Fall 2009 Volume 65, Number 1 www.usacurl.org Established 1945 $2.50

CURLINGNEWS

U N I T E D S T AT E S

INSIDE:

TT HH EE II CC EE SS PP OO RR TT OO FF FF II TT NN EE SS SS AA NN DD FF II NN EE SS SS EE

CURLTV CHANGES:CurlTV, USA Curling endpartnership. Page 2.CAMP CRUNCH:Juniors head to the Cape.Page 3.GET YOUR CLUBOLYMPIC READY: Tipsfor open houses. Page 4.AMMONIA!!: Medfordman survives scary explo-sion. Page 5.JAPAN JUGGLE: Applyto compete in Japan. Page7.DRAW-TASTIC!: Olympic,Paralympic drawsannounced. Page 8.

Top Athletes, Pg. 12

“The Simpsons”and curling. Pg. 9

DEPARTMENTS

Bonspiel Results – P14Championships – P7-11College Curling – P6Comics–P6Curler’s Calendar–P13Member Services–P3Rocket Exhaust–P12Tales from Sheet 9–P5USWCA – P9-10

See our complete line at Goldline.ca, or request a catalogue at ellen@goldline.ca

Introducing...

...Podium Gold1 800 465 6900

THE ROAD TO VANCOUVER... FEB. 12-28, 2010, 2010 OLYMPIC WINTER GAMES

Vancouver: Here we come

he U.S. men’s andwomen’s 2010Olympic curlingteam recently com-

pleted the seventh summertraining camp and beganthe competitive portion inpreparation for representingthe U.S. at the 2010Olympic Winter Games inVancouver.

Teams led by JohnShuster (Duluth, Minn.)and Debbie McCormick(Rio, Wis.) trained exten-sively this summer at sixcamps at the Green Bay(Wis.) Curling Club, USACurling’s training center forthe Olympic andParalympic teams this year,as well as at one camp inPark City, Utah. The 2010Paraympic team nominees,led by Augusto Perez (EastSyracuse, N.Y.), alsoattended high performancecamps in Green Bay andLake Placid, N.Y. The sum-

mer training camps, whichtypically spanned four days,focused on conditioning,mental skills training, strat-egy tactics and improvingcurling skills.

In Switzerland in earlySeptember, Shuster andteammates Jason Smith(Cape Coral, Fla.), JeffIsaacson (Gilbert, Minn.),John Benton (St. Michael,Minn.), Chris Plys (Duluth,Minn.) and Coach Phill

Drobnick (Duluth, Minn.)competed against the topmen’s and women’s Swissteams, including 2006Olympic silver medalistMirjam Ott and multipleworlds and Olympic com-petitor Ralph Stoeckli.

“I thought that our train-ing camp in Switzerlandwas very valuable,” saidPhill Drobnick, men’scoach. “We got a lot of icetime, some good games inwith some top Europeanteams, along with theopportunity to get used totraining and playing outsideof North America.”

The men’s team finished6-5 record for the event.They returned to Europe tocompete in the Oslo

(Norway) Cup and in Basel,Switzerland in lateSeptember.

The U.S. women’s teamof McCormick, AllisonPottinger (Eden Prairie,Minn.), NicoleJoraanstad(Madison, Wis.),NatalieNicholson(Bemidji,Minn.), TracySachtjen (Lodi,Wis.) and CoachWally Henry(Beaver Dam,Wis.) faced sim-ilar competition.

“It turned outto be a supercamp,” saidWally Henry,women’s coach.“It was good to

have an extended period oftime to do a few extrathings on the ice. The ladiesdid a great job with allaspects of the camp. Theycontinued their physicaltraining programs on theirown even after the physicalsupport staff had to depart.”

The women finished witha 7-2 record against com-petitive European teams.“The all around curlingskills of this team are muchimproved and constant dueto the hard work by allthrough the summer,”

Henry said.“The wholeteam is excitedabout moving tothe competitionschedule andshowing otherteams that weare a team to bereckoned with.”

After return-ing from thetraining andcompetition inZurich, the U.S.teams began thecompetitive por-tion of theirschedules with

events on the WorldCurling Tour. They’ll returnto Green Bay in Decemberfor at least one morepreparatory camp prior tothe 2010 Olympic WinterGames in Vancouver, Feb.12-28.

Men’s team runningdrills during camp.Photo by Martha Busse

Photography

Brian McWilliams, USACurling sports trainer,assists Chris Plys.

Photo by Martha BussePhotography

A very intense Jason Smith inthe gym during training camp.

Photo by Martha BussePhotography

Augusto Perez, 2010 OlympicMedia Summit.

Photo by Getty Images

Debbie McCormick, 2010 NBCMedia Summit.

Photo by Getty Images

by Terry Kolesar, Editor

T

2010 Paralympic wheelchair curling team member AugustoPerez (above, right) won the gold medal at the 2009International Canoe Federation’s world championship in Augustin Nova Scotia in the 200M sprint.

Submitted photo

Order your official 2010Olympic curling pin

www.usacurl.org/usacurl or call the USCA office at 888-287-5377 to order your copy now! $25 + shipping

CCoonnttiinnuueedd oonn PPaaggee 22

VOLUME 65, NO. 1 FALL 2009

®

2 CCeelleebbrraattiinngg 5500 yyeeaarrss –– 11995588--22000088 FALL 2009

Official publication of theUnited States Curling Association

Editor — Terry KolesarAssociate Editor—Rick Patzke

Contributing Editor—David GarberDesign: Terry Kolesar

Next editorial deadline: Nov. 13, 2009

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 Leland RichVice Presidents Kent Beadle

Walt ErbachJames PleasantsChris Sjue

Treasurer Jack BernauerSecretary Dave Carlson

Directors

Albert M. Anderson** [2012]Paul Badgero [2012]Kent Beadle [2012]John Benton (AAC) [2010]Jack Bernauer* [2010]Geoffrey Broadhurst [2010]Maureen Brunt (AAC) [2010]Dave Carlson [2010]Walt Erbach* [2010]Janet Farr (USWCA) [2012]Kathleen Harlow [2010]Chrissy Haase (AAC) [2010]Peggy Hatch** [2011]Cyndee Johnson [2011]Nicole Joraanstad (AAC) [2010]Kellie Krake [2012]Jerome Larson [2012]

Jan Legacie [2010]Richard Maskel (AAC) [2010]Gordon Maclean [2013]Tom O’Connor (AAC) [2010]Bob Pelletier [2012]James Pleasants [2010]Leland Rich [2011]Sean Silver [2012]Chris Sjue [2010]Tim Solie [2010]Mark Swandby [2011]Beau Welling* [2010]Georgia West [2010]Sam Williams [2011]* Board-elected

** Voice, no vote

Off-site staff:

Sports Psychology ConsultantDr. John Coumbe-Lilley

Coaching Development DirectorScott Higgins

National Wheelchair Development CoachSteve Brown

National Wheelchair Curling Outreach Development DirectorMarc DePerno

Head Ice TechnicianDave Staveteig

Head Games OfficialBill Forsythe

USA Curling National Office5525 Clem’s Way

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

E-mail: info@usacurl.org • Web site: www.usacurl.orgCHIEF OPERATING OFFICER:

Rick Patzke, rick.patzke@usacurl.orgDIRECTOR OF MEMBER SERVICES:

Bev Schroeder, beverly.schroeder@usacurl.orgDIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS:

Terry Kolesar, terry.kolesar@usacurl.orgCONTROLLER:

Sandy Robinson, sandy.robinson@usacurl.orgEVENT SERVICES COORDINATOR:

Dawn Leurquin, dawn.leurquin@usacurl.orgADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT:

Jean Lindner, jean.lindner@usacurl.org

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 Jennifer StannardFIRST VICE PRESIDENT Nancy SeitzSECOND VICE PRESIDENT Maureen GuaySECRETARY Jill OwensTREASURER Jean VorachekUSCA LIASION Janet FarrPROMOTIONS & Loraine WaybournPUBLIC RELATIONS

USCA, CurlTV opt to discontinue partnership

The U.S. CurlingAssociation (USCA) andCurlTV.com have mutuallyagreed to discontinue thepartnership agreement thatassigned full-accessCurlTV.com subscriptionsto all USCA members. Thisdecision was based on arevised business modelbeing implemented byCurlTV.com and the lowpercentage of USCA mem-bers who were actually acti-vating their subscriptions.

The USCA andCurlTV.com will continueto work together in othermutually beneficial waysoutside of direct subscrip-tions for all members. Bothorganizations recognize thevalue that CurlTV.com can

bring to USCA members,and they will continue towork on and promoteopportunities to featureU.S. events and customizedprogramming.

CurlTV.com announced arelationship with TSN,Canada’s premier sportsnetwork, to provide onlinebroadcasts from selectedSeasons of ChampionsEvents in addition to theregular TSN schedule onOct. 1.

CurlTV.com, in conjunc-tion with TSN, will broad-cast online several drawsper day from Canada’sbiggest events of the yearwith the Road to the Roaron Nov. 10. CurlTV.comwill offer several online

broadcasts per day from theRoar of the Rings, theCanadian Olympic TeamTrials, in Edmonton Dec. 6-13. Watch the teams thatwill join the four men’squalifiers - Glenn Howard,Kevin Martin, RandyFerbey and Kevin Koe – aswell as the first fourwomen’s qualifiers –Jennifer Jones, ShannonKleibrink, Cheryl Bernardand Stefanie Lawton – tosee who will be crownedCanada’s men’s andwomen’s Olympic repre-sentatives. CurlTV.com willalso be in Halifax to pro-vide online broadcasts withTSN for the Tim HortonsBrier, the Canadian Men’sChampionship.

Continued fromPage 1

The Paralympic teamnominees competed thissummer at the Cape Codsummer bonspiel againstable-bodied curling teamsand fared well. They’llcontinue their competitivetraining schedule withcompetitions in Norway,Scotland and Canada overthe next few months. Teammembers include Perez,James Pierce (NorthSyracuse, N.Y.), JamesJoseph (New Hartford,N.Y.), JacquelynKapinowski (PointPleasant, N.J.), PatrickMcDonald (Orangevale,Calif.) and Coach SteveBrown (Madison, Wis.).

Both teams receivedmedia training as a smallpart of their camps as well.Kevin Sullivan, owner ofKevin SullivanCommunications and for-mer director of communi-cations for PresidentGeorge Bush, led themedia training charge withthe Olympic teams.

Using that training,Shuster, McCormick andPerez took part in the U.S.Olympic Committee’sMedia Summit Sept. 11-12in Chicago where 275 jour-nalists and photographerswere in attendance.

Earlier this summerShuster and McCormicktook part in a similarmedia summit sponsoredby NBC in Los Angeles.The training is a key partof telling the stories of theathletes effectivelythroughout this one-yearperiod leading toVancouver.

SSTTAATTEEMMEENNTT OOFF OOWWNNEERRSSHHIIPP,, MMAANNAAGGEEMMEENNTT AANNDDCCIIRRCCUULLAATTIIOONN

((RReeqquuiirreedd bbyy 3399 UU..SS..CC.. 33668855))1. Publication Title: UNITED STATES CURLING NEWS. 2. Publication No.: 1064-3001. 3. FilingDate: 9-08-2009 4. Issue Frequency: Bi-monthly (five issues in season). 5. No. of IssuesPublished Annually: 5. 6. Annual Subscription Price: $16.00. 7. Complete Mailing Address ofKnown Office of Publication: 5525 Clem’s Way, Stevens Point, WI 54482. 8. Complete MailingAddress of Headquarters or General Business Office of Publisher: 15525 Clem’s Way, StevensPoint, WI 54482. 9. Full Names and Complete Mailing Addresses of Publisher, Editor, andManaging Editor: Publisher: United States Curling Association (same address as #8, above).Editor: Terry Kolesar, same address. Managing Editor: Terry Kolesar, same address. 10. Owner:United States Curling Association, Inc. Complete Address: same address as #8 above. 11.Known Bondholders, Mortgagees, and Other Security Holders Owning or Holding 1 Percent orMore of Total Amount of Bonds, Mortgages, or Other Securities: none. 12. For completion bynonprofit organizations authorized to mail at special rates. The purpose, function, and nonprofitstatus of this organization and the exempt status for federal income tax purposes: [X] Has NotChanged During Preceding 12 Months. 13. Publication Name: United States Curling News. 14.Issue Date for Circulation Data Below: September 2009; 9-08-09.

