Duluth,Minn.), Ryan Brunt(Bemidji, Minn.)

Team George: TylerGeorge (Duluth, Minn.),Chris Plys (Duluth, Minn.),Rich Ruohonen (BrooklynPark, Minn.), PhillDrobnick (Duluth, Minn.)

Team Goodland: GeoffGoodland (Eau Claire,Wis.), Pete Westberg(Naperville, Ill.), Tim Solin(Mahtomedi, Minn.), KenOlson (Plymouth, Minn.),Tim Jeanetta (Elk River,Minn.)

Team Hamilton:Matthew Hamilton(McFarland, Wis.), JeremyRoe (Rio, Wis.), JosephBonfoey (Duluth, Minn.),Patrick Roe (Madison,Wis.), Paul Pustovar(Hibbing, Minn.)

Team Jacobson: ZachJacobson (Langdon, N.D.),Kevin Deeren (Chicago),Zane Jacobson (Langdon,N.D.), Kraig Deeren(Waunakee, Wis.), MikeFarbelow (Minneapolis,Minn.)

Team Larway: JasonLarway (Lynnwood,Wash.), Colin Hufman(Seattle), Sean Beighton(University, Wash.), JoelLarway (Lynnwood, Wash.)

Team McCormick:Heath McCormick (Sarnia,Ontario), Bill Stopera(Briarcliff Manor, N.Y.),Martin Sather (Hastings-on-Hudson, N.Y.), DeanGemmell (Short Hills, N.J.)

WOMEN’S QUALIFIERS:

Team Brown: ErikaBrown (Oakville, Ontario),Nina Spatola (McFarland,Wis.), Ann Swisshelm(Chicago), Laura Hallisey(Medfield, Mass.), DebbieMcCormick (Rio, Wis.)

Team Haag: Jenna Haag(Milton, Wis.), Chloe Pahl(Green Bay, Wis.), GraceGabower (Milton, Wis.),Erin Wallace (Green Bay,Wis.), Joy Pahl (Green Bay,Wis.)

Team Haase: ChrissyHaase (Schenectady, N.Y.),Monica Walker (Brighton,Mass.), Karen Walker(Enfield, Conn.), NicoleVasser (Framingham,Mass.)

Team Karst: Lori Karst(Madison, Wis.), SherriSchummer (St. Paul,

Minn.), Emilia Juocys (OakPark, Ill.), Heather VanSistine (Hartland, Wis.)

Team Lank: Patti Lank(Lewiston, N.Y.), CaitlinMaroldo (Rochester, N.Y.),Jessica Schultz (Richfield,Minn.), Mackenzie Lank(Lewiston, N.Y.), ChristinaSchwartz (Fargo, N.D.)

Team O’Leary: NormaO’Leary (Silver Bay,Minn.), Margie Smith(Shoreview, Minn.),Theresa Hoffoss(Minneapolis, Minn.), PattiLuke (Duluth, Minn.)

Team Potter: CassiePotter (Birchwood Village,Minn.), Jamie Haskell(White Bear Lake, Minn.),Maureen Stolt (Plymouth,Minn.), Stephanie Sambor

(Williston, N.D.)Team Pottinger: Allison

Pottinger (Eden Prairie,Minn.), Nicole Joraanstad(Madison, Wis.), NatalieNicholson (Bemidji,Minn.), Tabitha Peterson(Eagan, Minn.)

Team Reiser: NicoleReiser (Mandan, N.D.),Michelle Wagner (Fargo,N.D.), Gabrielle Coleman(Mountain View, Calif.),Ann Drummie(Washington, D.C.),Charrissa Lin (New Haven,Conn.)

Team Sormunen: AileenSormunen (Duluth, Minn.),Courtney George (St. Paul,Minn.), Amanda McLean(Duluth), Miranda Solem(Cohasset, Minn.)

2011 Nationals begin Feb. 12 in Fargo

The U.S. Curling Association isproud to recognize the followingsponsors who support our sport

and organization:

Advertising disclaimer“None of the advertisers in this publication are

agents of the U.S. Curling Association, which hereby disclaims any liability for acts of any of the advertisers.”

by Terry Kolesar,

Editor

T

2010 national champions (l-r) Shawn Rojeski, Pete Fenson and

Joe Polo will try for another title in 2011 in Fargo.

Photo by Brownewell Photography

Erika Brown (front) celebrates after winning the 2010 Nationals

in Kalamazoo along with teammates (l-r) Laura Hallisey, Nina

Spatola and Ann Swisshelm.

Photo by Brownewell Photography

America’s #1 Curling

Supplier for 35 years!

Largest Selection in Country

BalancePlus, Performance,ASHAM, 8-ender, Hammer,Tournament, Brownie and

more. All your curling needs!

Same Day UPS Shipping

Phone: 608-222-1691FAX: 608-222-8114

Orders: 1-800-227-CURLE-mail: [email protected] site: www.stevescurling.com

Spring board meeting scheduled

The 2011 USA Curling Board of Directors will meet forits spring board meeting April 29-May 1 at the HiltonMinneapolis/Bloomington in Bloomington, Minn. In addi-tion, the annual member’s meeting will be held Saturday,April 30 (same location).

The public is invited to attend the committee and boardmeetings. Committee meetings take place on Friday after-noon and evening as well as Saturday morning. The Boardof Directors meeting begins at noon on Saturday, April 30,and typically concludes in the early evening with themeeting convening Sunday morning. A complete meetingschedule will be finalized as the meeting draws closer.Feel free to call the USCA office at 1-888-CURLERS forupdates and to let us know if you’re planning to attend.



he strength and the promiseof any organization, especial-ly a not-for- profit, is its peo-ple. USA Curling has lever-

aged its six paid staff with 30 supportcommittees, peopled by curling vol-unteers from across the USA. These30 committees are managed by fourvolunteer vice presidents and one vol-unteer president with support by avolunteer treasurer and secretary.

Policy and direction of USACurling is developed by a volunteerboard of directors. The board consistsof 18 state/regional elected directors,currently two boardielected directorsand six athlete elected directors. Inaddition, there is one director fromthe USWCA. Also on the board is aformer board member who has avoice but no voting rights as one ofUSA’s representatives to the WorldCurling Federation.

USA curling’s legal name is UnitedStates Curling Association, Inc.(USCA). USCA was organized in1958 as a member, non-stock corpora-tion in the State of Wisconsin. Themembers of USCA are the state andregional curling associations. Thus,the USCA is an association of associ-ations. This is a unique structureamongst the national sport governingbodies. Other Olympic national gov-erning bodies (NGBs) are structuredas non-member, board of directorbased organizations.

A second unique aspect of thestructure of the USCA governance isthe overlay of authority and responsi-bilities between its paid COO and thevolunteer president and other officers.In one context, the president, fourvice presidents, treasurer and secre-tary, as members of the board ofdirectors, are the “bosses” of theCOO. In another context of the day-to-day operations of the USCA, theCOO and the officers work togetheras equals to sustain the organization.

One of the projects before theUSCA today is examining the effec-

tiveness of itsunique gover-nance structure.An ongoingeffort is beingmade to identifywhat works welland whatimpedes theeffectiveness ofthe USCA. TheUSCA has rec-ognized that tosucceed in meet-ing its futuregoals an updat-ing of our gov-ernance will benecessary toadopt to the changes in the world ofcurling that have occurred since 1958.These are changes in how individualsspend their time and resources, andchanges in how all sports, includingcurling, may sustain excellence atlocal, state and regional, national andinternational levels. More about theproject to revise the governance toaddress these issues will be communi-cated to the U.S. curling communityover the next seven months. It isintended that this communication willbe a dialogue amongst those who arepassionate and thoughtful about theUSCA and its role in curling.

A component of the dialoguesought by the USCA is an openness toany and all individuals who wish tocontribute their insights, time andefforts to serve as volunteers. Each ofthe 26 committees listed below areresponsible for specific areas whichare needed to enrich and further thesport of curling. Membership in anyof these committees listed below isnot limited to members of the Boardof Directors. Those curlers who areinterested in volunteering are wel-come to contact the USCA office andfrom there talk to the committeechairs about their interest.• Arena Curling, Janet Farr

• Club & Membership Development,Nick Kitinski• College Curling, Gordon Maclean• College Curling Tournament,Rich Larko & Robert Richardson• Training & Instruction, SandraMcMakin• Youth Curling, Dave Jensen• Awards, Nicole Joraanstad• Event Site Selection, LynitaDelaney• Field of Play, Richard Maskel• Format, James Pleasants• Rules & Officiating, Sam Williams• Request for Ruling, Sam Williams• Adaptive Curling, Sheila Longie &Marc DePerno• Coaching, TBD• Elite Programs, Kent Beadle• Sports Science, Richard Maskel• World Team Preparation, JanLegacie• Athlete/Curler Recognition, RichardMaskel• Bylaws/Governance, Dave Carlson• Finance/Audit, Jack Bernauer• Human Resources, Mark Swandby• Large Donor/CorporateSponsorship, Beau Welling• Leadership Development, BobPelletier• Media/PR, Terry Kolesar• Planned Giving, Sean Silver• Revenue Development, DaveCarlson

The 2010-11 Donation Program isanother means by which individualsmay show support of curling. Eachlocal club has an opportunity to bene-fit both itself and USCA through theDonation Program. For funds raisedon a per club basis equal to or inexcess of $1,000, 25 percent isreturned to the local club. The dona-tion levels and premiums are identi-fied below. Please contact your stateor regional USCA Director, your localclub president or donation chair or theUSCA national office for more detailsand to make a donation. Also, youmay make a donation on line. Thewebsite is http://usacurl.mybisi.com/.

Volunteers are heart of USA Curling

T

by Dave

Carlson,

VP of

Marketing &

Operations

The International CurlingFellowship of Rotarianslaunched 2011 in grandstyle with the 57th AnnualRotary CAN-AM held inKitchener, Ontario, Canada,Jan. 20-22.

Thirty Canadian teamsand two American teamscompeted for a chance toparticipate in the RotaryWorld competition to beheld in Washington, DC,April 1-6, 2012. TheGilmore rink of NiagaraFalls, Canada, and the PaulMatzke rink, of Madison,Wis., and Mark Curtis rinkof Fayetteville, Ark.,advanced to the Worlds.Competing with Matzke areTed Tibbits, Rich Leppingand Jim Sirianni. Curtis’steammates include JohnZimmerman, Ken Millerand Kurt Olson.

Every year, curlers fromCanada and the UnitedStates get together for fel-lowship and competition.The CAN-AM (Canadian-American Bonspiel) is heldthe third week in January toselect the teams that willrepresent that country in theRotary World Tournament.These teams are joined bythe teams selected fromScotland and England.

“This is one of the best-kept secrets,” said Sirianni,a member of the Madison,Wis., Sunrise Rotary Club.“It’s a chance to do twothings I love; curl and trav-el, and I get a chance tovisit with old friends andmake new acquaintancesalong the way.”

Curling in Canada andScotland is part of their her-itage and past time. The

curling competition is keen,and the sport draws interestthroughout the countries.In the United States, wehave to do a bit more workto find Curling Rotarians.Canada and Scotland, eachwith more than 40 teams,have created real competi-tion in this sport. Olympiccurling has promptedawareness and the openingof additional U.S. curlingclubs all over the country,but your help is needed.

We encourage everyRotarian to join our group.If you don’t have an exist-ing club in your area,please give us a call and wewill help you locate the onenearest you. Contact RichLepping at [email protected]. Find out aboutour little secret. You’ll beglad you did.

U.S. teams advance to WorldRotary Curling Championship

Premium list for the

2010-11 PinDonationProgram

$25 DonationA donor of $25 receives the

USA Curling 2010-11Donation pin. This pin is 1 1/4inches and proudly bears theUSCA’s new logo (actual pinin is red, white and blue)

$50 DonationA donor of $50 receives the

USA Curling 2010-11Donation pin and the historical1995 donation pin as shownabove (actual pin is color)

$100 DonationA donor of $100 receives

the USA Curling 2010-11Donation pin. In addition, thisdonor will receive a long-sleeve T-shirt embroideredwith the 2010-11 donation pinlogo.


the USACurling 2010-11 Donationpin. In addi-tion, thisdonor willreceive a setof USACurling pintglasses withthe new USACurling logo.


the USA Curling 2010-11Donation pin. In addition, thisdonor will receive an officialUSA Curling world competi-tion jacket embroidered withthe donor’s name and withUSA on the back.

Bob Fenson, Bemidji,Minn., will be formallyinducted into the USACurling Hall of Fameprior to the start of themen’s first draw at the2011 USA CurlingNational Championshipson Feb. 12 in Fargo,N.D., at Scheels Arena.

Fenson, 64, coachedson Pete Fenson to curl-ing’s first Olympic medalin 2006 when Pete’steam defeated GreatBritain for the bronzemedal in Torino, Italy.Fenson also won the1979 Men’s Nationalsand 2003 Senior Men’sNationals. He hascoached at nearly everlevel of curling competi-tion in his career.

Hall of Fameceremony for

Fenson set in Fargo



Moving the rocks,arena style

wo ongoing chal-lenges for curlingin an arena (politeway of saying

hockey ice) are what doyou do with the rocks whenyou aren’t curling and howdo you get them to andfrom the ice. You can’tstore the rocks on ice as ina dedicated curling club;they must be removed andstored off ice or they wouldbe in the way of hockeyplayers or some curiousfree skate person mightthink it’s a good door stopand take the $400 curlingstone home. Makes meshudder just thinking aboutthat possibility.

When our club formedafter the 2002 Salt LakeCity Olympics, we set therocks on a wood latticestructure to protect the run-ning surface; the storagelocation was far from theentrance to the ice.Carrying 64 rocks one ortwo at a time was out of thequestion and if someonedropped a rock, we didn’teven want to contemplatethat kind of a disaster. Sowe built a flat platform withwheels, which could handle32 rocks at a time.

This was laborious to saythe least and the rocks notbeing cold burned into theice, so we built boxesaround the rocks and cov-ered the rocks with tarpsand had the arena dumpsnow on them on the dayswe curled. All this to tryand cool down the rocksresulted in more work--lotsmore work. Once we gotthe snow off, and shoveledit outside, we had to lift anddry each rock, put it on theplatform, then pull it to theice entry and lift again tothe ice. At least they werecolder and did not burn inas much. But this stillmeant lifting each rock fourtimes and each lift is achance for a dropped rockand a chip or some otherdamage.

After the VancouverOlympics last year we werevery well prepared for theonslaught of interest incurling and were able toearn enough money toafford the cost of a walk-inrefrigerator. Some of ourmembers had become closefriends of the Cape CodCurling Club. When theyheard Cape Cod was get-ting rid of a large walk inrefrigerator, we offered totake it off their hands.One of our members, Andy

Bahr, designedsome carts thatwere sizedspecifically forthe opening ofthis refrigerator,and that couldhold a full sheetof 16 rocks.Actually as itworked out theycan hold 18, sowe are ready incase they everchange the gamein some weirdnine-stone way.Maybe make the skip throwthree since all front ender’sknow that skips don’t reallywork! Ok, maybe not!Thanks to the Cape CodCurling Club for saving uslots of money!

The carts have threeshelves, each shelve holdssix rocks, the top twoshelves rotate up and out ofthe way and are held up bya pin. The wood shelveshave beveled holes to holdeach rock securely, arestained and have a clearwater-proof coating to helpthem last as long as possi-ble. They also have veryheavy-duty wheels. I esti-mate a cost of $125 and sixto eight hours of work percart. Donated labor savedus even more money, other-wise that $125 cost wouldbe much higher. They rolleasily and one person can

move a fullyloaded cart.Best of all wenow lift eachrock once to theice and once offthe ice. Greatlylimiting thechance for adamaged stoneand reducingthe tremendousamount of workwe had beendoing to get thecurling rocks onand off the ice.

All four carts (one per sheetof rocks) fit nicely insidethe refrigerator; the rocksstay cold and can be quick-ly moved to the ice. NOBURN IN!

This actually got startedby talking with Lyle Sieg ofthe Bay Area Curling Club;they have two walk-in unitsand acquired them from adistributor located a fewmiles from us in NorthTexas. One call led toanother and another and itbecame curling club help-ing curling club helpingcurling club.

Our new “rock carts”will help us extend the lifeof the rocks, no more snow,no water trying to seep inthe rocks and cause cracks.As for the old “rockboxes,” Andy says they willmake nice firewood for hisworkshop if they ever dry

out!If you would like details

about these carts or any-thing else, send an email [email protected],and we will see if Andy hasplans to share.

Cheers, and good curl-ing.

by Dan Johnson,

Dallas-Fort Worth Club

T

Wanna learn more?

Send Dan an email at

[email protected]

Two DFW Curling Club members remove the tarp and snow cov-

ering the rocks. The snow had to be shoveled outside and the

rocks dried and placed on a flat cart and moved to the ice.

Submitted photos

Two rock carts loaded and being pushed into the walk-in refrig-

erator (above). The top two shelves on the club’s new rock carts

(below) flip up and out of the way for easy loading and unload-

ing.

Compete in Women’s Bonspiels andEarn Points for Area and NationalCash Awards!

Learn about The Circuit:

• How you can compete in The Circuit in

Women’s Bonspiels in all Areas of the

USWCA!

• How your club's Women's Bonspiel can

become part of The Circuit!

Register your Club’s Bonspiel for

Increased Participation!

Register yourself as a Circuit Participant!

www.uswca.org

Click on “USWCA

Circuit Event” on

the Home Page

The USWCA CircuitEvent



WI women, MN men capture Junior Nationals

isconsin’sBecca Hamiltonrink andMinnesota’s

Aaron Wald team will rep-resent the U.S. at the 2011World Junior Champion-ships after winning theUSA Curling JuniorNational ChampionshipsFeb. 5 in Fairbanks, Alaska.

Wald and teammatesJoshua Bahr (Bemidji,Minn.), Jared Zezel(Hibbing, Minn.) and JohnMuller (Hibbing, Minn.)finished runner-up at thepast two Junior Nationalsand can now put those sec-ond-place finishes behindthem as they defeatedStephen Dropkin’s teamfrom Massachusetts, 6-3.“We’re excited. This is mylast year as a junior and ourlast chance to get together,”Wald said. “We played thebest we could, and wehoped it would go ourway.”

Hamilton (McFarland,Wis.) and teammates TaraPeterson (Eagan, Minn.),Karlie Koenig(Oconomowoc, Wis.) andSophie Brorson (Duluth,Minn.) return to familiarturf as junior champions.Peterson and Brorson havenow won three straighttitles while Hamilton andKoenig were teammatesback in 2008 when theywon the title. In their firstyear playing as a team, thatpast experience on the

international stage favoredthe Wisconsin-based teamas they defeatedMinnesota’s MirandaSolem, 11-4, in the firstappearance in the gold-medal game by Solem andteammates MirandaSchieber (Portage, Wis.),Julie Lilla (Trempealeau,Wis.) and Chelsea Solem(Cohasset, Minn.).

“We came out strong,and it was all downhill afterthat,” Hamilton said.

Dropkin and his team ofKorey Dropkin (Southbor-ough, Mass.), ThomasHowell (Brick, N.J.), DerekCorbett (Rochester, N.Y.)and Cameron Ross(Princeton Junction, N.J.)only led briefly when theygot the first points of thegame with a steal of onepoint in the third end.

Wald’s team scored adeuce in the fourth and thenposted back-to-back stealsto gain the upper hand.Dropkin’s team could onlymuster a single in the sev-enth but then tried to rallywith a steal in the eighth tocut the deficit to one point.

In the ninth end, Dropkinwas able to get two guardsup but Bahr doubled themout. Bahr then followed upwith a shot to chip out thecount rock belong toMassachusetts. Dropkinmissed an open takeout and

Wald was able to draw fortwo and take a 6-3 lead.“Getting two in the ninthwas a big turn for us,” Waldsaid. “The team played wellthe whole game.”

Massachusetts split thehouse with two stones inthe 10th but Wald made ahit to earn his team’s firsttrip to the World Juniors.Wald previously played inthe World Juniors in 2006as an alternate for 2010Olympian Chris Plys, whenthe event was staged inSouth Korea.

The Hamilton rink took aless dramatic route to theirjunior national title as theycatapulted to a 5-0 leadafter three ends of playagainst the Minnesota statejunior champions. Solem’steam got in the game with adeuce in the fourth butcouldn’t catch up to theWisconsin team and surren-dered four points in theeighth end that sealed thewin for Hamilton’s rink.

Hamilton said it was “abit never-wracking” in theseventh end but Minnesotawas able to pick up onlyone point. “But, we cameback with four in theeighth, and it was over,”Hamilton said.

It was just the secondloss of the week forMiranda Solem, 19, whowill play in the 2010

Women’s NationalChampionship next week inFargo, N.D., as lead fortwo-time U.S. junior cham-pion Aileen Sormunen witha chance to advance to theWomen’s WorldChampionship.

The 2011 World JuniorChampionships will takeplace March 5-13 in Perth,Scotland. The U.S.women’s team, whichincluded Peterson andBrorson, won the bronzemedal at last year’s event.The U.S. men last medaledin 2009 when Wald’s for-mer teammate Plys won thebronze after winning goldin 2008.

The U.S. women lastwon world junior gold in2002 when Cassie(Johnson) Potter, who wenton to skip at the 2006Olympic Winter Games,captured the first and onlygold medal for the U.S. jun-ior women’s program todate.

The 2012 USA Curling

Junior Nationals will takeplace Feb. 4-11, 2012, atthe Madison Curling Clubin McFarland, Wis.

Editor’s note: Thank you

to Harry Maier of the

Green Bay Curling Club for

post-game interviews with

Wald and Hamilton and

additional game insights.

Round robin results, women:Minnesota I 8-1North Dakota II 7-2Wisconsin I 7-2Wisconsin II 5-4*Minnesota II 5-4Alaska 4-5New York II 4-5New York I 2-7North Dakota I 2-7Washington 1-8* defeated MN II in tiebreakermatch

Tiebreaker: *WI II 010 411 04 x x 11MN II 102 000 10x x 4

Page 1-2*MN1 430 102 02x x 12NDII 001 020 10x x 4

Page 3-4:*WI I 010 200 101 1 6WI II 000 021 010 0 4

Semifinal:*ND II 101 020 000 0 4WI I 020 101 111 1 8

Final:*MNI 000 201 10x x 4WI1 221 020 04x x 11*last stone in first end

Round robin results, men:Massachusetts I 7-2Minnesota I 6-3Massachusetts II 6-3Wisconsin I 6-3*Wisconsin II 6-3North Dakota I 5-4Alaska 4-5North Dakota II 3-6Minnesota II 1-8Washington 1-8* defeated WI II in tiebreakermatch

Tiebreaker: *WI I 220 022 1xx x 9WI II 002 100 0xx x 3

Page 1-2*MA I 001 002 020 20 7MN I 000 310 201 02 9

Page 3-4:*MA II 010 040 202 x 9WI I 100 101 020 x 5

Semifinal:*MA I 010 200 002 10 6MA II 003 001 110 02 8

Final:*MN I 000 211 002 x 6MA II 001 000 110 x 3*last stone in first end

Team USA (l-r) Becca Hamilton, Tara Peterson, Karlie Koenig,

Sophie Brorson and Rebecca Funk.Team USA (l-r) Aaron Wald, Josh Bahr, Jared Zezel, John Muller

and John Landsteiner.

by Terry Kolesar,

Editor

W

Wald, Hamilton rinks will representUSA at 2011 World Juniors

in March in Scotland

Alaska’s Meredith Hazen

(above) received the Katie

Beck Memorial Award for

excellence at the second posi-

tion.