15. Extent and Nature of Circulation Average No. Copies Each Issue Preceding

12 Months

Actual No. Copies ofSingle Issue Published Nearest to Filing Date

a. Total No. Copies b. Paid and.or Requested Circulation

1. Paid/Requested Outside-County MailSubscriptions Stated on Form 3541

2. Paid In-County Subscriptions3. Sales through Dealers and Carriers, Street

Vendors, Counter Sales, and Other Non-USPSPaid Distribution

4. Other Classes Mailed Through the USPSc. Total Paid and/or Requested Circulationd. Free Distribution by Mail

1. Outside-County as Stated on Form 35412. In-County as Stated on From 35413. Other Classes Mailed Through the USPS

e. Free Distribution Outside the Mailf. Total Free Distributiong. Total Distributionh. Copies Not Distributedi. TOTALPercent Paid and/or Rquested Circulation

11,470

11,019

53042

011,114

00014014011,25421611,47098.75%

11,600

10,846

8500

010,931

00017317311,10449611,60098.44%

16. This Statement of Ownership will be printed in the October/November 2009 issue of thispublication. 17. Signature and Title of Editor, Publisher, Business Manager, or Owner: Terry Kolesar,Editor. Date: 9-08-09I certify that all information furnished on this form is true and complete. I understand that any-one who furnishes false or misleading information on this form or who omits material or infor-mation requested on the form may be subject to criminal sanctions (including fines and impris-onment) and/or civil sanctions (including multiple damages and civil penalties).

2010 Paralympic team coach Steve Brown helps out at a wheel-chair curling clinic held this summer.

Submitted photo

CCeelleebbrraattiinngg 5500 yyeeaarrss –– 11995588--22000088 FALL 2009 3

®

Your contact: Bev Schroeder, beverly.schroeder@usacurl.org; 1-888-287-5377, Ext. 203

Certifications

An eight-ender is a great accomplish-ment for someone to achieve in the sport ofcurling. Like a hole-in-one in golf, it maybe an once-in-a-lifetime event. To remem-ber this moment, the American CurlingFoundation & Museum sends an eight-ender acknowledgement patch to any teamthat obtains this goal.

In order for you and your teammates toreceive an eight-ender patch, there is aquick and easy procedure to follow to reg-ister this accomplishment.

First, you need to take two photos of theeight-ender, preferably with the membersof the team. Second, send both photos

(hard copy, not electronically) with a smallexplanation on the date, place, event andteam roster to USA Curling, Attn: BevSchroeder, 5525 Clem’s Way, StevensPoint, WI 54482.

We will then forward your photos andteam information to the American CurlingFoundation & Museum for registration.The USCA will send eight-ender patchesfor each member of your team. We willalso acknowledge the eight-ender in theU.S. Curling News.

It’s a fairly easy process for such a greatachievement. Please direct questions toBev at beverly.schroeder@usacurl.org.

How to submit eight-ender results

Eight-Ender

Level I InstructorGeorge AldrichVan AndersonDon ArsenaultDarcy BeeryKirk BeeryRyan BerdanPamela J. BiesenthalDan BlissRobert BroadhurstRick BulalaCandice ClarkDavid CummingFrederick FlynnJason FranchiHeather FreelandLeonard GainesJennifer GeakeSharon GieseGeorge GarofaloDavid HalperT.J. HamiltonAlice HartmanSteve HatlevollMike HoffDudley IrvinCathy B. JonesMajik JonesNick KitinskiRobert D. KoehlerRobert LeonardLionel LockeJohn MacintoshMark MalkinMichael MarchionnaDavid MarkowskiTim MendozaGordon MullinMichael NelsonDon NicholsonDebbie PietraszkoDoug PotterMichelle RaneKerry RaportClark RavenNancy RogersRoy RogersCindy RonzoniGary SaddlerStan SlabasAmit ThakkarJeff TomlinsonAlpheus WinterEmily WinterJack Wulfekuhle

Level II InstructorDon ArsenaultCandice ClarkEd ClarkSteve HatlevollNick Kitinski

Scott PirothClark RavenMike Solem

Level III InstructorSandra McMakin

Level I OfficialJulie ChanatryMark ForteHeather FreelandJim GriebschDavid HaverickLaura JaconNick KitinskiMike KolbRaymone KralJames LandenbergerJoel LenekerLisa M. McLeanAnne McKellarScott OlsonTeri OlsonFr. Tom Orians, SAKris ProctorNancy RentfrowSusan RillingDena RosenberryCharles SchatzApril Gale SeixeiroPeter SheridanScott Stevinson

Level II OfficialBrenda CitrinitiPhilip CitrinitiJeremy DinselHeather FreelandSandy Berkowitz-GaffnerDavid HaverickNick KitinskiJan LittleTeri OlsonFr. Tom Orians, SA

Level I CoachDon Arsenault

Level II CoachDouglas AndrewDon ArsenaultDavid JensenSandra McMakinClark Raven

Level III CoachDavid Jensen

Level IV CoachDavid JensenRusty Schieber

At the Fargo (N.D.)Mixed Bonspiel, on Feb.20, the Al Gulseth rink laidan eight-ender during the

second end of one of theirscheduled games. Membersof the team included AlGulseth, Michelle Wagner,

Mark Gulseth and PattyOlesen. Did your team layeight? Read below to sub-mit results.

Vancouver Olympics right around the corner

s we gear up for another curling sea-son, one hardly needs to be remindedof the Olympic Winter Games inVancouver in February. With the

Olympics so close to the United States, we canexpect over 80 hours of curling on NBC’s net-

works, and if you are lucky enough and receiveCanadian TV you can watch even more.

For most U.S. curling clubs the Olympicswill be another great opportunity to attract newmembers and raise the level of interest in curl-ing throughout the local community.

Having been through Salt Lake and Torino,most clubs have seen the impact the Olympicscan have on their clubs. But, regardless if youhave been through it before, now is the time to

continue with plans for Vancouver to help growthe sport of curling.

Over the next several issues of the CurlingNews, we will be bringing articles to assist youin maximizing the exposure the Olympic Gameswill have on curling in the U.S. The first articlein the Olympic preparation series is by PotomacCurling Club’s Sandra McMakin (See PRE-PARE YOUR CLUB WITH OLYMPICEVENTS, Page 4).

by Chris Sjue, Vice President of Member Services

A

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.”

Eye on the future

Participants at the Cape Cod Curling Club’s junior camp accelerated their learningskills in July in Cape Cod, Mass. The camp is one of four annual junior camps put onby the USCA and facilitated by member clubs.

Submitted photo

4 FALL 2009 CCeelleebbrraattiinngg 5500 yyeeaarrss –– 11995588--22000088

®

The last two WinterOlympics gave the sport ofcurling a huge boost inexposure. A great broadcastschedule by NBC in 2006provided more than 80hours of curling on TV.NBC is planning at leastthat many hours for theVancouver Olympics thisFebruary so we can againlook forward to great TVcoverage and exposure forour organizations and oursport.

Immediately followingthe 2006 Torino Olympics,USA Curling and its mem-ber associations gatheredinformation from U.S. curl-ing clubs on their Olympicactivities. Surveys werecollected and compiled andthe information was distrib-uted back to clubs so theycould learn from the experi-ences of organizations fromaround the country.

From that information,and my experience as aclub president during the2006 Olympics, it appearsthere were three basic typesof events enabling curlingclubs to successfully capi-talize on the Olympics.Some clubs ran only one ofthe event types but a fewclubs offered at least onesession of each event typeeither during, or immediate-ly after, the Olympics. Ifyou are planning your iceschedule for this season,consider including at leastone of each type of session- as each has its own partic-ular purpose. It’s not toolate to approach your arenamanager to request addi-tional ice times for thespring and summer of 2010should you decide youwould like to add a particu-lar type of event to yourschedule.

The key is to understandwhat types of events youare offering in order tomanage each of them toachieve the best possibleoutcome. The following aredescriptions of the threetypes of events.

FFUUNNDDRRAAIISSIINNGGYou might have heard

the stories of clubs withover a 1,000 people linedup outside their doors wait-ing to try curling. Theselong lines were the result ofsessions advertised as openhouse where people couldjust drop by to see yourfacility, get some informa-tion, and perhaps give curl-ing a try. Obviously, for thistype of event, it’s impossi-ble to spend any significantamount of time with eachperson. Therefore, Olympicopen house events are bestexecuted as fundraisers.

Once inside the building,

each person is given theopportunity to throw one ortwo stones - yes, that’s all.Instructors give quickdemonstrations on thedelivery to small groups ofpeople who are then able totry it for themselves. Ofcourse, safety of partici-pants is always of utmostimportance and much atten-tion to safety is especiallyrequired with this manypeople stepping onto curl-ing ice for the very firsttime. Many who come forthis event just want to seeactual curling ice and toucha curling stone. (Do theyreally even need a slider todo that?) There can’t be alot of teaching about thegame here – nor should thatbe the purpose of the ses-sion. Volunteers must beextremely creative, andorganized, to keep theprocess moving and get asmany people through aspossible.

When the participantshave finished on the ice,they come back into thewarm room area where theymay then register and payfor other club offeringssuch as two-hour “Learn toCurl” sessions or five-weekinstructional leagues. So theopen house is the gatewayfor people to enroll in otherintroductory sessions – andthe club is ready with an“inventory” of slots thatwill ensure their scheduledice times are booked andpaid for by new “Olympic”curlers.

This is primarily afundraising event since 99percent of the people com-ing through your doors willnot become a member ofyour club after throwingonly one or two stones.Recommended charge foreach adult participant forthis experience: $10. That’sright - $10 to have a chanceto touch a curling stone andtry their luck at sliding itdown to the target at theother end of the ice. So,you can see how, if youwere able to somehowmove 300, 400, 500 ormore people through thistype of a session, your clubcould bring in enoughmoney to pay off one ortwo sets of curling stones.

In an arena club, youwill have to ensure thatyour arena manager isaware of the potential forlarge crowds. For facilitieswith more than one ice sur-face, try to avoid planningthis type of event when thearena already has a largeevent planned in anotherarea. See if there’s an areaor two that you can use as alarge warm room for regis-tration and informationtables. Make sure you havealso planned out and

marked the path for waitinglines and have volunteersready to keep lines organ-ized and moving smoothly.Parking and security mayalso be important consider-ations.

FFUUNNDDRRAAIISSIINNGG//RREECCRRUUIITTMMEENNTT

The next step would beto have people register andparticipate in a typical two-or three-hour “Learn toCurl” session. This type ofevent follows an introduc-tory lesson plan, includinga bit of game play. Thisgives people a chance to trythe sport while learning abasic amount about it.Although the recruitmentrate is a bit better for thistype of event over the OpenHouse, past experience hasshown that the number ofpeople who will join yourclub as members afterattending just one “Learn toCurl” session is still lessthan one out of every 30.