Washington’s Jake Vukich rink were the winners of the Men’s

Curtis Cup for Sportsmanship. Team members include (l-r) Jake

Vukich, Patrick Connolly, Michael Tomlinson and Ryan Dunn.

Minnesota II’s Cory Christensen rink were the winners of the

Women’s Curtis Cup for Sportsmanship. Team members include

(l-r) Cory Christensen, Elizabeth Busche, Anna Bauman and

Sonja Bauman.

All-Star Team Selection:Women:

Skip: Miranda Solem,Minnesota IVice skip: Tara Peterson,Wisconsin ISecond: Karlie Koenig,Wisconsin ILead: Anna Hopkins,North Dakota II

Men:Skip: John Landsteiner,Wisconsin IVice skip: Josh Bahr,Minnesota ISecond: Jared Zezel,Minnesota ILead: Jared Wydysh,Massachusetts I



North America sets pointsrecord, captures 2011 Cup

eam NorthAmerica wears thepants in the curlingworld. After claim-

ing the Cup title a day earlywhen they eclipsed themagic 201-point total nec-essary to win, a bonus$13,000 and a piece of his-tory were on the line in thefinal night of the 2011World Financial GroupContinental Cup at theServus Credit Union Place.

The men’s “C” skinsevent closed out the Cupwith a bonus $13,000 goingto the winner of the matchbetween Canada’s KevinMartin and Norway’sThomas Ulsrud in a re-match of not only the recentOlympic gold-medal finalbut the last Cup finaleplayed in 2008. Norwaymarched in for the pre-game promenade wearingtheir Loudmouth pants andsuit coats in a pink paisleypattern. Moments later, theumpire promptly askedthem to change into theirproper Team World uniform– basic black pants. Turnsout that the Norwegiansneeded the lucky pants thatwere made so famous dur-ing the VancouverOlympics as Martin’s four-some secured the bonusmoney and points record inthe seventh end of thematch.

In clinching the win,North America amassed298 points to Team World’s102. The 298-point outputis the most ever by aContinental Cup team, sur-passing the 290 total NorthAmerica posted in 2007 inMedicine Hat, Alberta.

Canada had a chance toclinch the bonus money inthe sixth end when a 23-point skin was up for grabs,but it carried over into theseventh when the Olympicgold medalists couldn’tscore the two points need-ed. To count a skin, theteam with the last rockmust score a minimum oftwo points. Canada’suncharacteristic unsteadyplay continued into the sev-enth end with 35 points upfor grabs but Ulsrud justmissed a double takeout,despite proclaiming “showme the money” just beforethe rocks made contact. Themiss left a Canadian rockclosest to the button for thesteal, and most importantly,the win as only 12 skinscould be left to grab in theeighth end, which wouldn’tbe enough.

“I was sure I had it, I felt

kind of stupid when Iturned over to the Worldbench and called out ‘Showme the money!’and...whoops, jammed,”Ulsrud said. Most curlersdon’t enjoy winning onsomeone else’s missed shot,including Martin. “Thomasis a character, he wouldmake that shot more thanhe misses it – so we were alittle lucky,” he said.

USA’s Erika Brown(Oakville, Ontario/Madison, Wis.) became thefirst American to win threeCup titles. The veteran skipis a two-time Olympian(1998, 1988) and six-timeU.S. champion.

“It’s always fun to winso I’m happy about that,”Brown said. “I enjoy play-ing at this event. It’s a greatopportunity to play with somany great athletes.”

This is the first Cup titlewin for Americans PeteFenson (Bemidji, Minn.)and Shawn Rojeski(Chisholm, Minn.) in threetries. Ann Swisshelm(Chicago) and Joe Polo(Duluth, Minn.) also earned

their first title in their sec-ond appearances. For rook-ies Nina Spatola (McFar-land, Wis.), Laura Hallisey(Medfield, Mass.) and RyanBrunt (Bemidji, Minn.),their first Cup experiencecomes in dominating fash-ion.

Earlier, Canada’s CherylBernard rink defeatedChina’s Bingyu Wang, 42-13, to win the finalwomen’s skins event. Thatgame started out with anoffensive showdown asboth ends featured all 16stones in play. Chinagrabbed the 13-point skinin the third, but Bernardcame through a port to con-vert a double takeout in thefourth end to get on thescoreboard with six points.It was all Canada in thesecond half of the match asthe Chinese 2010 Olympicbronze medalists couldn’tmake the big shots whenthey counted most.

Total attendance for thefour-day event was 16,340.The 2012 Cup will takeplace Jan. 12-15 in Langley,British Columbia.

by Terry Kolesar,

Editor

T

Discipline:Mixed doubles – Round 1Women’s team – Round 1Men’s team – Round 1Women’s team – Round 2Men’s team – Round 2Singles (+ bonus)Men’s/Women’s/Skins “A”Mixed doubles – Round 2Men’s/Women’s/Skins “B”Women’s Skins “C”Men’s Skins “C”Total score:

Team World0660100176281316102

Team North America1812121822184312624239298

USA’s 2010 national champions teamed up with four of the top

Canadian teams at the 2011 Continental Cup held in January in

Alberta. Competing Americans included (above, l-r) Nina

Spatola, Ann Swisshelm, Erika Brown and Laura Hallisey and

the men’s team of (below, l-r) Ryan Brunt, Pete Fenson, Joe Polo

and Shawn Rojeski.

Photos by Michael Burns Jr.

No. 1 selling brush in the world

1-800-268-CURL (2875)www.performancebrush.com

www.performancecurlingwear.com

Distributed by: Steve’s Curling Supplies

4926 Pflaum RoadMadison, Wisconsin

537181 608 222-16911 800 227-CURL

www.stevescurling.com

Craig Brown, two-time U.S. national champion

Do you have a family member, friend, co-worker who’s a fan of curling but not anactive club member? Consider a member-ship in USA Curling’s Fan Club. A $30 mem-bership includes:• Official USA Curling Fan Club member-ship card• USA Curling luggage bag tag• A USA Curling pin• Specialized address labels• Year subscription to the Curling Newsand more! Sound like fun? Order your membership today by callingthe USA Curling office at 1-888-287-5377 or email [email protected].



he Americans fin-ished on a highnote with a 7-1win over Slovenia

to conclude their stint at the2011 Winter WorldUniversity Games inErzurum, Turkey.

With a 4-5 record in theround robin, Blake Morton(McFarland, Wis.) andteammates Marcus Fonger(Cottage Grove, Wis.),Tommy Juszczyk(McFarland, Wis.) andCalvin Weber (McFarland,Wis.) were unable to quali-fy for the playoff round.The Americans finished insixth place in their firstinternational competitionwearing the red, white andblue.

In the final game of theround robin, the Americanstook an early 3-0 leadagainst Slovenia’s GasperUrsic rink after stealing sin-gles in the third and fourthends. After holdingSlovenia (0-9) to a single inthe fifth, the U.S. scored adeuce and would steal thenext two ends before theSlovenians would concedethe match.

Highlights from the curl-ing action will air on FOXCollege Sports in March(dates and times to beannounced; please check

the USA Curling websitefor updates).

In the men’s gold-medalgame, South Korea defeat-ed Switzerland, 10-6, andthe Czech Republic got pastGreat Britain, 3-2, to winthe bronze. In women’saction, Great Britain defeat-ed the Russian Federation,7-6 in an extra end to wingold. South Korea defeatedJapan for the bronze. USAdid not field a women’steam at this year’s event.

USA’s Blake Morton delivers one of his skip stones while Tommy

Juszczyk (left) and Calvin Weber prepare to sweep during round

robin action in Turkey at the Winter World University Games.

Photo by Leslie Ingram-Brown

USA finishessixth in Turkey

by Terry Kolesar,

Editor

T

USA’s vice skip Marcus Fonger prepares to deliver during action

in Turkey at the Winter World University Games.

Photo by Leslie Ingram-Brown

Standings, Round Robin:South Korea 7-2Great Britain 7-2Switzerland 7-2Czech Republic 6-3Canada 6-3USA 4-5Norway 4-5Sweden 3-6Turkey 1-8Slovenia 0-9

Semifinals:*Korea 001 002 010 1 5Czech Rep. 000 100 102 0 4

*Switzerland 301 020 101 01 9Great Britain 010 101 020 30 8

Bronze medal:Czech Rep. 000 010 100 1 3*Great Britain 001 000 010 0 2

Gold medal:Switzerland 001 020 201 x 6*Korea 040 201 030 x 10*last stone in first end

USA games:Switzerland 12, USA 6Korea 11, USA 2USA 6, Norway 5USA 9, Sweden 1Great Britain 8, USA 2USA 9, Turkey 5Canada 6, USA 5Czech Republic 5, USA 4USA 7, Slovenia 1

American teams earn silverand bronze in Japan

yler George(Duluth, Minn.)led his team to asecond-place finish

and Patti Lank (Lewiston,N.Y.) earned the bronze asthe 2011 KaruizawaInternationalChampionships wrapped upJan. 30 in Karuizawa,Japan.

George and teammatesChris Plys (Duluth, Minn.),Rich Ruohonen (BrooklynPark, Minn.) and PhillDrobnick (Duluth, Minn.)defeated Canada’s TedAppelman rink in the semi-final, 7-6, to advance to thechampionship final to faceJapan’s Yusuke Morozumirink. Morozumi’s teamknocked off the No. 1 seedled by Korea’s Keun-LeeDong in the other semifinal,6-5.

In the gold-medal match,USA’s offense was limitedto just single points butJapan made the most of itslast-rock advantage, twice,scoring three points enroute to an 8-3 victory. Inthe men’s bronze-medalmatch, Korea bounced backto defeat Canada, 7-4.

“We would have liked tocome away from the eventwith a gold medal but weran into a hot Japan team inthe finals., Drobnick said.“All in all it was a wonder-ful event and it was great tosee both U.S. teams on the

medal stand. This event hashelped us prepare for theU.S. Nationals later thismonth.”

Lank and teammatesCaitlin Maroldo (Rochester,N.Y.), Jessica Schultz(Richfield, Minn.) and AlexCarlson (Wayzata, Minn.)lost a close semifinal matchto Japan’s Satsuki Fujisawa,8-7, in an extra end. TheAmericans had a 5-3 advan-tage late in the game beforeJapan scored three points inthe eighth end and stole asingle in the ninth. TheAmericans tied the game inthe 10th with a deuce butgave the last-rock advan-tage back to Japan as theywent on to win.

The American ladiesstruggled in the early endsin the bronze-medal matchagainst China’s Jinli Liu,who lost to Canada’sJennifer Jones in the othersemifinal, 10-7. The U.S.women gave up an open-ing-end steal of two butthen battled back to take thelead in the fifth end andheld off the Chinese ladiesto earn the bronze medal.Canada would go on todefeat Japan, 8-4, to wingold.