The recruitment rateincreases if you are able toget them back to try it again– say in a game with otherbeginners. Instructorsshould have some optionsavailable for people afterthey have tried curling.Perhaps they come backand spare in a regularleague game. Follow-up iscrucial! If you are able toget them to register forsome other type of session,league or event immediate-ly after they complete their“Learn to Curl,” the likeli-hood of them joining yourclub as members increasesgreatly. In fact, the chancesthat someone will join yourclub after spending at leastone additional game or ses-sion with you could be asmuch as 40 percent.

At the very least, some-one from your club shouldcontact them by e-mail orphone to find out if theyhad a good time and if theywould like to come backand try it again. Theinstructor from their ses-sion, or perhaps someonefrom the MembershipCommittee, could be incharge of following up with“Learn to Curl” partici-pants.

Of course, in order tofollow up with participants,contact information such asemail addresses and tele-phone numbers would haveto be collected. Clubsshould become very goodat collecting contact infor-mation and following upwith people. Don’t let allyour hard work runningintroductory events go towaste by letting peoplewalk out your door - neverto hear from you again.

And once more, becausethe majority of people par-ticipating in one “Learn toCurl” session will not joinyour club based on just thisexperience alone, there is afundraising aspect to thisactivity. Clubs typicallycharge $20 to $40 for atwo- or three-hour sessionlike this. Some clubs willalso give this back as acredit toward dues to thoseparticipants who end upjoining as members. Theseevents all require hours andhours of volunteer time –don’t give your volunteers’time and expertise away fornothing.

RREECCRRUUIITTMMEENNTTNovice or instructional

leagues have proven to bethe best way to turnOlympic interest into newclub memberships. Theseare short, three- to five-week leagues that includeprograms of additionaltraining to help people get abetter start learning andplaying the game.

Match play in theseleagues is “coached” withinstructors staffing bothends of each sheet. At thethrowing end, new playersreceive information such aswhere to stand, what theshots are and how to beready when it is their turnto throw, etc. At the houseend, coaches can provideinformation on shot signals,basic strategy, ice readingand line calling. This is alsoa great opportunity toinclude (and model) thesportsmanship and etiquetteof the sport.

Each session of thesenovice leagues can includeadditional information, bothon and off the ice, while

reviewing and reinforcingskills learned in the previ-ous sessions. This is a greatway for new curlers toreceive more than a basicoverview of the game. Onereason why people tell usthey don’t want to becomeclub members and join reg-ular leagues is because theydon’t think they are “good”enough. Novice instruction-al leagues provide a wayfor newcomers to becomemore comfortable with thesport, and the club, whilebetter preparing them forleague play.

The recruitment ratefrom instructional leaguesincreases dramatically asyou may find that as manyas 50 percent of these par-ticipants will actually joinyour club as rookie mem-bers. Many people have towork their way up to mem-bership and the extra timeyou spend with these newcurlers, and the additionaltraining they receive inthese coached leagues, willresult in more people confi-dent enough to transition toregular league play.

As with the Learn toCurl sessions, fees forinstructional leagues mightbe $20 or $30 per weekwith some or all of the ses-sion fees credited back onmembership dues for thosewho join as rookie mem-bers. A registration fee of$100 for a five-week sched-ule is not uncommon – orunreasonable.

IINNSSTTRRUUCCTTIIOONNIn most areas of the

United States, few peopleknow what curling is, letalone what a curling clubis. Instruction is key tobuilding and developingcurling clubs. Instructorsare usually the first peoplethat new people meet. Theyare the “ambassadors” ofyour club - and most likelyyour main recruiters.

Who are your instruc-tors? Hopefully, your clubhas some certified USACurling instructors. Everyclub should try to have atleast one Level I instructor- and hopefully several ofthem. Experienced curlersare also valuable resourcesto help teach both newcurlers and newer volunteerinstructors. Level II instruc-tors are trained primarily incurrent methods to helppeople improve in the tech-nical skills of curling -delivery and sweeping.Clubs can develop theirtraining programs and inter-nal training resources byencouraging people tobecome certified instructorsand coaches.

This is an exciting sea-son for all of us – goodluck with all your Olympicactivities!

Prepare your club with Olympic eventsby Sandra McMakin,Members Services Committee Value of time with your club

Observations from the 2006 Olympics• Out of 1,000 curlers throwing one stone you might get70 (7%) back to try it again. Out of the original 1,000<1% might join your club. EVENT TYPE: Fundraising • Out of 100 people spending 2 hours in a “Learn toCurl” session you might get 10 (10%) of the peopleback to try it again. Out of those you might get 4 peopleto join (4% of original). EVENT TYPE:Fundraising/Recruitment • Out of 40 people spending 3 to 5 weeks with your clubin a novice or instructional league, you might get 20 (50%) of them back to join. EVENT TYPE: Recruitment • The lesson is: the more opportunities people have tospend time with you, the more likely you are to get themas members.

CCeelleebbrraattiinngg 5500 yyeeaarrss –– 11995588--22000088 FALL 2009 5

®

his is not a happytale, but its’ tellingmay help improvecurling club safetypractices. For those

clubs with ammonia-basedcompressors, it is a caution-ary tale.

Long-time Medford(Wis.) Curling Club stal-wart Mitch Mertens has thefull range of curling clubvolunteer experience, forover 30 years. For example,he’s twice chaired success-ful USCA Mixed NationalChampionships. He alsohandles more mundaneduties at the four-sheetfacility, including ice mak-ing and machinery mainte-nance. Little did he expectthat these duties wouldseverely injure him, causethe evacuation of down-town Medford, and providehim with his first medicalevacuation helicopterride—as the patient.

Last May 7, at 8:15 p.m.(Mitch is an inveteratetime-checker), Mitch waspreparing for a visit by arefrigeration manufacturingcompany to fix a minorproblem.

The plastic pipe leadinginto the chiller had a slowleak due to shrinkage(maybe a pail-full per sea-son). The solution was toreplace the plastic withstainless steel. Mitchrecalls, “Beaner Lemke andI had volunteered to removethe end cap of the chiller,which the manufacturerwould pick up and re-fitwith the stainless pipe.”

Mitch was a bit early.Rather than waiting forBeaner, he commenced toremove the 16-inch diame-ter end cap, which weighed125 pounds. First, beingsafety conscious, he shut,then triple-checked all thevalves leading to the chiller.These valves should shutoff any lingering ammoniapressure, so the remainingammonia should be safelysettled in the bottom of thestorage tank, since at theend of each season, the clubpumps out some ammonia

into a storage vessel. Thisammonia, all 450 pounds ofit, is in a pure and verydangerous form. A veryslight leak can be easilynoticed, and makes the eyesburn a bit and will quickly“clear your head.” But avery slight leak, as manyclubs experience, is notdeadly. Unfortunately,many club membersinvolved in ice-makinghave often experiencedslight leaks and have losttheir fear of ammonia,which, in the pure form, notdiluted like the householdcleaning product, is verydeadly.

In an action that savedhis life, Mitch, for achange, took club-mate BobGebert’s repeated adviceand donned a charcoal-fil-tered respirator. “I can’tthank Bob enough for hisrepeated advice, which forsome reason I followed onthis day!”

Properly prepared, Mitchthought, he commencedloosening the bolts thatsecured the chiller end cap.When he got to the fifth orsixth of the dozen bolts,without warning, a tremen-dous amount of ammoniablew out. Stunned, Mitchcrawled out of the compres-sor room into the clubrooms. He took off his res-pirator, coughed once, thennoticed his shirt was frozen.

He doffed the shirt andlowered his pants to findthe skin around his belt linewas white and hard—frozen. He didn’t knowuntil later that much of hisback had been frozen, too.

He knew now he neededhelp. He walked to thestreet, stood there andyelled for help, hoping forpassing cars. Later, Mitchrealized, “I must have beenquite a sight, with my shirtoff and my pants aroundmy ankles!” Naturally, thestreet was unusually desert-ed. The first person he sawstumbled into the advanc-ing ammonia cloud andbacked off. Mitch walkedhalf a block towards thedowntown two short blocksaway—he happened on asecond person, who called911 on his cell phone. Atthat time, a policeman onduty also approached.Shortly, the fire departmentand ambulance arrived,with Beaner right behind.

The whole episode hadlasted a scant quarterhour—by 8:30 Mitch wasin the local hospital’s emer-gency room, where hereceived excellent firsttreatment. The staff imme-diately realized that Mitchneeded special care, andsummoned a “medivac”copter—luckily, one was inthe air about 40 miles awayreturning to Marshfieldfrom another run--to ferryhim to a burn unit inMadison.

While Mitch was receiv-ing care, the downtown wasevacuated for several hoursas a precaution, but theammonia cloud dissipatedwith no further ill-effects.

Mitch was anesthetized,and woke up in Madisonthe next morning to find hiswife, kids and parents at hisbedside. By the time of thiswriting in mid-September,after grafts of skin from histhigh and other treatment,Mitch is recovering com-

pletely—except he agreesthat his swimsuit modelingdays are over—back atwork, a bit sore in spots butjust fine in his face, throatand lungs, thanks to BobGebert’s pestering him towear a respirator whileworking on the compressor.“Without the respirator,”Mitch knows, “I’d either bedead or have debilitatinglung injury and facial dis-figurement.”

LLeessssoonnss lleeaarrnneeddMitch agreed to have his

story shared because com-municating his cautionarytale can impart three safetylessons for club volunteers:

1. Just because minorammonia leaks occur atyour club with no notice-able damage, retain yourrespect for the damage

ammonia can do if releasedin quantity.

2. Have professionals doany major work on yourrefrigeration system. Don’ttry to save a few bucks inthis critical area. Also, havethe pros periodically checkout all the valves on yoursystem. Mitch believes oneof them seemed closed butwas not, since he had triple-checked them all before hestarted work on the chiller.

3. Have several respira-tors at the club and be surethey are up to date (themask that saved Mitch’slife was actually past itsexpiration date by severalyears).

Thanks, Mitch, for shar-ing this unhappy experi-ence. Thankfully, the end-ing was happy.

David Garberdjgarber@charter.net

Tales From Sheet Nine

Wisconsin curler survives ammonia explosion

T

Medford’s Mitch Mertens is recovering from an ammonia explo-sion at the curling club.

Submitted photo

29

2006 Olympic Trials specials featuring carbon fiber Performance brushesFebruary 18-March 4

Check out www.stevescurling.com

E-mail: steve@stevescurling.comWeb site: www.stevescurling.com

5010 Ironwood DriveMadison, WI 53716

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

Orders: 1-800-227-CURL

America’s #1 CurlingSupplier for 33 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: steve@stevescurling.comWeb site: www.stevescurling.com

Kalamazoo to hostofficiating clinics

In preparation for hostingthe 2010 U.S. NationalChampionships, theKalamazoo Curling Clubwill host Level I and LevelII officiating courses onOct. 24-25.

The Level I course is setfor Oct. 24 followed by theLevel II on Oct. 25.Registration will take placeeach day at 8:30 a.m.Classes will be from 9 a.m.-

4 p.m. at The Annex atWings Stadium, 3600Vanrick Drive, Kalamazoo,MI. Cost is $50 per class.Morning coffee and lunchwill be provided.

Participants are asked topre-register for these class-es by contacting GarnetEckstrand (KalamazooCurling Club) atgarnet@eckstrand.com orby calling 269-598-3644.

6 FALL 2009 CCeelleebbrraattiinngg 5500 yyeeaarrss –– 11995588--22000088

®

College CurlingYour contact: Rich Larko, larko2123@comcast.net, 847-729-0934 • www.collegecurling.org

2006 Olympic bronze medalistadded to 2010 support staff

2006 Olympic bronzemedalist Scott Baird(Bemidji, Minn.) has beenadded to the high perform-ance staff assisting the 2010Olympic men’s andwomen’s curling teamsheaded by John Shuster andDebbie McCormick.

Baird, 58, was a team-mate of Shuster’s in 2005

and 2006 when they weremembers of the PeteFenson rink.

Baird, a four-time U.S.national champion, willassist the 2010 Olympicteams with strategy and tac-tics in preparation for andduring the 2010 OlympicWinter Games inVancouver.

The Midland (Ohio) Curling Club willhost a Level I instructor clinic on Oct. 24from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Cost for the class is$30 and includes lunch, materials and theUSCA’s fee.

This class is structured to help clubsdevelop a core group of trained individualsto help with open houses, Learn to Curlclinics and basic skills development ofmembers within the club. It provides par-ticipants with current best practices forteaching curling skills. The class will be amix of classroom time and on ice demoswith lunch included. Participants must passa written test, volunteer for 10 hours andobtain First Aid Training to become certi-fied.

The club also will host a skills clinic onOct. 25 from 9 a.m. to noon at the club.Cost for this is $30 as well and includes

lunch, materials and video analysis of indi-vidual delivery with a maximum of 16 par-ticipants.

Certified USCA instructors will workwith small groups of curlers to developbasic and advanced curling skills such asbalance, delivery, release, sweeping, andtiming rocks. This clinic is designed forthe curler with at least a year of experienceand will include on ice drills and demon-strations along with classroom discussionand analysis of common issues.Participants will leave with the knowledgeand skills necessary in order to improvetheir game and increase enjoyment andcompetitiveness.

For more information or to register, con-tact Mike Graves (Midland Curling Club),mhgraves@ejourney.com or call 989-329-5697 after 4 p.m.

Midland to host instructor, skills clinics

Great Lakes championshipadded to college schedule

n the upcoming sea-son, the college curl-ing program will fea-ture an additionalchampionship event

as a warm-up to theNational CollegeChampionship – the GreatLakes CollegiateChampionship, Jan. 29-31,in Bowling Green, Ohio.

Meanwhile, the NationalCollege CurlingChampionship is set forMarch 12-14 in Chicago.

Both events will offer com-petitive curling for allteams plus plenty of fun forall participants. Eligibilityis the same for both eventsas stated on the CollegeCurling website, www.col-legecurling.org.

Teams may consist ofcurlers from multipleschools. Both events areopen format and teams maysign up for one or bothevents.

Contact the event regis-trar and get applicationsand checks in early.

The registrar for theBowling Green event is PJ

Wolf, 103 South Main St.,Apt. 29, Bowling Green,OH 43402, 419-283-0088,pjwolf@bgsu.edu.

The deadline to sign upis Jan. 8. Applications and acheck for $100 must be inthe registrar’s hands toassure participation. A wait-ing list begins after 24teams are registered.

Hotel information will besupplied by Wolf and pub-lished in the Decemberissue of the Curling Newsas well as on the CollegeCurling website. Win, placeand show award pins in alldivisions.

National collegechampionshipset in Chicago

The National College Curling Championship willtake place March 12-14 at the North Shore andChicago clubs.

Four or five divisions will be featured dependingon the number of entries. All teams compete at theirown level of experience. Win, place and show awardpins in all divisions.

The format will be one game on Friday night, twogames on Saturday with finals on Sunday morning.

The deadline to sign up is March 1. Checks for$120 and completed applications must be in thehands of the registrar no later than 5 p.m. CT onMarch 1.

The event registrar is Dr. Robert Richardson,richards.rob2@uwlax.edu, 608-788-0595

The headquarters hotel will be the Courtyards ofMarriott, 1801 Milwaukee Ave., Glenview, IL 60025.

For reservations, call 847-803-2500. The room ratewill be $79 plus tax.

by Rich Larko,College Curling Coordinator

by Rich Larko,College Curling CoordinatorI

The Funny Side

CCeelleebbrraattiinngg 5500 yyeeaarrss –– 11995588--22000088 FALL 2009 7

¤

erod Roland (skip),John Lilla (third),Adam Nathan (sec-ond), and myself

traveled “down under” inlate August to participate inthe inaugural 100% PureNew Zealand WinterGames, an Olympic-stylesports festival that offeredmedal events in AlpineSkiing, Cross-CountrySkiing, Ice Hockey, FigureSkating, Freestyle Skiing,Snowboarding, and Curling.The team was organized ona last-minute basis inresponse to an expresseddesire on the part of theNew Zealand CurlingAssociation to include anAmerican presence in theircompetition.

Connecting throughAuckland, the team arrivedon Aug. 19 in Queenstown,a resort city on the SouthIsland that served as head-quarters for the WinterGames. After a brief daytrip to the coastal city ofDunedin to get some prac-tice ice, we transferred tothe tiny community ofNaseby in the central Otagoregion. Naseby, a town ofabout 100 residents, ishome to the only full-timesingle-use, dedicated curl-ing facility in the entiresouthern hemisphere andserved as the venue site forthe event. The curling com-petition featured two divi-sions of play, with fivewomen’s teams (China,

Japan, Korea, New Zealand,and Australia) in a doubleround and eight Men’steams (those same fivenations plus Canada, USA,and the Czech Republic) ina single round robin. Thetop four finishers in eachdivision would advance to asingle elimination medalround.

We practiced at the clubon Saturday, Aug. 22, andthen began the week longcompetition on the next day.Our first opponent was theformidable Chinese men’sOlympic team. Despiteplaying very well in ourfirst-ever outing together asa team, we were unable toovercome an almost flaw-less performance by theChinese, losing 8-4. Webounced back the next daywith crucial victories overboth the hometown Kiwis(9-5) and a Canadian super-league team out of Calgary(6-2). Then came frustratingback-to-back losses toAustralia (5-3) and Japan(6-3). The loss to theAussies, a veteran team ofexpatriate Canadians,occurred on a sheet thatinexplicably had very slowand flat ice conditionsthroughout the game. There

had been some compressorproblems earlier in the daythat may have triggered theproblem, but for someunknown reason the otherthree sheets appeared to beunaffected.

The loss to Japan wasequally vexing in that wehad controlled play earlyon, only to have the gameturn on an errant peel shotin the sixth end that inad-vertently splattered a guardstone into the house to setup a pivotal score of threeby our opponent.

We now had our backs tothe figurative wall at 2-3,chasing three teams (Korea,Japan, and Australia) withwinning records and tiedwith the now seemingly“inscrutable” Chinese.Prohibitive pre-eventfavorites, China had lookedabsolutely invincibleagainst us in the first round.However, their play quicklydevolved to an all-too-human level with subse-quent losses to Japan,Korea, and the previouslywinless Canadians.

Our team responded wellto the competitive chal-lenge, first knocking off theCzech Republic (8-6) andthen derailing the front-run-

ning Koreans (9-5). Bothvictories came in dramaticcome-from-behind fashion.We then watched as Chinaplayed their last few endsagainst Australia. An Aussiewin would have eliminatedthe Chinese outright and putus directly into the medalround. However, Australianskip Ian Palangio could notconvert on some key oppor-tunities and the Chineseeventually prevailed, thusleaving us tied with Chinaat 4-3.

Unfortunately, the subse-quent tie-break game was tobe a virtual replay of ourfirst round loss. TheChinese had suddenlyregained their previousform, executing with ruth-less efficiency and uncannyprecision on their way to a9-6 win. Now out of thecompetition, we looked onas China advanced to thegold medal game, only tosee them unexpectedly out-gunned by a decidedlyfocused Australian four-some which showed up forthe final match with their“A game” on full display.The women’s gold medalgame also featured some-what of an upset as theJapanese team managed totopple the reigning WorldChampions from China.

Overall, it had been agreat week in New Zealand.Despite the obvious disap-pointment of not medaling,we had played every oppo-nent tough and did our bestto earn respect for USACurling in the southernhemisphere. In return, theKiwis expressed greatappreciation for our effortsand proved to be superbhosts throughout our entirestay down under.

Given its size, Nasebymay seem to be an oddchoice as the home for NewZealand’s primary indoorfacility. However, it hap-pens to be the historic cen-ter for the outdoor“crampit” game which wasestablished by Scottish

immigrants back in the1870s. Cut off thereafterfrom the rest of the curlingworld for more than a cen-tury, New Zealanders failedto evolve to the indoor ver-sion of the game like theirfellow brethren had else-where around the globe.As a result, the Kiwis werecaught in a kind of bizarre“time warp” until the WorldCurling Federation sentemissaries down under inthe early 1990s with theintent of introducing themodern indoor “hack”game. In the interveningyears, New Zealand hasprogressed to a sufficientlevel that their men’s teamwas able to qualify for theTorino Winter Games in2006.

Despite these inroads,indoor curling still remainsa bit of an oddity to themajority of the local popu-lace. I interviewed quite afew of the natives duringthe course of the week anddiscovered that most stillseemed to profess a surpris-ingly keen preference forthe “crampit” game. Withits quaint customs andalmost Masonic rituals, the“Curler’s Court” of the out-door game is a definitethrowback to a bygone era.However, in the minds ofmany of the residents ofcentral Otago, it is anenduring part of the tradi-tion of the old game thatthey still very much clingto. By contrast, the modernfinesse and precision of theindoor version of the sportmust seem quite peculiar tothem.

Yet, in spite of these sig-nificant differences, eventhe most of entrenched ofthese outdoor adherents didtheir utmost to welcome uswarmly into their smallcommunity and proved onceagain that the sport of curl-ing creates a common bondamong competitors that cantranscend even the greatestgaps of both time and dis-tance.

Trip down under helps grow curling globally

Adam Nathan (left) and John Lilla in action at the New ZealandWinter Games in August.

Submitted photo

by Richard Maskel, USCA Director

J

Wisconsin’s Richard Maskel onthe ice in New Zealand.

Submitted photo

his year, the U.S. CurlingAssociation has receivedan invitation for a men’steam to compete in the

2010 Karuizawa InternationalCurling Championship inKaruizawa, Japan.

The selection for this event willbe done through an applicationprocess. The applications must besubmitted by Thursday, Oct. 29.Once all applications are submitted,the Elite Programs committee willreview the applicants and notify the

chosen team by Nov. 10. Event Information: This is a

competitive event with elite com-petition and should be treated assuch. The Karuizawa InternationalCurling Competition will be heldJan. 27-31. Teams will arrive the26th and depart Feb. 1. NOTE:This is very close to the dates ofthe USCA Men’s and Women’sChallenge Round and should betaken into consideration by anyteams applying. The host commit-tee will provide a transportationstipend for flights, ground trans-portation in Japan, lodging andbreakfast. There is an opening andclosing banquet as well but all

other meals are on your own. Thestipend for travel is provided forfive people. The USCA will pro-vide competition shirts and jackets(Nike apparel), but the team will beresponsible for all embellishingcosts, shipping, etc.

AApppplliiccaattiioonn: Please submit aresume of curling history for eachplayer and complete contact infor-mation. Please designate one playeras the contact for the team. Pastcompetitive success in national,world and other notable competi-tions will be relevant and takeninto consideration by the USCAElite Programs committee. Youmust apply as a team of four or

five, a coach may be the fifth per-son.

By submitting your applicationto the USCA for consideration torepresent the USA, you are indicat-ing your commitment to attend theevent if your team is selected.Applications should be submittedto Jean Linder atjean.lindner@usacurl.org, or mailedto the USCA office 5525 Clem’sWay, Stevens Point, WI 54482.