“We are very thankfulfor the opportunity to com-pete in Japan. It was a goodexperience for the team,leading into nationals,” saidSchultz, a member of the2006 Olympic team. “TheJapan team played verywell, capitalizing on ourmissed opportunites, and

they won the right to moveto the finals. The bronzegame against China was abattle, and we executed tohave the hammer in the10th, which put the game inour favor. We had a solidweek leading into thesemis, and we are gratefulto have had the opportunityto represent the U.S. at thisevent.”

The KaruizawaInternational CurlingChampionship is sponsoredannually by the JapanCurling Association incommemoration of the1998 Olympic WinterGames in Nagano.Karuizawa hosted the curl-ing competition for the1998 Games, where curlingwas first contested as a full-medal Olympic sport.

“The trip to Japan was agreat experience for myselfand our team,” Drobnicksaid. “We got the opportu-nity to play on great ice andagainst some top levelteams from around theworld. The host committeeand the people of Japan runa great event. They go outof their way to make sureeveryone is treated well.”

by Terry Kolesar,

Editor

T

Karuizawa InternationalChampionships:

Men’s gold-medal line score:Japan 003 003 02x x 8*USA 100 100 10x x 3

Women’s bronze medal line score:China 201 000 101 0 5*USA 010 210 010 1 6

The U.S. team of

(l-r) Phill

Drobnick, Rich

Ruohonen, Chris

Plys, Tyler

George and

Coach Al

Hackner earned

the silver medal

at the

Karuizawa

International

Championships

in Japan.

The U.S. team of

(l-r) Coach Neil

Harrison, Alex

Carlson, Jessica

Schultz, Caitlin

Maroldo and

Patti Lank

earned the

bronze medal at

the Karuizawa

International

Championships

in Japan.



The makings of a great curlerhe second NationalChampionshipsafter the VancouverOlympic Games

sees the best 20 qualifierscompete for the top spot.One hundred players willcompete for the top domes-tic prize and one team eachwill represent the UnitedStates at the WorldChampionships in men’sand women’s divisions.This is the beginning of thesecond year of the Olympicpreparation cycle, and theSochi 2014 Olympic WinterGames are three yearsaway.

What will it take to reachSochi 2014 at the end ofthis Olympic cycle? Weknow from research andpractice that the individualsand teams that have the fol-lowing qualities are morelikely to compete everyyear for the NationalChampionship and be ableto strive for World levelplay. They are more likelyto be at the Olympic trialsfor Sochi, too.

10 things that make great curlers

1. Strong environmentalsupport that includes accessto training facilities and icetime most days of the year

(every day if possible)2. Communities of com-

mitted performers thatlearn, train and improve

3. Family members thatare skilled and effectiveteachers.

4. Accepting and apply-ing the demands of pur-poseful and deliberate prac-tice

5. Coaching by effectiveand skilled practitioners

6. Reliable and randompractice approaches

7. Structured andunstructured learning

8. Mental toughness9. Strong solo practice

work ethic10. Strong desire and

high levels of intrinsicmotivation

Think about this for aminute: Look at the topmen’s and women’s skipsin the USA that have shownconsistency in performanceover the last five years andthose from Canada, China,Sweden, Norway, Scotlandand Switzerland. What isdifferent and the samebetween them? Then do thesame for the vice, secondand lead positions. Look atwhere the density of thebest coaches is in theUnited States and whatclubs they belong to andwho they have workedwith. Imagine what itwould be like to haveaccess to the best ice,coaches, weekly club com-petition, learning tools, andcombine that with a hardwork ethic for improve-ment, too. How awesomewould that be for your curl-ing?

The challenge aheadThe challenge that top

men’s and women’s curlershave is to determine whatthey want to accomplish,what improvements theywant to make, and howthose improvements will bemade and measured. As this

process unfolds, competi-tors are often confrontedwith tough questions thatask if they are prepared topay the cost it takes toreach the pinnacle ofdomestic and world levelplay. Most athletes in mostsports are confronted withthese challenges. But someare more likely to reachtheir goals in curlingbecause of how the previ-ous 10 points relate to theseseven points:

1. Wisconsin andMinnesota should producetop players and coaches

2. Communities with thebest and most accessible iceshould produce better play-ers

3. Communities withseveral national, world andOlympic representativesshould produce the bestplayers

4. Communities with adensity of good coachesand strong curling mindsshould provide better learn-ing environments

5. Clubs that provideskill-appropriate competi-tion should provide betterplayers

6. Clubs with strongaccessible champion rolemodels are more likely to

grow top players7. Clubs that have a solo

practice culture are morelikely to develop mentallytough curlers

The path to Sochi 2014will end with the last fewfeet below the pinnacle ofcurling performance beingthe hardest to achieve. But,if the personal, social, emo-tional and spiritual prepara-tion has been done andbrought to bear, the oppor-tunity for great performanceis much higher. Whetheryou are a top curler or not,now is a good time to startimproving whether yourgoal is to be a better curleror to be a champion curler.

This article was inspiredby research that was doneon the communities, habitsand support programs ofcurling’s top players in theUnited States and beyond.The following books helpedform the thoughts above:Talent is Overrated byGeoff Colvin; Bounce byMathew Syed; Clutch byPaul Sullivan; Mindset byCarol Dweck and The

Power of Full Engagment

by Jim Loehr, in addition toseveral reports from theUnited States OlympicCommittee and UK Sport.

By John Coumbe-Lilley,

USA Curling sports

psychology consultant

T

Field set for 2011 Club National ChampionshipsThe five-sheet Mankato

Curling Club will host the2011 USA Curling ClubNational ChampionshipMarch 5-12 in Mankato,Minn.

A field of 20 teams rep-resenting their home clubswill fight for the right toearn the club national titlein the seventh year of theevent. Live end-by-endscoring of the event will beposted on the USA Curlingwebsite (www.usacurl.org)as well as the host website(www.mankatocurling.org).Visit the host website if youare interested in volunteer-ing at this event.

Here is a look at thecompeting teams and theclubs they will represent:

WOMEN:At-Large region, Denver:Cynthia Smith, DenaRosenberry, AlyssaRossnagel, ShawnaMcIntoss

Great Lakes region,Detroit: Brooke Schneider,Kathy Cross, MichelleFalvey, Jenny Zukowski,Jamie RobertsGrand National region,Plainfield:Janice Langanke, RachelHowell, Shara Dellatore,Barbara KlugIllinois region, Exmoor:Tracy Lawless, LeslieArmstrong, AnnelieseCrawford, Shelley PilonMinnesota region, St.Paul: Shelley Kinney, AmyLou Anderson, PeggyGazzola, Julie Smith,Megan PondMountain Pacific region,Hollywood: MarissaMessier, Cindy Wood,Jennifer Gamboa, DonnaUmaliMountain Pacific region,Evergreen: EleanorRobertson, YvonnePerceval, Kathy Plecak,Kendall Speten-Hansen

North Dakota, GrandForks: Beth Bohlman,Susan Stern, Amy Bushaw,Dawn Zimney, GailIngwalsonWashington region,Granite: Em Good, JillLamberts, JenniferWesthagen, HannahVolkmanWisconsin region,Centerville: LynitaDelaney, Sara Hein, ElyseSorenson, Nora Kraemer,Ericka Overgard

MEN:Alaska region, Fairbanks:Dave Flippo, Ryan Flippo,Michael Anderson, TomKent, Dan Bogan

At-Large region, Denver:Darrick Kizlyk, DrewGibson, Barry Fish, MattCulbertsonGreat Lakes region,Detroit: Chad Roberts,Benjamin Levy, JamesFletcher, Mark McElwee,Adam RiveraGrand National region,Plainfield: Ivaylo Petrov,Mark Mooney, DonArsenault, ChristopherGouldIllinois region, Exmoor:Jeff Wright, RussArmstrong, Russ Brown,Steve Waters, Steve WrightMinnesota region, Duluth:Seppo Sormunen, Jeff

Ritchie, Michael Huska,Roger HendricksonMountain Pacific region,Orange County: JustinMcBride, Kenneth Millar,Richard Ramirez, GordonHarderNorth Dakota region,Fargo-Moorhead: RyanBerg, Mitchell Oakland,Randy Askew, JordanBrownWashington region,Granite: Benj Guzman,Philip Tilker, Darryl Pahl,Jeremy DinselWisconsin region,Madison: Mark Swandby,Stan Vinge, Wally Henry,Craig Lee

2010-11 Championship & Playdown ScheduleFebruary:North Dakota Mixed PlaydownWisconsin Mixed Playdown2011 U.S. National ChampionshipsGNCC Mixed PlaydownUnited States Senior Men’s Curling Association National BonspielAlaska Mixed Playdown2011 Winter Deaflymics2011 World Wheelchair ChampionshipMinnesota Mixed PlaydownMountain Pacific Mixed PlaydownWashington Mixed Playdown

March:2011 World Junior Championships2011 U.S. Club National Championships2011 Capital One Women’s World Championship2011 U.S. Mixed National Championship

April:2011 Ford Men’s World Championship2011 World Senior Championships2001 World Mixed Doubles Championship

Dates:2/10-2/132/12-2/132/12-2/192/17-2/202/17-2/202/18-2/202/18-2/262/22-3/12/25-2/272/26-2/272/26-2/28

3/5-3/133/5-3/123/19-3/273/19-3/26

4/2-4/104/16-4/234/16-4/23

Site:Grand Forks CC, Grand Forks, N.D.Blackhawk CC, Janesville, Wis.Scheels Arena, Fargo, N.D.Petersham CC, Petersham, Mass.Chicago, Ill.Anchorage CC, Anchorage, AKVysoke Tatry, SlovakiaPrague, Czech RepublicTwo Harbors CC, Two Harbors, Minn.Granite CC, Seattle, Wash.Granite CC, Seattle, Wash.

Perth, ScotlandMankato CC, Mankato, Minn.Esbjerg, DenmarkMidland CC, Midland, Mich.

Regina, Saskatchewan, CanadaSt. Paul CC, St. Paul, Minn.St. Paul CC, St. Paul, Minn.

Did you move and need to update your mailingaddress so you don’t miss any of your Curling Newsmailings? If so, please call (1-888-CURLERS) oremail Christy Hering ([email protected]) atthe USCA office.

Need to update your mailing address?



Key: O–Open; X–Mixed; XD–Mixeddoubles; M–Men’s; W–Women’s;S–Senior; WC–WheelchairC–Cashspiel; J–Junior; ST–Stick

Events are listed Friday throughSunday but some may begin earlier.Check the club’s website for moreinformation.