If you have any questions. pleasecontact USCA Vice President WaltErbach at wherbach@charteriner-net.com or Maureen Brunt at mau-reen.brunt@gmail.com.

Applications being accepted for Karuizawaby Maureen Brunt,Athletes’ Advisory Committee

T

8 FALL 2009 CCeelleebbrraattiinngg 5500 yyeeaarrss –– 11995588--22000088

¤

2010 Olympic Winter GamesDraw schedule, Feb. 12-28, Vancouver, B.C.

WomenAll times local Pacific Time (PT)

2/16: USA v. Japan, 2 p.m.2/17: USA v. Germany, 9 a.m. 2/18: USA v. Denmark, 2 p.m.2/19: USA v. Russia, 9 a.m.2/20: USA v. Great Britain, 2 p.m.2/21: USA v. Canada, 9 a.m.,

USA v. Sweden, 7 p.m.2/22: No USA women’s game2/23: USA v. China, 9 a.m.,

USA v. Switzerland, 7 p.m.2/24: Tiebreakers (if needed), 9 a.m., noon & 7

p.m.2/25: Semifinals at 9 a.m.2/26: Bronze-medal match, 9 a.m.; gold-medal

match, 3 p.m.

2010 Olympic Winter GamesDraw schedule, Feb. 12-28, Vancouver, B.C.

MenAll times local Pacific Time (PT)

2/16: USA v. Germany, 9 a.m.; USA v. Norway, 2 p.m.

2/17: USA v. Switzerland, 2 p.m.2/18: USA v. Denmark, 9 a.m.2/19: USA v. France, 2 p.m.2/20: USA v. Sweden, 9 a.m.2/21: USA v. Great Britain, 2 p.m.2/22: USA v. Canada, 9 a.m.;

USA v. China, 7 p.m.2/23: No USA men’s draw2/24: Tiebreakers (if needed), 9 a.m., noon &

7 p.m.2/25: Semifinals at 2 p.m.2/27: Bronze-medal match, 9 a.m.; gold-

medal match, 3 p.m.

2010 Vancouver Paralympic Winter Games competition schedule:

Saturday, March 13, 11 a.m. Opening CeremonyRound Robin, all times Pacific Time (PT)

Saturday, March 13, 12:30 p.m., USA v. Korea; 6 p.m.,USA v. CanadaSunday, March 14, 12:30 p.m., USA v. GermanyMonday, March 15, 12:30 p.m., USA v. Italy; 6 p.m.,USA v. Great BritainTuesday, March 16, 6 p.m., USA v. SwedenWednesday, March 17, 12:30 p.m., USA v. Norway; 6p.m., USA v. JapanThursday, March 18, 12:30 p.m., USA v. SwitzerlandFriday, March 19, tiebreaker games (if necessary)Saturday, March 20, 10 a.m., semifinals followed bymedal matches at 3:30 p.m.

Wanna curl against the 2010 Olympians?

n Nov. 14, theEau Claire (Wis.)Curling Club isoffering a uniqueopportunity to the

2010 U.S. Olympic curlingteam and their familieswhile sharing the ice in afriendly competition againstthem.

The United StatesOlympic Committee paysall expenses for Team USAathletes, but as I found outfirst-hand in 1998, travelcosts for Team USA ath-

letes’ family members canbe quite the out-of-person-al-pocket expense for eachathlete. One of the mostmemorable outcomes of mypersonal Olympic experi-ence was the outpouring ofsupport and generous dona-tions that came from ourfamily and friends of theEau Claire and curlingcommunities.

In the spirit of supportand excitement for their2010 Winter Olympicsendeavor, we are hostingthe Eau Claire Curling Clubvs. Team USA fundraisingevent. All sponsorship and

participant proceeds will begiven to the family mem-bers of the men’s andwomen’s 2010 Olympiccurling team to be used tooff-set their travel expensesto Vancouver, Canada.

For just $10/end, youcould play against membersof the 2010 Winter Olympiccurling team. How manyother people will have theopportunity to share a com-petitive space with Olympiccaliber athletes and then,just a few months later, fol-low these athletes as theygo for the gold inVancouver? For those of us

who love curling andunderstand the camaraderiethat accompanies this “gen-tleperson’s” sport – does itget any better than this?

Our day at the club willinclude two shifts of games,one at 11 a.m. and one at 6p.m. In addition to the curl-ing, the club will havesnacks available throughoutthe day. There will also be araffle that includes mer-chandise signed by theOlympic team.

At 4:30 p.m. we will alsohave a catered meal. Thecost of the meal will be$20. Included with the meal

is a chance to listen to theOlympians speak abouttheir past experiences andan Eau Claire vs USA T-shirt. Following the mealwill be the raffle drawing.Again, all proceeds fromthese events will go towardthe helping the Olympicteam’s families as they trav-el to Vancouver.

I hope you will join meand other members of theEau Claire Curling Club aswe “take on Team USA” onNov. 14th.

If interested, visit theUSA Curling website todownload an entry form.

by Mike Peplinski,1998 Olympian

O

Team leaderapplications

beingaccepted for 2010 events

Team leader applicationsfor the 2010 World Juniors,2010 World Women’s and2010 Men’s Worlds arenow being accepted.

Application requirementscan be downloaded fromthe USA Curling website,www.usacurl.org/usacurl.The application deadline isOct. 26.

Members from the 2010Olympic and Paralympiccurling teams will be fea-tured on NBC’s the TodayShow on Nov. 4 as part of acelebration to mark 100days from the opening cere-mony of the 2010 OlympicWinter Games.

In addition to athleteinterviews and a curlingdemonstration atRockefeller Ice Rink, theteams will be receive com-memorative Team USAgear. Participating athletesinclude John Shuster, JasonSmith, Jeff Isaacson, JohnBenton, DebbieMcCormick, AllisonPottinger, NicoleJoraanstad, NatalieNicholson, Augusto Perez,James Joseph and JacquelnKapinowski. Stay tuned!

2010Olympic,

Paralympicathletes to be

on ‘TodayShow’ Nov. 4

he ChicagoCommunity Trusthas once againawarded a grant toUSA Curling to

further assist in the growthof the Olympic sport.

The Trust has awardedgrants to the associationevery year since 2006. Pastgrants have been used tohelp foster growth bystudying demographics andproducing media and mar-keting materials. This year'sfunds will be used to sup-port several projects,including:

* Production and distri-bution of one or moreready-to-air TV commer-cials to be offered to allUSCA-member clubs forbroadcasting in their homearea.

* Production and distri-bution of a supply of curl-ing informational and how-to brochures to all USCA-member clubs.

* Regional MemberServices conferences tobring educational andinstructional resources

directly to existing mem-bers and newcomers aroundthe country.

* Staging of learn-to-curlcamps around the country,both for able-bodied anddisabled individuals.

* Coordination of a"Rocks and Rings" program(curling in the schools pro-gram) with the hosts of the2010 USA CurlingNationals, in Kalamazoo,Mich.

* Ongoing leadershiptraining of USCA seniorand management staff tofurther our skills and busi-ness management abilities.

* Facilitation of a secondshipment of deferred-pur-chase stones from theWorld Curling Federation.

* Continued focus on uti-lizing electronic media andsocial networking outlets.

“USA Curling is veryappreciative of the supportThe Chicago CommunityTrust continues to providethrough the Darwin CurtisFund to help us meet one ofour top priorities, which isto grow the sport,” saidRick Patzke, USA Curlingchief operating officer.“This grant will help us

stimulate growth in areaswhere curling has takenroot just recently, fromCalifornia to Kalamazoo, aswell as in new areas surelyto be inspired to toss stonesafter the VancouverOlympics.”

Since the 2002 OlympicWinter Games, the sport ofcurling has grown substan-tially across the UnitedStates thanks to the successof Team USA and the TVcoverage of the sport onNBC Sports. USA Curling'smembership has grownnearly 22 percent since the2002 Olympics in Salt LakeCity, with a 12 percentincrease alone in the seasonimmediately following the2006 Olympics in Torino.

USA Curling and itsmember clubs and regionshave helped to form closeto 30 new clubs around thecountry since 2002, includ-ing in Arizona, California,Texas, Indiana, Michigan,Minnesota and Vermont,among others states.

Funds for The ChicagoCommunity Trust grantoriginate from the DarwinCurtis fund. Curtis was aprominent Chicago area

curler in the mid-20th cen-tury. The proceeds from hisbequest must be used forprojects intended toincrease public participa-tion in curling in the UnitedStates.

AAbboouutt tthhee TTrruussttFor 94 years, The

Chicago Community Trust,our region's communityfoundation, has connectedthe generosity of donorswith the needs of the com-

munity by making grants toorganizations working toimprove metropolitanChicago. In 2008 the Trustmade over $100 million ingrants. From strengtheningcommunity schools toassisting local art programs,from building health cen-ters to helping lives affect-ed by violence, the Trustworks to enhance ourregion. Learn more atwww.cct.org.

CCeelleebbrraattiinngg 5500 yyeeaarrss –– 11995588--22000088 FALL 2009 9

¤

urlers from threeCalifornia curling clubsassisted Fox writers whoare working on the pro-

duction of an episode of “TheSimpsons” featuring curling set toair Jan. 31 just before the start ofthe 2010 Olympic Winter Games inFebruary, according to RobLaZebnik, who spearheaded thecurling research and wrote thescript. The Simpsons' writers and

producers curling session tookplace earlier this year at the SoCalCurling Club in southern Californiaalong with helpers from the WineCountry Curling Club (Vacaville,Calif.) and Hollywood CurlingClub.

In the episode, characters Homerand Marge Simpson form a mixeddoubles curling team with PrincipalSkinner and his mother, who arelong-time curlers. As the episodeprogresses, it turns out that Margeis a natural...while Homer is a dis-aster on the ice. Marge is facedwith a difficult decision: possibly

win a medal by asking Homer toleave the team, or ruining theirchances by keeping him, but sal-vaging his ego.

While mixed doubles isn’t cur-rently an Olympic discipline, it isbeing considered by theInternational Olympic Committeeas a medal sport for upcomingOlympic Winter Games. The firstworld mixed doubles competitiontook place in 2008.

“The Simpsons” is the longestrunning television comedy to dateand will mark 20 years on air in2010.

Curling to be featured in ‘Simpsons’ episode

t has been five yearssince the MadisonCurling Club, inMcFarland, Wis.,

hosted its last USCA cham-pionship event, the 2005U.S. Olympic Team Trialsleading to the TorinoOlympics. Coincidentally,that was also the inauguralyear for the USA CurlingClub National Champion-ships.

The Club Nationals wasborn out of a desire formember regions to maintain

their proud tradition ofregional championships, aswell as a throwback to thedays when competitiveteams represented a singleclub. The Club Nationalsstarted slowly that firstyear, with 63 teams enter-ing the playdowns repre-senting eight regions. Lastseason, the 5th annual

event, drew 83 teams repre-senting eight regions. Infive years the Club play-downs have become theUSCA's most popularevent.

Recognizing the growingpopularity of this event andwanting to see it continueto thrive, the MadisonCurling Club is proud tohost the 2010 USA CurlingClub National Champion-ships Feb. 20-27.Spearheaded by co-chairsMark Hartman and JeremyRoe and supported by anenthusiastic organizingcommittee and an army ofvolunteers, we intend to

extend our club’s famoushospitality to all competi-tors and fans. With theevent taking place duringthe second week of theVancouver Olympics, wesee this as an invaluableopportunity to promote ourclub and sport in the com-munity. As many clubs canattest to from the Olympiccoverage in Torino, thecasual fan will want to seethe sport in person. That'swhy we are planning a localmedia blitz consisting ofprint, radio, and televisionleading up to and during theOlympics. An opportunitylike this only comes around

once every four years! So, the challenge to you

is to put together your bestclub rink, or even just yourbuddies from your men's orwomen's league and enteryour regional club play-down. Let's make this thebest year ever for participa-tion and capture thatOlympic spirit. If you arenot fortunate enough towin, why not plan to join usanyway? It is sure to be afestive atmosphere thatweek in Madison, especial-ly with our very own teamDebbie McCormick andNicole Joraanstad compet-ing in Vancouver.

by Jeremy Roe, Co-Chairman2010 U.S. Club Nationals

I

Cby Terry Kolesar, Editor

Madison gears up to host 2010 Club Nationals

USA Curling awarded grant from The Chicago Community Trust

by Terry Kolesar, Editor

T

10 FALL 2009 CCeelleebbrraattiinngg 5500 yyeeaarrss –– 11995588--22000088

¤

epresentativesfrom every regionof the UnitedStates came

together during the annualfall meeting to develop,nurture, and promote thesport of curling amongtoday’s women and allyouth. They brought theirtalent together to strengthenand expand a wealth ofactivities, and left the meet-ing energized at theprospects and plans for theupcoming season.

One of the highlights ofthe meeting was a previewof the soon to be re-launched Websitewww.uswca.org. The newlook was designed anddeveloped by NancyWilhelm and Casey Kramer

and is a stunning accom-plishment with expandedcapabilities and resources.These two women havebrought the look and feel ofwomen’s curling to a newplane.

Curlers enter this seasonwith the knowledge of apending spotlight on thesport that unites us. Weknow, from the experienceof the past Olympics, of therenewed interest the mediawill bring to curling. Wehave been forewarned andnow must work to be readyfor the impact of the WinterOlympics and the wave ofpotential new curlers thatwill descend upon ourclubs. Attendees were givenideas to prepare for andcapitalize upon that new

interest. Detailed plans were pre-

sented for the November2009 Canadian SeniorFriendship Tour. Sixteenwomen curlers fromManitoba and their two tourdirectors will tour the USA

for two weeks. The firststop is the opening banquetat the Milwaukee CurlingClub. Then the tour willvisit Janesville, Madison,and Kettle Moraine beforeheading to Illinois,Michigan, and Ohio.

The Women’s CurlingDevelopment Fund evaluat-ed a project that wouldreach those women athleteslooking for somethingmore: a national tour. Suchan exciting tour would be aboon to the curling commu-nity as a whole, and ourorganization is working tobring this to fruition. Weare evaluating new servicesand new efforts that theUSWCA can assist indeveloping and promoting.

The USWCA is continu-

ing work to strengthen boththe Five & Under Women’sChallenge and Open Eventinto all regions of the U.S.The regional junior bon-spiels are healthy, and somereimbursement funds areavailable to assist with trav-el. Schenectady, N.Y. ishosting the 62nd annual,very unique, nationalwomen’s 32-team, 10-endbonspiel. The 28th year ofthe Senior Women’sBonspiel will be in GrandForks, N.D., in December.

The USWCA connectswomen together to focus ongrowth and enhancement ofcurling. If your club is not amember, consider joining.We are the “Heart ofCurling.”

See you on the ice!

Check out new USWCA website

by Jennifer Stannard,USWCA President

R

“The Magic of Curling:” An appropriatetheme for the original national eventfounding the USWCA and celebrating theannual tradition Feb.10-14. HistoricSchenectady Curling Club – founded 102years ago – is a great stage for the magic tounfold. The 32 teams will be selected asassistants from member curling club audi-ences across America. The 10-end gamesadd to the suspense and mystique.Abracadabra – the kit bag contains a par-ticipation pin and the unexpected!

The region will satisfy any wizard ofshopping. Cultural, sports, and art muse-ums appear upon command. Theaters andperforming art centers bloom like colorfulflowers popping from a wand. TheInternational Albany Airport is an unex-pected 10 minutes from the curling club –and is serviced by many of the major carri-

ers. The new Hilton Garden Inn will castits spell as the headquarters for theUSWCA winter meeting, annual banquetand bonspiel.

Invitations are not slight-of-hand – theUSWCA representative in your club willreceive the details in mid-October. Seeyour representative for bonspiel details,team applications, and instructions. Thereis a deadline for payment of entry fees.Now you see it – soon you won’t…there ismagic in the air.

Get ready for five-and-under events this season

ive-and-under bonspielsare memorymakers. New,nervous skips, each with ateam of friends battling onthe ice to take the event.

Experiencing the wholeness ofthe game and digging into youropponent’s head. Thrilled at think-ing outside your own shots. Yearslater - still curlers, still friends. Stilloccasionally battling it out on theice for a trophy – or bragging

rights. Still laughing at the sharedmemories, sometimes at a bonspiel,sometimes with new curlers. Nomatter what position played, noother experience gets a playerhooked into the richness of thesport like the five-and-under curl-ing events.

Today, the United StatesWomen’s Curling Association isproud to sponsor two events fornovice curlers. The successfulWomen’s Challenge has beenjoined by an Open Bonspiel – in itsthird season. Both of these greatcurling opportunities give the

novice curler competition within apeer group. Host clubs check outthe coming talent, enjoy the enthu-siasm, share strategy discussions,and welcome the fun.

If you are a newer curler in theEast or Wisconsin, get a teamtogether, join the fun, and makesome lasting memories:

East Open – Plainfield CurlingClub; Dec. 10-13. Informationposted at www.njcurling.org;chairs: Robin Kerr and EricBlassneck.

East Women’s Challenge: UticaCurling Club, March 18-21.

Information located at www.uti-cacurlingclub.org/childs-chal-lenge.htm. Chair: Sue Williams.

Wisconsin Open: PoynetteCurling Club, March 19-20.Information found atroeportage@aol.com Chair: DixieRoe. Other regions are looking forclubs to host these special curlingopportunities, this season andbeyond. If your club is interested inhosting, or if you’d like more infor-mation, contact: Elizabeth Abeltin,whimbrel@aol.com. Check websitewww.uswca.org for posting ofscheduled events.

by Charlene Fitzgerald,National Bonspiel Chairwoman

by Liz Abeltin,Five & Under Chairwoman

Schenectady set to host62nd National Bonsiel

F

The U.S. CurlingAssociation is proud to recognize the following

sponsors who support oursport and organization.

Moving? Send address updates to USA Curling5525 Clem’s Way, Stevens Point, WI 54482.

Find us on the web at www.usacurl.orgCall us toll-free: 1-888-CURLERS

CCeelleebbrraattiinngg 5500 yyeeaarrss –– 11995588--22000088 FALL 2009 11

®

USWCA All-American: All fun, no travel

he USWCA All-American event isunique. Instead ofthe norm – peerelected athletes

from all over America trav-el to a tournament – in thisevent the USWCA memberclubs across Americaorganize local events fortheir own clubs (U.S. citi-

zenship not required to par-ticipate).

For each club event,every member on the first-event winning team isawarded a beautiful pinprovided by the USWCA.

The All-American isdesigned to maximize par-ticipation of curlers, createa rich, shared curling expe-rience, and foster a greaterawareness of the role of theUSWCA. The goal of bal-anced teams keeps the

event focused on fun andgeared to the newer andless experienced womencurlers. Each local curlingclub organizes their eventto match their calendar andresources.

Want your club to jointhis nationwide event? Theevent is open to all clubsand curlers who are mem-bers of the USWCA. Isyour club not a member?There is time to join theUSWCA and the fun for

this season. Contact theUSWCA Chair ofMembership – Carol Wood,carwood47@yahoo.com.

If your club is a USWCAmember, the All-Americanshould be on your club cal-endar.

If it isn’t, now is the timeto schedule. If you wantadvice in organizing anevent, have any questions,or are interested in learningmore about an All-American event at your

club, contact your USWCArepresentative, check outthe USWCA websitewww.uswca.org (underheading for bonspiels), orcontact All-AmericanCommittee Chair GloriaMartino at all-american@uswca.org.

Look for the winners ofthis 2009-10 season’sevents to be published inthe U.S. Curling News. Anewspaper article suitablefor framing!

by Gloria Martino,All-American Chairwoman

Training clinic draws 80 New England curlers

ifty-year-old NutmegCurling Club inBridgeport, Conn., hosted80 curling students from

across New England on a typicalfall weekend to learn the proven“BalancePlus Delivery Technique”invented by international trainer,Lino Di Iorio. Di Iorio has workedwith world curling championteams and has taught curlers andcoaches in Canada, Denmark,Italy, Norway, Russia, Scotland,Sweden, and the United Statessince 1999.

Nutmeg Curling Club invited DiIorio to be a guest speaker uponthe recommendation of Patti Lank,world silver medalist. Addressinga room of Olympic junior hopefulsand GNCC club representatives inthe spring of 2009, Lank stronglyurged those who want to be com-petitive to gain an understandingof Di Iorio’s BalancePlus DeliveryTechnique.

Over the course of four days,participants gathered in smallgroups for a combination of lec-ture and on-ice practice.Participants came away with anappreciation of how curling con-tinually improves as equipmentadvances and science providesnew insights.

The BalancePlus DeliveryTechnique accompanies Di Iorio’sadvancements in equipment andshoe design produced by the com-pany he founded, BalancePlus ofOntario, Canada.

For many years, Di Iorio hasbeen a technical curling coach forthe Scottish Institute of Sport,Curling Section, and has been atechnical curling coach for theItalian Curling Federation and hasaccompanied the Italian national

teams on several world andEuropean championships as theirtechnical coach. Teams, such asMarilyn Bodough (Canada), UlrikSchmidt (Denmark), TomasDufour (France), Pal Trulsen

(Norway), Dordy Norbi (Norway),Elisabet Gustafson (Sweden), andPatti Lank (USA) are just a few ofmany curlers for which Di Ioriohas performed delivery analyses.

by Megan Suslavich,For the USWCA

Lino Di Iorio teaches eager students (above and below) the BalancePlusDelivery Technique at the Nutmeg (Conn.) Curling Club .

Submitted photo

F

T

The Capital Curling Clubin Bismarck, N.D., is set tohost a junior bonspiel andcompetitive curling campOct. 23-25, which coincideswith Teachers’ Conventionin some states.

The event will drawteams from across theregion and Canada. Theevent features a pool-type,round robin format withtwo divisions – competitiveand developmental – toensure challenging games.

Concurrent with the bon-spiel will be the “NoBoundaries” Curling Camp.The No Boundaries conceptcombines top curlingcoaches and instructorsworking together to providea series of “training tracks”or “clinics.”

Clinics will be heldbetween bonspiel draws.This will allow the athleteto try the newly-learnedconcepts as soon as theclass is over. Cost for theevent is $60 per person,which covers the bonspiel,the clinics, and lunch anddinner both Friday andSaturday. Activities beginFriday morning. Athletesare asked to sign up asteams.

A block of rooms hasbeen reserved at theComfort Inn, 1030 EastInterstate Ave. in BismarckN.D. with a $72.40 rate pernight. Call 1-701-223-1911and ask for the room blockunder Capital Curling Club.

For more information,contact Dave Jensen at 701-258-0647, 701-258-5201 ordjensen@roughriderhard-woods.com.

Bismarck set to host junior campthis month

010 U.S. Olympicteam membersJohn Shuster(Duluth, Minn.)

and Natalie Nicholson(Bemidji, Minn.) have beennamed the 2009 USACurling Athletes of theYear. In the team category,the Brady Clark mixed rinkfrom Seattle earned the tophonors.