FEB. 18–20Belfast, ME–Little Int. MCopper Country, MI ODetroit, MI XDuluth, MN–International MWGrand Forks, ND WGreen Bay, WI MHeather, MN MLake Region, ND–Bantam JMedford, WI–Snowflake WPlainfield, NJ JPortage, WI–Badger Senior SWUtica, NY–Cobb XWaltham, IL MWauwatosa, WI–5 & Under O

FEB. 25–27Centerville, WI MChicago, IL XGrand Forks, ND–Can Am JHeather, MN WKettle Moraine, WI XLewiston, MI MWXMadison, WI–Curl v. Cancer OMayfield, OH XNorfolk, CT WPardeeville, WI–Red Baron MPotomac, MD–Kayser XSt. Paul, MN MUtica, NY–College OWausau, WI–Silver Spoon O

MARCH 4–6Albany, NY–TAM OAppleton, WI–The Stick StBemidji, MN–Paul Bunyan MChesapeake, MD–GNCC Sr. SXCurl Mesabi, MN XGrafton, ND WKettle Moraine, WI JMarshfield, WI–Lobstein XNashua, NH MPardeeville, WI OPlainfield, NJ–Stone MPoynette, WI OSchenectady, NY JTri-City, WI MVikingland, MN–Runestone OWaltham, IL X

MARCH 11–13Centerville, WI–Fun ‘Spiel OChisholm, MN–Serrano JColumbus, OH–Wines WDuluth, MN–Dunlop XGrafton, ND MGreen Bay, WI–Shamrock WHeather, MN XLake Region, ND SWMNorfolk, CT–Elisabeth Childs WPardeeville, WI–HS Alumni OSchenectady, NY–Gordon Em. MWauwatosa, WI M

MARCH 18–20Belfast, ME–Woods Family OCenterville, WI SMCurl Mesabi, MN–Springspiel MGrand Forks, ND M

Granite, WA–Jr. Novice JGreen Bay, WI JHeather, MN–Teen ‘Spiel JKettle Moraine, WI MLodi, WI XNutmeg, CT–Golden Handle OStevens Point, WI M

MARCH 25–27Aksarben, NE–Irish Open OArlington, WI SMBlackhawk, WI–Last Chance MDuluth, MN–House of Hearts OGrafton, ND XItasca, MN–Second to Last OMinot, ND–Shirtsleeve OPardeeville, WI–Spring Fling OPotomac, MD–Cherry Blossom O

APRIL 1–3Fairbanks, AK–International MWGranite, WA–April Open OGreen Bay, WI–Funspiel XLake Region, ND XMankato, MN–Bunny XStevens Point, WI XTwo Harbors, MN X

APRIL 8–10Hibbing, MN –Last Chance MPlainfield, NJ–Bonsqueal OPoynette, WI O

APRIL 15–17Coyotes, AZ–Desert Ice OEvergreen, OR O

APRIL 24–MAY 1At Sea, Caribbean–Waterspiel O

APRIL 29–MAY 1Broadmoor, CO ODallas-Ft. Worth, TX O

MAY 6–8Park City, UT–Rocky Mtn. O

MAY 20–22Poynette, WI O

MAY 27–29Hollywood, C–Blockbuster OSan Francisco, CA O

JUNE 3–5Great Smoky, TN O

JUNE 10–12Granite, WA O

JULY 7–10Cape Cod, MA–Summerspiel X

JULY 10–13Cape Cod, MA–Summerspiel W

JULY 14–17Cape Cod, MA–Summerspiel MGreen Bay, WI–Tailgate O

JULY 17–20Cape Cod, MA–Summerspiel Wc

JULY 21–24Capital, ND–Summerspiel O

AUG. 5–7Green Bay, WI–Senior Men’s SMTriangle, NC–Carolina Classic O

AUG. 19–21Fort Wayne, IN–Summerspiel O

AUG. 26–28Rice Lake, WI–Summerspiel O

SEPT. 30–OCT. 2North Shore, IL–NS Open O

Don’t see your event listed or it’slisted incorrectly? Send bonspieldates and corrections to TerryKolesar, [email protected]

Clock keeps turningbut traditions stay true

he men’s andwomen’s seniornational champi-onships are in

progress as this column iswritten. Reminds me thatover age 50 curlers havebeen the backbone of thegame since I started in thecurling racket as a tykecirca 1961. Since that hal-lowed time, lots of aspectsof the Roarin’ Game havechanged.

The other day I was wan-dering around and cameupon a large semi-trailerparked in front of a curlingclub. It was open so I wentinside. I thought I had beentransported to the movieLost Horizon (substitute theAlps for the Himalayas)—the place was full of mod-ern curling stuff and staffedby Olympian DebbieMcCormick. It’s always apleasure to see Debbie, wehad a nice visit, then Itoured the premises andhere’s some of what Ifound.

First, I bought a nicewine bottle stopper with amini curling stone on top. Iam a sucker for these goodquality knickknacksbecause they were so rare,in the USA at least, in myearly curling days. TheChinese did not curl then,let alone win world champi-onships, and neither didthey manufacture curlingstuff. In the 1970s, 1980sand 1990s, as I journeyedaround the world of curling,I bought more and morestuff, and pretty soon I hada small collection—mini-granite rocks, crystal rocks,and my favorite, booksabout curling.

Now, unfortunately forDebbie, this uncontrollableurge to collect curling stuffdoes not apply to curlingequipment. Equipmentneeded to be familiar andbroken in, and thereforekept in small quantities, andmade to last as long as pos-sible.

My first curling shoeswere called “boots” and hadhigh tops, ala chukkas. Icoveted the ErnieRichardson model. Curlingboots were warm, had tobe, since many ice houseswere not heated. Later, Ikept one and sometimestwo pair of curling shoes inmy personal stock, replac-ing them only when theright toes wore out fromdragging on the ice (therudder to keep the fish-tailat bay).

After the days of corn,for me about age 20, I firstused a brush with a smalldiameter shaft, which Isnapped off while sweepingone day (younger andstronger then!) nearly get-ting the jagged broken edgethrough the heart. There-after, I used an oversizedhog hair brush with thesturdiest shaft I could find,made even heavier when Iadded a custom Teflon-coated hardwood slidingblock to the head, to elevatethe hairs off the ice andthus avoid drag—a customjob that was possibly pre-Maskelesque! I still havethe 22-pound monstrosity,but I now use a Hammer,which was new when I

bought it several decadesago, much lighter, andmade of plastic which Icould use for a slider withno drag. I changed the headonce so I could say I worethe first one out.

Hammers were economi-cal. I noted in Debbie’strailer that new brushes andshoes are priced like stealthaircraft. I’m not sure if theyshow up on radar, but theyare made of rich Corinthianleather and inch-thickTeflon (the shoes) and thebrushes with shafts made ofBucky balls or somethingunbreakable, all whileweighing two grams. Thecloth on the heads canmake rocks go 30 feet fur-ther and not abrade pebble,or something like that.

I never owned a broombag, it was cheaper to use abuddy’s!

In those good old days,curlers wore big, wooly,warm curling sweaters.They did not make noisewhen the curler went inmotion. On the other hand,lots of men wore slacks likethe Norwegian men in the2010 Olympic Games, withvarious Scottish plaids.

Icemaking was more anart and less a science thantoday. I can remember handscraping with a heavy man-ual scraper that really pro-vided us young guys with aworkout. A few clubs man-aged to have true, very fastice. More had at least oneof their sheets with poorice. But the art of ice read-ing was far advanced com-pared to today. On the otherhand, training is faradvanced and today’scurlers of all ages havedeliveries that allow themto be much more accurateand consistent on thebroom.

Fortunately, the mostimportant component ofcurling, the ethos of thegame from club to champi-onship level, survives, withfew exceptions.

David Garber,[email protected]

Tales From

Sheet NineT

USA ready for action atWheelchair Worlds in Prague

The 2011 Wheelchair WorldChampionship will take place Feb. 22-March 1 in Prague, Czech Republic.

USA’s team of Augusto Perez (EastSyracuse, N.Y.), James Pierce (NorthSyracuse, N.Y.), James Joseph (NewHartford, N.Y.), Jacqui Kapinowski (PointPleasant, N.J.) and Penny Greely (GreenBay, Wis.) will play in a 10-team roundrobin with Canada, China, Czech Republic,Korea, Germany, Norway, Russia, Scotlandand Sweden. The team is coached by SteveBrown (Madison, Wis.) and Rusty Schieber

(Portage, Wis.) with Marc Deperno (Utica,N.Y.) serving as team leader. Greely is thenewest member of the team, replacingPatrick McDonald, who had season-endingshoulder surgery. The team was selectedafter a skills competition took place thisfall at the Green Bay (Wis.) Curling Club.The U.S. has prepared for Worlds with sev-eral bonspiels throughout the past fewmonths.

Webstreaming from the event can beviewed at www.curlingpromo.cz/curlin-gove-webove-kamery-hala-roztyly.php.

Team USA (l-r): Augusto Perez, James Pierce, James Joseph,

Jacqui Kapinowski and Penny Greely.

Did you win a bonspiel?

Do you need to send in bonspiel results for publi-cation in the Curling News? Send info to Editor TerryKolesar via email at [email protected]. Besure to include caption information as well as clubaffiliations for all the event finalists. The next dead-line is March 11.



Team USA (l-r): Geoff Goodland, Tim Solin, Pete Westberg and

Ken Olson.Team USA (l-r): Margie Smith, Debbie Dexter, Sally Barry and

Rachel Orvik.

Smith, Goodland rinks capture senior titles

innesota’sMargie Smithand Wisconsin’sGeoff Goodland

teams will represent theU.S. at the 2011 WorldSenior Championships afterwinning the 2011 USACurling Senior NationalChampionships Feb. 6.Smith’s team finished unde-feated while Goodlandturned back Phil DeVore, 7-4, in the men’s final.

The 2011 World SeniorChampionships will takeplace April 16-23 in St.Paul, Minn., along with the2011 World Mixed DoublesChampionship. This will bethe second World Seniorsappearance for Goodland,who won back in 2007, butthe rookie appearance forteammates Pete Westberg(Naperville, Ill.), Tim Solin(Mahtomedi, Minn.) and

Ken Olson (Plymouth,Minn.).

Smith (Shoreview,Minn.) and teammatesDebbie Dexter (St. Paul,Minn.), Sally Barry (Eagan,Minn.) and Rachel Orvik(Shoreview, Minn.) finishedthe round robin at theCapital Curling Club inBismarck, N.D., with a per-fect 5-0 record last night.Beth Shaw’s team finishedat 4-1. Since the eventrequires two losses to beeliminated, Shaw and Smithmet up for a playoffmatchup. It was Smith’steam that got off to a faststart as they stole thegame’s first two ends tobuild a 5-0 lead. Shaw andteammates Pam Oleinik(Brookfield, Wis.), LaurieRahn (Lake Forest, Ill.) andStephanie Martin

(Barrington, Ill.) scored adeuce in the third end butwouldn’t score again asSmith’s rink cruised to an8-2 win. This is the firstsenior title for Smith’steam. Smith also is playingin the 2011 USA CurlingNational Championships inFargo, N.D., as vice skipfor Norma O’Leary.Goodland’s foursome alsoqualified for Men’sNationals.

The men’s division fea-tured 27 teams at the startof the competition on Feb.2 with the action beingplayed at BroomstonesCurling Club in Wayland,Mass., and The CountryClub in Brookline, Mass.Playing in a bracketed tripleknockout, Goodland’s teamcaptured both the “B” eventand the “C1” event to

punch an automatic berth inthe championship final. PhilDeVore’s team fromMinnesota won the “A”event after defeatingGoodland but had to playRoss Litman’s Minnesotateam in a semifinalmatchup after Litman’sDuluth Curling Club teamwon the other “C” bracket.In the semifinal game,DeVore got past Litman, 6-4, paving the way to thechampionship final match-up with 2007 championGoodland.

In the final, Goodlandstruck first with a deuce inthe first end. DeVore(Superior, Wis.) and team-mates Larry Sharp (RiceLake, Wis.), SeppoSormunen (Duluth, Minn.)and Doug Cameron(Duluth, Minn.) wereforced to a single in thesecond end but tied thegame at 3-3 in the fifth.That’s when the momentumswung back in the favor of

Goodland’s team as theyscored four points in thesixth and held DeVore to asingle in the seventh andran them out of rocks toseal up the 7-4 victory.

The U.S. senior men, ledby Paul Pustovar ofHibbing, Minn., capturedthe gold medal at the 2010World Seniors for theU.S.’s second overall goldmedal at this event. TheU.S. women have yet towin gold at this level buthave won bronze threetimes. For Smith’s team,they’ll have the home-fieldadvantage as the team callsthe St. Paul Curling Clubhome.