Both Shuster andNicholson have been nomi-nated to Team USA for the2010 Olympic WinterGames after winning the2010 U.S. Olympic TeamTrials for Curling inFebruary. This is the firsttime for both athletes to behonored as individuals.Shuster earned Team of theYear honors in 2006 whileNicholson twice has been amember of teams namedTeam of the Year (2004 and1997).

Shuster, 26, led his teamto a fifth-place finish at the2009 Ford World Men’sChampionship in his firstappearance as a skip.

“This award could havebeen given to anyone on theteam,” Shuster said. “Theyall had an incredible year.

It’s always nice to be recog-nized, but it is really a teamaward. It’s a tremendoushonor to be on the list withall those other greatcurlers.”

Shuster was a member ofthe first team to win anOlympic medal when PeteFenson’s rink won thebronze in 2006 in Torino.Shuster is a four-time U.S.men’s national champion, agold medalist at the 2007Winter World UniversityGames and the U.S. juniorchampion in 2004.

Nicholson, 33, was thetop ranked curler at the leadposition at the 2009Women’s World

Championship in SouthKorea, where theAmericans finished ninth.She is a seven-time U.S.women’s national championand two-time U.S. juniorwomen’s champion.

“It really was a surprise,”Nicholson said of theaward. “You never thinkabout winning this award,but it is really nice to behonored for all the hardwork you put in.”

While Nicholson had abusy year preparing forcompetitions she also wasswitching jobs, finishinggraduate school and caringfor her newborn daughter,Stella, with the support ofher husband, John, in hercorner. “He’s always sosupportive and of all mygoals whether it’s been withschool or curling. I’m verythankful for his support,”she said.

Nicholson and team-mates Debbie McCormick,Allison Pottinger, NicoleJoraanstad and alternateTracy Sachtjen won theirfourth straight national titlein February, a U.S. curlingrecord.

“It’s a team sport so toget honored individually isa little different,” she said.“I really feel like our teamdoes have something spe-cial and that we push eachother to make one anotherbetter. I know I’ve becomea better curler from playingwith them.”

Clark (Lynnwood,Wash.) and teammatesCristin Clark (Lynnwood,Wash.), Philip Tilker(Seattle) and Bev Walter(Seattle) won the 2009 U.S.mixed national title. TheClarks have won a total ofsix titles – five with Walter

at the lead position. Thiswas the first title for Tilker.Since the award was creat-ed in 1997, this is the firsttime a mixed team has beenhonored.

“I was pretty surprised tohear that we won. It’s quitean honor to be awardedteam of the year,” BradyClark said. “I’d neverthought too much about it.Every year I look to seewho the team of the year is.There are a lot of greatteams on that list.”

The Clarks also won theU.S. mixed doubles titlethis season and representedthe U.S. at the WorldMixed Doubles in Italy.

“Cristin and I have oftensaid how neat it is to have arun like we’ve had. To bethe first mixed team hon-ored is definitely special,”Clark said.

12 FALL 2009 CCeelleebbrraattiinngg 5500 yyeeaarrss –– 11995588--22000088

®

2009-10 USA CURLING NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP SITES

EVENT SITE DATE SIGN-UP DATEMixed Doubles National Championship Seattle Dec. 3-6* Oct. 29Junior M/W National Championships Bemidji, Minn. Jan. 23-30 Dec. 1Women’s Senior National Championships Cape Cod, Mass. Jan. 28-31* Dec. 17Men’s Senior National Championships Portage, Wis. Jan. 27-31* Dec. 17Men’s Qualifier

East Potomac, Md. Jan. 5-10* Nov. 19Midwest North Fargo-Moorhead, N.D. Jan. 5-10* Nov. 19Midwest South Mankato, Minn. Jan. 5-10* Nov. 19West Fairbanks, Alaska Jan. 5-10* Nov. 19

Women’s QualifierEast Nashua, N.H. Jan. 5-10* Nov. 19Midwest Green Bay, Wis. Jan. 5-10* Nov. 19West Fairbanks, Alaska Jan. 5-10* Nov. 19

Men’s Challenge Round Grafton, N.D. Feb. 4-7 *Women’s Challenge Round Janesville, Wis. Feb. 4-7*M/W National Championships Kalamazoo, Mich. March 6-13 Nov. 19M/W Club National Championships Madison, Wis. Feb. 20-27 Jan. 7Mixed National Championships Chicago March 20-27 Jan. 21

*The events marked with an asterisk are accordion in nature. The start and end dates are subject to changedepending on the number of teams playing at the event.

2009-10 OLYMPIC AND WORLD EVENTS

EVENT SITE DATE2010 Olympic Winter Games Vancouver, B.C., Canada Feb. 12-282010 World Junior Championships Flims, Switzerland March 5-142010 Paralympic Winter Games Vancouver, B.C., Canada March 12-212010 Ford World Women’s Championship Swift Current, Saskatchewan March 20-282010 World Men’s Championship Cortina, Italy April 3-112010 World Mixed Doubles Championship Chelyabinski, Russia April 15-242010 World Senior Championships Chelyabinski, Russia April 16-24

2009 top athletes, team announced

TOP 10 KUBLER-ROSS MODEL STAGES OFCURLING GRIEF

10] Denial: “There’s no way I could have missed thattakeout.”

9] More Denial: “As God is my witness, there’sabsolutely no freakin’ way I could have missed thattakeout!”

8] Anger: “Damned crummy ice!”

7] Much More Anger: “Stupid, lousy, worthless mis-matched rocks!”

6] Bargaining: “It must have picked. Don’t you think?”

5] Sincere & Concerted Bargaining: “No, seriously. Itreally must have picked. Surely, all of you saw it grabright out of my hand. You cannot possibly have missedthat.”

4] Depression: “I have failed as a curler.”

3] Extreme Depression: “I have disgraced and dishon-ored myself in front of my fellow athletes, the UnitedStates Curling Association, and the entire curlingworld. I am the lowest form of life.”

2] Acceptance: “From now on, I should only playlead.”

1] Ultimate Acceptance: “Better yet, I shall be relegat-ed to permanent fifth player status and be fated to duti-fully carry the broombag, sit behind the glass, purchaseappropriate post-game beverages for all competitorsand coaches alike, wash and polish the team van, andgenerally grovel at the feet of my far superior team-mates whose esteemed presence I am not worthy to bein.”

– Richard Maskel

2by Terry Kolesar, Editor

Team Clark (l-r) Brady Clark, Cristin Clark, Philip Tilker andBev Walter.

Nicholson Shuster

CCeelleebbrraattiinngg 5500 yyeeaarrss –– 11995588--22000088 FALL 2009 13

®

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

Date TypeOCT. 16–18Kettle Moraine, WI–The Stan MPhiladelphia, PA–Mid-Atlantic WPotomac, MD–Inaugural ORice Lake, WI–Curl for a Cure OSt. Paul, MN–Cashspiel M

OCT. 23–25Anchorage, AK–Rookie OBismarck, ND–Thin Ice JCape Cod, MA–Bog OChicago, IL–Inaugural ORochester, NY–Big Pumpkin O

OCT. 30-NOV. 1Capital, ND–Early Bird OKettle Moraine, WI–Fall Fling WMadison, WI–Halloween O

NOV. 6–8Blackhawk, WI–First Chance WBowling Green, OH WDenver, CO–Denver Open ODuluth, MN–Cashspiel MWGrand Forks, ND–Early Bird ORacine, WI–Invitational MSchenectady, NY–Carosella WWauwatosa, WI–Inaugural Stick St

NOV. 13–15Broomstones, MA–Mixed Doubles XDExmoor, IL XGrafton, ND–Concurrent OMayfield, OH–Chris Moore Trophy MPortage, WI–Curl for a Cure OSt. Paul, MN XDWausau, WI–First Chance O

NOV. 20-22Broomstones, MA JItasca, MN–Widow’s ‘Spiel WMankato, MN–Harvest OPhiladelphia, PA OSchenectady, NY–Achilles MWaupaca, WI–Blaze Orange W

NOV. 27–29St. Paul, MN–Fireball 500 O

DEC. 4–6Appleton, WI–Holly Hog XCenterville, WI JChicago, IL–Old Boys SMFargo-Moorhead, ND OGrand Forks, ND SWMadison, WI–International Cashspiel CMayfield, OH–Women’s One Day WNutmeg, CT–Crystal Snowflake W

DEC. 11-13Anchorage, AK–Christmas ‘Spiel O

Appleton, WI–Holly Hog XBemidji, MN JColumbus, OH OCurl Mesabi, MN (Eveleth) CDetroit, MI–Senior One Day (12/12) SExmoor, IL–Continental MLake Region, ND–Northern Lights OMadison, WI JOwatonna, MN–Dr. McGillicuddy OPhiladelphia, PA JSchenectady, NY–10 & Under OSt. Paul, MN–Jack McCann 40+ MWaupaca, WI SM

DEC. 18–20Stevens Point, WI–Cashspiel O

2010JAN. 1–3Coyotes, AZ (Scottsdale)–All American WGrand Forks, ND–New Year’s O

JAN. 8-10Appleton, WI–Men’s Invitational MChicago, IL–Gloamin’ WDetroit, MI–Men’s International MDuluth, MN–Bruce Bennett 40+ MEau Claire, WI OLodi, WI MMarshfield, WI WMilwaukee, WI XPhiladelphia, PA–Cracked Bell OSt. Paul, MN–Cold Cash WWausau, WI–Tietge High School JWillmar, MN–New Year O

JAN. 14–16Broomstones, MA MChesapeake, MD–Funspiel OChicago, IL MItasca, MN JPortage, WI–Junior Bonspiel JPotomac, MD JRice Lake, WI XUtica, NY–Mitchell MWausau, WI–Highlander’s W

JAN. 22–24Blackhawk, WI (Janesville) XCenterville, WI SXSt. Paul, MN–Winter Carnival XTwo Harbors, MN–Men’s International MUtica, NY–Empire State WWillmar, MN–U-18 J

JAN. 26–27Itasca, MN S

JAN. 27–28Milwaukee, WI W

JAN. 29–31Albany, NY–Governor’s Bowl MArlington, WI MBroomstones, MA–Little Rockers JChesapeake, MD–GNCC Sr. Men’s SMChicago, IL WMankato, MN M

Medford, WI–Badger Women’s WSchenectady, NY OTwo Harbors, MN OWaupaca, WI M

FEB. 5–7Cape Cod, MA JCenterville, WI WCurl Mesabi, MN XDetroit, MI–Ladies One Day (2/7) WKettle Moraine, WI (Hartland) XMadison, WI XMilwaukee, WI MMinot, ND–George Killians XOwatonna, MN–Miller Lite OSt. Paul, MN–Ranger OWausau, WI–Badger State Games WMJX

FEB. 12–14Broomstones, MA–Francis Dykes MCenterville, WI XDetroit Lakes, MN–Vern Turner ODuluth, MN–International MWGrand Forks, ND WItasca, MN–Sweetheart’s XMadison, WI–State High School JMarshfield, WI MRacine, WI XRice Lake, WI MSchenectady, NY–USWCA National WSt. Paul, MN–Kyle Satrom JWausau, WI M

FEB. 19–21Arlington, WI SMCopper Country, MI–Copperspiel ODetroit, MI XFargo-Moorhead, MN XGreen Bay, WI MPortage, WI SUtica, NY–Cobb XWaltham, IL M

FEB. 23–24Chicago, IL–Heathers W

FEB. 26–28Albany, NY–Dutch Shoe WAnchorage, AK–Fur Rondy OCenterville, WI MDuluth, MN–Bert Payne JKettle Moraine, WI XMankato, MN WMayfield, OH–Evergreen XSchenectady, NY–Kayser 5 & Under XSt. Paul, MN M