2011 Senior NationalsRound robin results

double knockout provision:Margie Smith 5-0Beth Shaw 4-1Delores Montgomery 2-3Lori Mountford 2-3Sharon Vukich 2-3Mary Jaster 0-5

Tiebreaker: Smith 230 111 xx 8*Shaw 002 000 xx 2*last stone in first end

Senior Men’s Nationals:Semifinal:

DeVore 010 020 21 6*Litman 100 102 00 4

Final:*Goodland 201 004 0x 7DeVore 010 020 1x 4* last stone in first endMen’s action was a bracketedknockout. Goodland’s team won theB and C1 events, advancing to thefinal. DeVore won the A eventwhile Litman won the C2 spot,which put them in the semifinal.

by Terry Kolesar,

Editor

M

Teams will represent U.S. at World Seniors in April in St. Paul

The Funny Side

Top 10 Really Fun Hypothetical Curling Foursomes

10] The “Special Ed” Team: Ed Werenich, EdLukowich, Ed Risling, Mister Ed9] The “Howard’s End” Team: Russ Howard, GlennHoward, Howard Stern, Howard the Duck8] The Team of Positive Attributes: Bill Kind, JamesPleasants, Brock Virtue, Little Miss Sunshine7] The “Row, Row, Row Your Boat” Team: JeremyRoe, Pat Roe, Dixie Roe, Edmund Fitzgerald6] The “United Nations” Team: Jeff Dutch, Tim Irish,Jerry Scott, Jimmy “The Greek” Snyder5] The “Where There’s a Will, There’s a Way” Team:Jake Will, Travis Way, Quentin Way, Good WillHunting4] The “Hamilton, Joe Frank & Reynolds” Team:Hamilton “Hammy” MacMillan, Joe Zbacnik, FrankAasand, Jack “Hacksaw” Reynolds3] The “Noble Savage” Team: Elgie Noble, PaulSavage, Marilyn Noble, Doc Savage2] The “Can-Do” Team: Don Duguid, Gerry Duguid,Dale Duguid, Dudley Do-Right1] The “Apocalypse Now” Team: Eric Hazard, PaulBuzzard, Fred Blizzard, Wolf Blitzer

– Richard Maskel

NorfolkMen’s

The Calder Trophy was played foron Dec. 3-5 at the Norfolk (Conn.)Curling Club. Here are the results:1EW—New York Caledonian: GeorgeAustin, Stuart Graves, JonathanKuniholm, Jim Parsons1ERU—Schenectady: Dan Machold,Charlie Brown, Richard Gouyeau, ScottBrennen2EW—Cape Cod: Paul Mort, MichaelMinior, Frank Balas, Phil Baybutt2ERU—Nutmeg: Allan Alward, DanMainer, Mike Hope, Mike Kriz\3EW—Canadian Club of Boston: DickVeidenheimer, Robert Yetman, TimKelley, Davis Yetman3ERU—Potomac: George Shirk, PaulStadler, J. Atkinson, Michaek Campbell4EW—Plainfield: John DeJong, JeffHannon, Bob Howell, Ed Klug4ERU—Cape Cod: Russ Lemcke, TonyColacchio, John McCarthy, ToddBenedict

Rice LakeMixed

The 35th annual Mixed InvitationalStein ’Spiel toook place Jan. 14-16 inRice Lake, Wis. Here are the results:1EW–Mankato: John Krenz, JenniferWitschen, Larry Anderson, Julie Smith1ERU–Rice Lake: Greg Dahl, LindaDahl, Larry Sharp, Linda Sharp2EW–St. Paul: Curt Severson, CaelaSeverson, Ron Paul, Brenda Paul2ERU–St. Paul: Chuck McCann, MarieVranicar, Mike Brombert, BarbGutzmer3EW–Centerville: Duane Hebert,Jeanne Parker, Ron Parker, TheresaHebert3ERU–Rice Lake: Dale Stoik, Pat Stoik,Steve Lancaster, Mona Lancaster4EW–St. Paul: Dale Severson, CindySeverson, Mark Graves, Judy Graves4ERU–St. Paul: Bob Reichenbach, GailAnderson, Mike Crea, Donna Crea

ClintonvilleMen’s

The Clintonville Men’s Bonspieltook place Jan. 14-16 at the Clintonville(Wis.) Curling Club. Here are theresults: 1EW–Clintonville: Doug Gluth, PerrySchroeder, Doug Mouldenhauer, KevinKrueger1ERU–Green Bay: Bill Wilberg, DaveLieburn, Richard Maskel, Al Demerath

WaupacaMen’s

The Waupaca Men’s Bonspiel tookplace Jan. 28-30 in Waupaca, Wis. Hereare the results: 1EW–Stevens Point: Tom Okray, JackEdgerton, Brent Bednarek, NateHordyk1ERU–Wausau: Howie Fischer, ChrisHorak, Scott Stensberg, Perry Grueber2EW–Green Bay: Nathan Jackson,Dennis Hibray, Joe Williams, GaryLinders 2ERU–St. Paul/Waupaca: TomHartman, Neil Wenberg, Jim Taylor,Craig Wenberg3EW–Madison: Dean Zoesch, BobCuomo, Wes Cuomo, Jim Stephens3ERU–Waupaca: Jason Smith RyanJohnston, Luke Hansen, Nigel Bousfield4EW–Stevens Point: Ian Journeaux,Dave Carlson, Bill Ehlert, Ken Spatola4ERU–Wauwatosa, Mike Zimmerman,Bill Christensen, Jason Platek, AndrewBergersen

ChicagoWomen’s

The Gloamin’ Bonspiel took placeJan. 7-9 at the Chicago Curling Club.Here are the results: 1EW—Racine: Diane Kelly, TwilaYednock, Deborah Moulton, CarolStevenson1ERU—Kettle Moraine: Janis Duncan,Felice Roberts, Michelle Heinze, KarenBurke2EW—Exmoor: Shelley Pilon,Anneliese Crawford, Bev Laurell, KatyGross2ERU—North Shore: Joanie Rowell,Pam Watkins, Therese Anderson, Aileen

MacKenzie3EW—Wausau: Terry Fisher, SusanSandquist, Carmen Siegle, TaraSchessler3ERU—Chicago: Barbara Toomey,Donna Slabas, Cathy Westphal, CindySmaha4EW—Blackhawk: Celia Zaccard, BethHilt, Dianne Behm, Sally Edelman4ERU—Wilmette: Lorrie Michaels,Joanne Schmitz, Jackie Johnson,Shannon Hogan

St. PaulMen’s

The 18th annual Jack McCann 40+Men’s Bonspiel took place Dec. 10-12in St. Paul, Minn. Here are the results:1EW—Mankato: Randy Cumming,Mike Schneeberger, Vince Bernet, JohnEustice1ERU—St. Paul: Jim Milosevich,Patrick McHugh, Bob Suave, Neil Kay2EW—Rice Lake: Larry Sharp, SeppoSormunen, Doug Cameron, DaneJensen2ERU—Arlington: Karl Erstad, ChrisMcMahon, Dale Severson, Kevin Mack3EW—St. Paul: Darin Holt, ChrisHorak, Dale Webb, Darrin Kress3ERU—Rice Lake: Larry Anderson,Leo Diehl, Duane Hebert, GarySchieffer4EW—Mankato: Kevin Vetter, ShawnRuning, Al Rykus, Greg Rheaume4ERU—St. Paul: Donn Satrom, DennisAbraham, Jim Lillesve, Ralph Augustin

ClevelandMixed

The Cleveland Skating Club hostedthe 50th Annual InvitationalInternational Mixed Bonspiel Jan. 28-30. Here are the results: 1EW–Annandale: Jim Silva, ShannonSilva, Dave MacDonald, HeatherMacDonald1ERU–Hamilton: Ken Phillips, MaryAduckiewicz, Hilary Peterson, LarryMarrio, Nancy Phillips2EW–Cleveland: Jon Dick, Gail Arnold,Jim Arnold, Suzanne Dick2ERU–Cleveland: Katy Mercer, GuyMercer, Marty Rizzo, Mary AnnMichael3EW–Ridgetown: Doug Young, SheilaYoung, Bill Humphrey, TheresaHumphrey3ERU–Cleveland: Doug Schattinger,Lisa Schattinger, Neal Simpson,Rebecca Storey4EW–Annandale: Geoff Peck, JoAnneAdams, John Smith, Ginny Peck

4ERU–Mayfield: Roger Peckinpaugh,Martha Peckinpaugh, Phil Henry, MaryHenry

SchenectadyOpen

The Schenectady 10 and underOpen took place Dec. 10-12 at theSchenectady (N.Y.) Curling Club. Hereare the results:1EW—Potomac: Sean Murray, TimBrooks, Bill MacDonald, Ted Kreutz1ERU—Schenectady 6: Marek Rzonca,Jeff Muha, Andy Way, Matt Daly 2EW—Albany: Brent Sentiwany, GarthMashmann, Mike Petersen, DimitriGarder2ERU—Utica 3: Conrad Law, TomThorngren, Jim Schafer, Bill Turner 3EW—Utica 2: Dan Stuhlman, RogerRowlett, Jerry Stevens, John Collea3ERU—Schenectady 3: Dan Navratil,Tom Lancaster, Dan Muller, Eric Haase4EW—Schenectady 5: Brian Damon,Mike Stefanik, Robert Klees, PeterDrechsler4ERU—Schenectady 2: Dan Machold,Charlie Brown, Rich Gonyeau, ScottBrennan5EW—Philadelphia: Mike Graziano,Brian Norsworthy, Chris Ubelacker,Mark Mooney

North ShoreWomen’s

The North Shore Lassies Bonspieltook place Jan. 22-23 at the North ShoreCurling Club in Glenview, Ill. Here arethe results: 1EW—Exmoor: Tracy Lawless, LeslieArmstrong, Anneliese Crawford,Shelley Pilon1ERU—Chicago/Exmoor: MarcyCalaway, Michelle Rane, JenniferGeake, Judy Johnson2EW—Midland: Michelle DeBuck,Katie Nies, Amanda Schmig, ErinMartin2ERU—Northwestern: Haley Yaple,Clare Rowland, Karah Knope, RitaCook3EW—Chicago: Julie Denten, JennyHouk, Andrea Jourdain, JanineAndrasco3ERU—Chicago: Susan Bennett, DonnaSlabas, Elizabeth Demers, DeniseErazmus4EW—Independent: Joanie Rowell, IlseMarchall, Shannon Hogan, CarolCarlson4ERU—Wilmette: Lorrie Michael,Joanne Schmitz, Jackie Johnson, RuthGleason



Winners of the Laphroaig Scotch Cashspiel were (front, l-r) Todd Birr, DougPottinger, Tom O’Connor and Kevin Birr. Runners-up were (back, l-r) MattHamilton, Jeremy Roe, Patrick Roe and Richard Maskel.

Winners of the Centerville Junior Open, Division B, were (l-r) Aaron Ziegler, ErinHovell, Amanda Miller and Danielle Alseth.

Winners of the Centerville Junior Open, Division A, were (l-r) St. Paul CurlingClub’s Derek Peterson, Aly Pacscuzzi, Alex Patterson and Ian Mathis.

Winners of the Maine-iac Bonspiel were (l-r) Rich Collier, Dan Naylor, Don Wadeand Todd Hebert.

Winners of the 2010 Curl Mesabi Cashspiel were Thunder Bay’s JeffCurrie, Brian Adams Jr, Colin Koivula and Dylan Johnston.

Winners of the Rice Lake Stein ‘Spiel were (seated, l-r) Jennifer Witschen, LarryAnderson, Julie Smith and John Krenz. Runners-up were (back, l-r) Linda Sharp,Larry Sharp, Linda Dahl and Greg Dahl.

Winners of the Cleveland Skating Club’s 50th Annual Invitational InternationalMixed Bonspiel were (l-r) Dave MacDonald, Heather MacDonald, Shannon Slivaand Jim Sliva.

ColumbusOpen

The Beers of the World Bonspieltook place Dec. 10-12 at the Columbus(Ohio) Curling Club. Here are theresults: 1EW—Mayfield: Robb Borland, KatieMercer, Guy Mercer, Jeannie Borland1ERU—Midland: Pete Waters, BrendaMason, Scott Schatzley, JaniceHawrelak2EW—Columbus: Larry Cook, ChrisMuenzer, Eric Johnson, Jennifer Mason2ERU—Midland: John Zimmerman,Pat Zimmerman, Ken Burdett, LorettaWaters3EW—Detroit: Ben Levy, Sue Mitchell,Sue Gleason, Jenny Zukowski3ERU—Mayfield: Else Festersen, BobBellamy, Dave Fleming, KristenRoenigk

MayfieldMen’s

The 24th annual Mayfield Men’sInvitational took place Nov. 12-14 at theMayfield (Ohio) Curling Club. Here arethe results:1EW—Mayfield: Robb Borland, PierreLavertu, Byron Sah, Cal Cox1ERU—Exmoor: Mike Griem, Art Helt,Denis Pepin, Gordon Buntrock2EW—Milwaukee: Jay Packard, MarkWitt, Chuck Severson, Fred Blizzard2ERU—Chicago: David Geake, PeteWestberg, Jack Bernauer, Joel Appel,Bob Bellamy3EW—Columbus: Stu Cohen, FrankMayer, Mike Groeniger, T J Burkett3ERU—Blue Water: Bob Morrison,John Penner, Tom Clancy, Tom Ramage4EW—Fort Wayne: Greg Eigner,George Austin, Andrew Nottingham,Craig Fischer4ERU—Paris: Mark Chittock, BillSkeretz, Jeff Vivian, Jeff Watts

DuluthMen’s

The Bruce Bennett Memorial Over40 Bonspiel took place Jan. 7-9 at theDuluth (Minn.) Curling Club. Here arethe results: 1EW—Brian Simonson, JimMilosevich, Don Mohawk, Ben Gadeski1ERU—Dave Running, Ron Gervais,Mike Huska, Gene Running2EW—Mike Marquardt, Tom Zeman,Jerry Priley, Jeff Anderson2ERU—Jim Luttinen, Bob Johnson,Scott Walker, Steve Moeller3EW—Randy Cumming, MikeSchneeberger, Vince Bernet, JohnEustice3ERU—Phil DeVore, Seppo Sormunen,Larry Sharp, Doug Cameron4EW—Vesa Jarvela, Don Pelaia, HannaJuurakko, Rick Sandberg4ERU—Chas Simpson, GlennKilpatrick, Steve Gillespie, Dave Brown

Fargo-MoorheadOpen

The Fargo-Moorhead Classic tookplace Dec. 3-5 in Fargo, N.D. Here arethe results:1EW—Bemidji: Aaron Wald, Josh Bahr,Jared Zezel, John Muller1ERU—Capital: Tucker Smith, KyleYoung, Amelia Young, Tanya Smith2EW—Lake Region: Adam Kitchens,Brandon Myhre, Alex Kitchens, NathanMyhre2ERU—Lake Region: Curt Bradbury,Jan Legacie, Doug Erickstad, JadeHanson3EW—Grand Forks: Elton Brekke,Beth Bohlman, Rich Staveteig, EmilyBrekke3ERU—Fargo-Moorhead: Ryan Berg,Mitch Oakland, Jordan Brown, ChrisDesjarlais4EW—Duluth: Norma O’Leary, MargieSmith, Theresa Hoffoss, Patti Luke4ERU—Bemidji: Leroy Bergstrom,Nate Holmes, Adam Ruttch, JustinRaymond

MilwaukeeMixed

The 61st Mixed Kiltie took placeJan. 7-9, at the Milwaukee CurlingClub. Here are the results: 1EW—Exmoor: Mike Griem, Marcy

Calaway, Jim Calaway, Peggy Griem1ERU—Madison/Milwaukee: RichLepping, Betsy Fredericksen, TomGodar, Mary Beth Goelzer2EW—Chicago: Colin Rittgers,Michele Rittgers, Wilson Gottschild,Karrie Gottschild2ERU—Kettle Moraine: Ken Van Till,Pat Van Till, John Geason, StellaGeason3EW—Kettle Moraine: Larry Maier,Katie Carrera, Jeff Moylan, Cyndy Seitz3ERU—Exmoor: Larry Brown, AmyBrown, Ken Brown, Ann Brown4EW—Milwaukee: Ward Wickwire,Kristin Smith, Randy Jacobsen, MattGoelzer, Peg Jacobsen4ERU—Miwaukee: Jim Schmit,Maureen Schmit, George Holmes, PamHolmes

AlpineMen’s

The Alpine Men’s Bonspiel tookplace Dec. 3-5 at the Alpine CurlingClub in Monroe, Wis. Here are theresults:1EW—Blackhawk: Ryan Spielman,James Krutilla, Phil Boutwell, TonyJacobson1ERU—Stevens Point: Doug Anderson,Tom Okray, Brian Wilson, JackKonopacky2EW—Racine: Chris Anderson, JimMataczynski, Matt Wood, JeremyHarms 2ERU—Blackhawk: Paul Rudkin, Dave

Somppi, Ryan Accetta, Mike Swets3EW—Wauwatosa: Scott Matchette,Dan Mitchell, Adam Mildren, AdamMeinke3ERU—Madison: Dwight Eng, JerryBatson, Greg Ardrey, Jim Johnsrud4EW—Lodi: Ken Treinen, John Steele,Jeff Markgraf, Wayne Buckley4ERU—Blackhawk: Jason Pickett, TimParker, Jim Zee, Cal Marath

CentervilleWomen’s

The Centerville Women’s Bonspieltook place Feb. 4-6 in Centerville, Wis.Here are the results: 1EW–Centerville/Wauwatosa: LoreneHarris, Kara Sacia, Kathy Van Vleet,Cally Hein, Kristi Sachs1ERU–Centerville: Lisa Hosler, NormaVan Vleet, Trudi Ewing, Shellie Nelson2EW–St. Paul: Sally Augustin, JudyTaylor, Barb Chapman, RebeccaSchubert2ERU–Centerville: Kathy Hovell, BettyCrawford, Christy Damitz, ReneeWestwood3EW–Centerville: Sue Wilber, JulieSpeck, Patty Haggerty, Diane Bushman3ERU–Centerville: Mary Brunkow,Donna Hammond, Laurie Marsh, BarbGlomstad4EW–Centerville/Rice Lake: ElyseSorenson, Mary Nelson, Jenna Nelson,Debbie Nernberger4ERU–Centerville: Sandy Nelson, PaulaSmith, Amy Anderson, Claudette Truax

BelfastOpen

The inaugural Maine-iac ‘Spiel washeld Nov. 12-14 at the Belfast CurlingClub, in Belfast, Maine. Here are theresults: 1EW—Broomstones: Rich Collier, DanNaylor, Don Wade, Todd Hebert1ERU—Belfast: Bart Read, MaryCollachio, Jim Parsons, Abbie Read2EW—Broomstones: Shelley Dropkin,Jamie Hutchinson, Candice Clark,Cheryl Pieske2ERU—The Country Club: Jim Ladd,Lee Ladd, Sandy England, LissaEngland3EW—Sherbrooke, Quebec: YvanVerville, Nicole Verville, Robert Fortier,Louise Gaudreault3ERU—Plainfield: Robin Kerr, JulieTsamoutales, Virginia Bristol, CatherineOffinger4EW—Broomstones: John Buscaglia,Maria Spitzak, Sharon Quill, LarryBudnick4ERU—Petersham: Steven Huard,Jennifer Huard, Dave Conaghan, ZackSmith

St. PaulOpen

The Fireball 500 Bonspiel was heldNov. 26-28 at the St. Paul Curling Club.Here are the results:1EW–St. Paul: Mark Faltesek, TheresaHoffoss, Tim Gartner, John Hoffoss

1ERU–St. Vital: Diane MacIver, SharonTravels, Kathryn Rowe, Jan Schnee-berger2EW–St. Paul: Kim Wapola, MikeFloerchinger, Merlin Eddy, MaryLarson2ERU–St. Paul: Donn Satrom, MichelleChristianson, David Christianson, LindaSatrom3EW–Duluth: Seppo Sormunen, RandyCumming, David Bopp, John Eustice3ERU–Detroit: Chris Robinson, BenLevy, Sue Mitchell, Jenny Zukowski4EW–St. Paul: Amy Anderson, MargotAckerman, Ann Flis, Karen Volkman4ERU–Winona Yacht & Gun: TomKieffer, Terry Espeseth, RobynKieffer, Mike Kieffer



Winners of the North Shore Lassies Bonspiel were (l-r) Tracy Lawless,

Leslie Armstrong, Anneliese Crawford and Shelley Pilon.

Winners of the Fargo-Moorhead Open Bonspiel were (l-r) Aaron Wald,

Josh Bahr, Jared Zezel and John Muller.

Winners of the Jack McCann Over 40 Bonspiel in St. Paul were (l-r)

John Eustice, Vince Bernet, Mike Schneeberger and Randy Cumming.

Winners of the Waupaca Men’s Bonspiel were (seated, l-r) Tom Okray, Jack

Edgerton, Brent Bednarek and Nate Hordyk. Runners-up were (standing, l-r) Howie

Fischer, Chris Horak, Scott Stensberg and Perry Grueber.

ACF&Mdonations

acceptedDonations to the

American CurlingFoundation and Museum, located in the ChicagoCurling Club, can be sentto 555 Dundee Road,Northbrook, IL 60062.The curator is JamesMiller Jr., 847-272-7224.

Winners of the 63rd Clintonville Men’s Bonspiel were (l-r) Doug Moldenhauer,

Kevin Krueger, Perry Schroeder and Doug Gluth.

Winners of the 63rd Clintonville Men’s Bonspiel were (l-r) Doug Moldenhauer,

Kevin Krueger, Perry Schroeder and Doug Gluth.



Winners of the Beers of the World Bonspiel were (l-r) Guy Mercer, Katie Mercer,Jeannie Borland and Robb Borland.

Winners of the Schenectady 10 & Under Bonspiel were (l-r) Sean Murray, TimBrooks (holding daughter Maureen), Bill MacDonald and Ted Kreutz.

Winners of the Chris Moore Trophy at the Mayfield Men’s Invitational were (l-r)Cal Cox, Byron Sah, Tracie Moore (handing out the trophy named after her late hus-band), Pierre Lavertu and Robb Borland (skip).

Winners of the Rocky Mountain Bonspiel were (l-r) Chris Alt, Krystal Kulka, AndyCooper and Steve Walton.

Winners of the Schenectady Achilles Bonspiel were (l-r) Eric Haase, Brian Costello,Mike Flatt and Bryan Fink.

Winners of the Alpine Men’s Bonspiel were (l-r) James Krutilla, Phil Boutwell,Tony Jacobson and Ryan Spielman.

Winners of the Bruce Bennett Memorial Over 40 Bonspiel were (l-r) Ben Gadeski,Don Mohawk, Jim Milosevich and Brian Simonson.

Winners of the Exmoor Men’s Continental Bonspiel were (l-r) Jeff Wright, RussArmstrong, Chris Schallmo and Steve Wright.

SchenectadyMen’s

The 31st Achilles Men’s Invitationaltook place Nov. 18-20 at theSchenectady (N.Y.) Curling Club. Hereare the results: 1EW—Broomstones 1: Bryan Fink,Mike Platt, Brian Costello, Eric Haase1ERU—Schenectady 3: Dan Machold,Charlie Brown, Richard Gonyeau, ScottBrennan 2EW—Glenmore: Larry South, JimmySavard, Keith Denver, Rick Ackerly2ERU—Utica 1: Brian Moore, MikeSwiercz, Dave Hooper, Dion Warr 3EW—Ottawa: Johnny Morrissey, JimCole, Mike Kessler, George Mitchell3ERU—Schenectady 2: Pat Fitzgerald,Art Merkley, Jeff Mayott, PeteDrechsler4EW—Schenectady 1: Dean Wadland,Brian Damon, Mike Stefanik, JimSinkins 4ERU—Potomac: Scott Edie, JackStopera, Dennis Mellerup, Bill Peskoff 5EW—Broomstones 2: Dan Naylor,Michael O’Neill, Adam Jacobson,Mitch Cherniack 5ERU—Schenectady 5: Marek Rzonca,Jeff Muha, Lou Horton, Matt Daly 6EW—Albany 1: Dave Ryan, BretSentiwany, Jay Watsky, Kevin Ryan6ERU—St. Lambert: Paul Fantie, RickMunro, Kevin Whelan, Bill Anderson

ExmoorMen’s

The Exmoor Continental Bonspieltook place Dec. 8-12 in Highland Park,Ill. Here are the results:1EW—Exmoor: Jeff Wright, RussArmstrong, Chris Schallmo, SteveWright1ERU—North Halton, Canada: DenisCordick, Doug McDermot, DwayneBushey, Rick Kritschgau2EW—Exmoor: Sean Silver, SteveWaters, Bob Moulton, Ken Groover2ERU—North Shore: Steve Neff, JonPeter, Walter Burns, Craig Carlson3EW—Northwestern: Marc Palmeri,Albert Lipson, Justin Connell, RobYaple3ERU—North Shore: Mike Pfiffner,Jeff Bodine, Norm Westerhold, TomKendall4EW—Tam Heather, Canada: NormMacInnes, John Rorabeck, RichardCorner, Dan Geary4ERU—Milwaukee: Chuck Severson,Dick Quale, Jim Rasche, RandyJacobson

St. PaulSenior Men’s

The Minnesota State Senior Men’sBonspiel took place Jan. 14-16 in St.Paul, Minn. Here are the results:Senior Division1EW—Duluth: Phil DeVore, SeppoSormunen, Doug Cameron, RogerHendrickson1ERU—Duluth: Jon Medure, TonyBerarducci, Jim Hill, Kevin KempVeterans Division:1EW—St. Paul: Ken King, MikeMcDonald, Clay Kirkland, Bud Berry1ERU—St. Paul: Art Ruohonen, DaleGibbs, Steve Jensen, Chuck Stewart

International FallsOpen

The 18th annual Icebox Days OpenBonspiel took place Jan. 14-16 at theInternational Falls (Minn.) CurlingClub. The club uses ice in Fort Frances,Ontario. Here are the results:1EW–Fort Frances: Ken Jackson, KeithTibbits, Kerry Jackson, Ron Cambell1ERU–International Falls: Tom Mayer,Dave Johnson, Dave Evans, RodneyKupsc2EW–Fort Frances: Eric Kaufman,Nettie Kaufman, Gary Saurer, SylviaSmeeth2ERU–Fort Frances: Kathie Jackson,Lorne Jackson, Rory Ellingson, KellyEllingson3EW–Fort Frances: Graham Matheson,Moe Fillion, Chris Matheson, KevinSchulz3ERU–Fort Frances: Everett Jackson,Maureen Thomson, Jim Jackson,Maureen Jackson4EW–Fort Frances: Allan Holt, BrianAngus, John Bagacki, Loreen Holt4ERU–Fort Frances: Rich Peri, ChrisHill, Dave Black, Shane Becket

Winners of the Veterans Division of the Minnesota State Senior Men’sChampionship were (l-r) Ken King, Mike McDonald, Clay Kirkland and Bud Berry.

Winners of the Senior Division of the Minnesota State Senior Men’s Championshipwere (l-r) Phil DeVore, Seppo Sormunen, Doug Cameron and Roger Hendrickson.



New to curling? Hit theroad and go bonspieling

elcome to myvery first col-umn for theU.S. Curling

News. Who knows?Maybe it will also be mylast. I suppose that dependson the reaction of you read-ers and the thoughts of mynew boss, Terry Kolesar.She is the mean-spiritedand dictatorial editor of thispublication. (Yes, I ofteninject humor into my writ-ing. I’ll try to give you a“heads up” when I ambeing less than serious.)

Some readers willremember me from when Iused to be a pretty goodcurler. I certainly did a lotof curling. I hope youremember me fondly andremember me as being pret-ty good. I certainly remem-ber lots of you fondly and Ireally miss playing. Thelack of cartilage in my leftknee, however, must beobeyed...just like a dictato-rial editor.

The vast majority of you,I am quite sure, have neverheard of me. That is truly awonderful thing. For whenI was first starting to play alot, our numbers weredwindling and our clubswere closing. God blessthose souls who put somuch time and effort intogetting us into theOlympics. Now we get abump in interest and mem-bership every four years.Sometimes, I think, curlersof my vintage forget howdark those days were get-ting before this wonderfulquadrennial windfall.

So allow me to introducemyself to all of you whohave never heard of meand, especially, those newto our great game. I’mdang-near 50. I didn’t startcurling until my mid-20s. Icurled in a lot of leagues. Iplayed in a lot of bonspielsall over the Midwest andCanada. I played-downvery frequently. I made itto more than a couple ofNational Men’s and onefantastic Mixed Nationals.Through all of this, Ilearned some things.

That will be the mainemphasis of my columns...Ithink. I’ll look at what isgoing on in USA curlingand look back at my yearsin the sport and offer somefree advice. Beware; how-ever, of free advice… youdo get what you pay for. Ifyou wish for any adviceabout curling, please con-tact me. I love talkingabout the game. I’ll eitheranswer you directly or in acolumn.

So here is my first bit ofadvice: Go to a bonspiel.

Curling is a fun sport.

Leagues can be (and shouldbe) fun. The real fun, how-ever, is out on the road. Askany seasoned veteran atyour club and I’m sure thathe or she will agree withme. Even curling fanaticslike me would never havefallen that deeply in lovewith the game if we onlyshot league. Once you getout of town to a couplespiels, the game will reallytake off for you. For notonly is the best fun outthere on the road, curlingthree games in a couple ofdays will really sharpenyour skills. Playing againstsome good teams and thensitting behind the glass andtalking curling will raiseyour game (and your loveof the game) faster than themercury in an Arizona ther-mometer at sunrise.

Often new curlers arehesitant to sign up for anout-of-town ’spiel. There isno good reason for this.Ask some of your clubmates which ’spiel might bemost appropriate for newercurlers, sign up and go.Trust this as gospel truth:The hosting club will bethrilled that you pickedtheir ’spiel. Also trust this:Most ’spiels are not stackedfull of World Beaters. Youmight get beaten fairlysoundly and head homewith three losses and nowins, but I am sure that youwill have found yourselffairly competitive and anx-ious to try again.

An addendum to thisadvice is aimed not at thenew curlers, but to the sea-soned vets. Those of youwho are considered the bet-ter curlers at your club havean obligation to the sport.

Those of you who havecurled at the higher levelshave an absolute moralobligation. For curling hasgiven so very much to thoseof us who have been luckyenough to be good at it.For all that it has given us,we must Give SomethingBack. Helping with thelocal ice, serving as a bon-spiel chair or taking a turnon the board are all verygood. If you really want tohave an impact on thefuture, however, take someinterested beginners to afun ’spiel.

Now, we ask a lot of ourbetter curlers. We expectthem to practice and play-down. We ask them to’spiel a lot and hit theCanadian spiels. We askthem to teach and helparound the club. Nothing,however, is more importantthan getting newbies on theroad and turning them intofellow curling addicts.Kudos to Tyler George.For all his national titlesand busy competitiveschedule, Ty always takestime for a fun ’spiel or twoand doesn’t head there withthree club skips and a third.

So that is my first pieceof advice...Go ’spieling.Ask around your club. Ithink that you’ll find it tobe very good advice.

I’d like to end mycolumns with a couple ofrandom thoughts. Kind ofa “For The Good of TheGame” sorta thing:

If we have an onslaughtof new curlers, we mightneed more bonspiels in thenear future. Keep an openmind to adding inexpensivefunspiels to your club’s cal-endar.

Get your hind end toFargo and watch Nationalsthis month. It’s looking likea really interesting andgood field. The hosts havea nice arena and are plan-ning some really fun times.I can pretty much guaranteethat you will not be sorry.

Sincerely,Tuck (my curling friends

call me Tuck)

Tucker is a member of

the Grafton Curling Club

and makes his living farm-

ing in North Dakota. Send

questions or comments to

Tuck at [email protected].

Send complaints to his dic-

tatorial editor (terry.kole-

[email protected]).

By Ben [email protected]

Tucked in the

Back PageW

Winners of the Exmoor Highlander Fling Bonspiel were (l-r) Hillary Benson, MarcyCalaway, Amy Hartwell and Peggy Griem.

Winners of the Miller Lite Superspiel at the Owatonna Curling Club were (l-r) GuyGriesmann, Mark Federspiel, Tom Kari and Matt Chester.

Wisconsin Senior Men’s Championship winners were (l-r) Alan Hafeman, BobGebert, Tony Wendricks, Dan Lynch and Steven O’Connor.

Master’s Event Winner of the Wisconsin Senior Men’s Championship were (l-r)Robert Bergmann, Vic Hybinette, (Mert Vaughn, event chair), Bob Brenckle andJack Baker.

MedfordSenior Men’s

The Wisconsin Senior Men’sChampionship took place Jan. 21-23 atthe Medford Curling Club. Here are theresults: Master’s Event Winner–Wauwatosa:Jack Baker, Bob Brenckle, VicHybinette, Robert BergmannMaster’s Event Runner-up–Arlington:Bill Monteusel, Bernie Dushek, ArtWoodward, Larry Manthe1EW–Madison: Steven O’Connor, DanLynch, Tony Wendricks, Alan Hafeman,Bob Gebert

1ERU–Wausau: Steve Sirianni, TomWood, Shane Ley, John Worotny2EW–Madison: Doug McIvor, TonyPerme, Tom Solheim, Mike Lemke2ERU–Marshfield: David Bjarnason,Dean Markwardt, Darrell Posso, TomKrake3EW–Rice Lake: Larry Sharp, BillKind, Greg Dahl, Don Drost3ERU–Portage: Harry Erdman, ChuckMiller, Mark Kretzmann, Dean Teeter4EW–Clintonville: Merritt Sasse, SteveFellman, Tom Felts, Al Prudon4ERU–Rice Lake: Larry Anderson,Richard Boyum, Allen Bock, GarySchiesser

Winners of the 2010 Fireball 500 Bonspiel were (l to r): John Hoffoss, Tim Gartner,Theresa Hoffoss and Mark Faltesek.

Did you win a bonspiel?

Do you need to send in bonspiel results for publica-tion in the Curling News? Send info to Editor TerryKolesar via email at [email protected]. The nextdeadline is March 11.

u.s. curling news, february 2011

Documents

t e d s t

t e s februarymarch

atlanta curling clubforms

new club curling event

curling newscurling

senior nationals results

junior nationals results

club nationals preview