MARCH 5–7Appleton, WI–Two-Man Stick (3/6) StColumbus, OH WGrafton, ND WKettle Moraine, WI JMarshfield, WI XSchenectady, NY JTri City, WI–Tri City Men’s MVikingland, MN–Runestone OWaltham, IL X

MARCH 12–14Arlington, WI SMDuluth, MN–Dunlop XGrafton, ND MGreen Bay, WI–Shamrock XItasca, MN–Gopher State WLake Region, ND–High School JLodi, WI–St. Patrick’s Day XPortage, WI–Alumni OSchenectady, NY–Gordon Emmett MStevens Point, WI MWillmar, MN–Olympic Novice O

MARCH 19–21Aksarben, NE–Irish OCenterville, WI SMCurl Mesabi, MN MGrand Forks, ND MGreen Bay, WI JItasca, MN–State High School JKettle Moraine, WI MNutmeg, CT–Golden Handle MUtica, NY–Child’s Challenge W

MARCH 26–28Blackhawk, WI MBroomstones, MA JGrafton, ND XItasca, MN OLake Region, ND XMankato, MN–Bunny OMinot, ND–Shirtsleeve OPotomac, MD–Cherry Blossom OStevens Point, WI XTwo Harbors, MN X

APRIL 9–11Anchorage, AK OGreen Bay, WI XHibbing, MN–Last Chance M

APRIL 23–25Coyotes, AZ (Scottsdale)–Desert Ice O

MAY 28–30Hollywood, CA–Summer Blockbuster OSan Francisco, CA–Golden Gate O

JUNE 4–6Great Smoky Mountains, TN O

JULY 1–4Pittsburgh, PA–TropiCurl O

JULY 8–11Cape Cod, MA X

JULY 11–14Cape Cod, MA W

JULY 16–18Cape Cod, MA MGreen Bay, WI O

AUG. 6–8Green Bay, WI O

ACF&Mdonationsaccepted

Donations to theAmerican 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.

2009-10ChampionshipRules Booklet

onlineCopies of the 2009-10

USA Curling Champion-ship Rules Booklet can nowbe downloaded from theUSA Curling website,www.usacurl.org/usacurl.

New championship

proceduresannounced

There will be two signifi-cant changes this year inthe area of championships.One that affects all partici-pants is the incentive forearly registration. A teamwill receive a $20 discounton its registration fee bysigning up at least a weekin advance of the deadline.The staff hopes that thiswill reduce the rush on thedeadline day, and allowthem to process registra-tions more efficiently andquickly.

For the Men's andWomen's championships,there is a change in howqualifier and challenge slotswill be awarded to each ofthe qualifier sites.Previously we allocatedslots based on the numberof teams that signed up foreach site. That method didnot necessarily get all ofour strongest teams to thenationals, especially if toomany of the top teamscrowded into one site.

This year, the slots willbe allocated based on thestrength of field at eachsite. Each team will beasked to rank the top 12teams in the entire field.That peer seeding will thenbe used to detemine thestrength of field at eachsite, and will be the basisfor the assignment of quali-fier and challenge slots.

For details on both ofthese changes, see the pub-lished rules on the USCAweb site.

Knowing roles can lead to team success

he new season isnearly here andteams are identi-fied, on the way to

being complete or in theprocess of finalizing whattheir line-ups will be. Thisarticle concentrates onteams that are newlyformed this season.

Teams that have beentogether can still use thesetips and it’s worth remem-bering that most teamsunderperform so it mightuseful for all teams to con-sider the Top 10 Tips forTeams in 2010.

Tip #1 Decide whetherthe level of commitment todoing things that help teamperformance is there or not.

Tip #2 Start with the endin mind and determine whatyour team is striving to

accomplish and work back-wards, setting your goals inreverse order until you getall the way to your weeklyand daily routines.

Tip #3 Determine howthe team will measure itsperformance in practice andin matches.

Tip #4 Decide and docu-ment how the team will rec-ognize any changes it made

to from what it used to dothat now works better.

Tip #5 Outline team, unit(front end, back end, skip &vice) and individual rolesand responsibilities.

Tip #6 Agree to whatteam behaviors will be usedat different types of eventson and off the ice.

Tip #7 Put your teamsystems in place. Decidehow you will approachwarm-up, time pressure,time outs, post-game meet-ings, travel, logistics andfeed forward strategies.

Tip #8 Use a 5:1 ratio ofpositive and supportivecomments and statementsto every single negativecomment and statement.The result will be a moremotivating environment forplayers.

Tip #9 Rotate roles in the

team periodically duringlow-key events to learn dif-ferent things about every-one on the team and to seethings slightly differently toemphasize learning.

Tip #10 Don’t be slavishto the culture of curling.Respect it and compete atyour team’s best.

Any team using a selec-tion of these tips will likelyhave more fun and a higherlevel of consistency thanteams that do not.

Few teams are able tocommunicate candidly andopenly and even fewer canpredictably play at their toplevel consistently againsttough competition.

Whilst teams have thechance before the season towork things out, why notdecide how to work as ateam and give it a shot.

T

By John Coumbe-LilleyUSA Curling sports

psychology consultant

innesota’s PhillDrobnick(Duluth) andTim Muller

(Hibbing) have been select-ed as 2009 Coach of theYear and DevelopmentalCoach of the Year, respec-tively, by USA Curling’sCoaching Committee.

Drobnick, selected earli-er this year to coach themen’s 2010 Olympic curl-ing team, is the first back-to-back recipient of theCoach of the Year award,having won in 2008.Drobnick, 28, had a busyseason coaching the ChrisPlys junior team as well asAileen Sormunen’swomen’s team. With thePlys rink, he assisted theteam in capturing the stateand national title – thefourth in a row for Plys.

The team would go on towin bronze at the 2009World JuniorChampionships. The Plysrink, which included Plys(Duluth, Minn.), AandersBrorson (Duluth), MattPerushek (Eveleth, Minn.)and Matt Hamilton(McFarland, Wis.), alsoqualified for the 2010 U.S.Olympic Team Trials forCurling, making Plys theyoungest skip in the field atage 21. Drobnick pulled

double duty at the OlympicTrials, as Sormunen’s teamalso qualified. Earlier in theseason he traveled withboth teams on the WorldCurling Tour in preparationfor playdowns.

“I am honored to benamed coach of the yearagain. There are a lot ofdeserving coaches out therewho put a lot of coachinginto their teams who alsodeserve this award,” saidDrobnick, who last year led

the Plys rink to the firstworld junior men’s title forthe U.S. since 1984.

“The award factors moreinto what we did last year.It was a long year and theyput a lot of work into it. Weplayed two out of everythree weekends…I proba-bly over-trained them abit,” he said. “They playedfrom January through themiddle of March at a highlevel of competition, whichis tough for any team to do.The way the guys handledit and the hard work theyput into it was capped offwith a bronze...it was quitean accomplishment forthem.”

Drobnick works as a pro-bation officer with St.Louis County in Minnesota.He’s had a busy summerworking with the men’sOlympic team, whichincludes Plys as the alter-nate, at seven high perform-

ance training camps. Theteam is currently competingin Switzerland.

“I’m really looking for-ward to the upcoming sea-son with the men’sOlympic team. They’vebeen working hard all sum-mer to prepare forVancouver,” Drobnick said.

Muller coached theMinnesota team of AaronWald (Hibbing), Josh Bahr(Bemidji, Minn.), JaredZezel (Hibbing) and JohnMuller (Hibbing) to a run-ner-up finish to the Plysrink at the 2009 U.S. JuniorNational Championships.This was the team’s thirdappearance at JuniorNationals with Muller ascoach. The team hasshowed steady improve-ment in those three years,improving on fifth- andsixth-place finishes with thesilver this season. The teamalso competed in the quali-fying round of the 2010Olympic Trials but did notadvance to the next round.

“First of all, they are agreat bunch of kids to bearound. They have workedhard. We have made somechanges over the last threeyears, some easy and somedifficult. I have received alot of satisfaction watchingthem mature into the youngmen they are today, both onand off the ice,” Mullersaid. “I also could not askfor a better group of parentsto have at my side. Mywife, Chris, and the otherparents put in a lot of workbehind the scenes that helpmake this team successful.We have received a greatdeal of support from ourlocal businesses and com-munity, both curlers andnon-curlers alike. PaulVendetti and the HibbingCurling Club membershiphave been there wheneverwe needed help.”

This is the first timeMuller has been honored asUSA Curling’sDevelopmental Coach ofthe Year. “This is certainlya great honor. Just to beincluded in this list alongwith those who havealready received it, is spe-cial,” he said. “When youlook at the current group ofelite athletes competingtoday, as some of them turntheir talents and experienceto coaching, it will be excit-ing to see the names on thislist in the future.”

Muller is employed withL&M Radiator, Inc., inHibbing, Minn., as thecompany’s network admin-istrator for all the plants inNorth America. He also isemployed by Hibbing HighSchool as the assistantcoach for the boys juniorvarsity team. A native ofHibbing, he began curlingin seventh grade.

14 FALL 2009 CCeelleebbrraattiinngg 5500 yyeeaarrss –– 11995588--22000088

®

Great Smoky MountainsOpen

The Dave Ellis Rink from Milton,Ontario, won the fifth annual RockyTop Open Bonspiel played in Knoxville,Tenn. Here are the results:1EW—Milton, Ontario: Dave Ellis,Kimberly Shea, Margie Ragsdale, CalebDyer1ERU—Milton, Ontario: Bob Hawley,Marilyn Pickett, Peter McLaughlin,Linda Baron

PoynetteOpen

The 2009 Spring ‘Spiel was hostedby the Poynette (Wis.) Curling Club onMay 15-17. Here are the results:1EW—Madison: Matt Hamilton,Andrew Gilbertson, Marcus Fonger,Tom Juszczyk1ERU—Madison/Green Bay: MarkSwandby, Richard Maskel,Rebecca/Tim Funk, Walt Erbach2EW—Pardeeville/Chicago: PeteMcCormick, John Reid, Mike Ward,Greg Sorenson2ERU—Madison/Green Bay: JeremyRoe, Brian Wolff, Dan Eernisse, BrendaLuebke 3EW—Madison/Poynette: Pat Roe,Mark Hartman, Tom Gabower, MarkKretzmann3ERU—Madison: Steve Day, MikeKrajewski, Eric Albers, Hannah Gaines

PittsburghOpen

The 2009 TropiCurl took place July2-5 at the Pittsburgh Curling Club. Hereare the results:1EW—Richmond Hill: Dennis Moretto,Bruce Gillispie, Peter DiClemente, BethWoolnough1ERU—Potomac: Sean Murray, MelissaFox, Nick Datlowe, JeremyVandenhouten2EW—Hamilton/Victoria: John Scott,Judy Scott, Jim Neales, ChristinaNeales2ERU—Marshfield: Dennis Jacobsen,Tanya Jacobsen, Conor Mulvey, DustinJacobsen3EW—Madison: Jon Crumm, MarkTyler, Bill Buckingham, BillBuckingham, Sr.3ERU—Potomac: David Baxter, ScottFairley, Monique Neaves , SherriFillingham4EW—Granite: Mark Curtis, SusanCurtis, Dave Longbrake, MarthaLongbrake4ERU—Pittsburgh: Andrew Rydholm,Fiona Shearer, Paul Hannan, BrianBerger5EW—Tam Heather: Jay Epping, KarenSmith, Steve Smith. Scott Collins5ERU—Pittsburgh: Rich Ashford, KeithScott, Al Tarkka, Jacki Temple

Winners of the Cape Cod Women's Bonspiel from the CanadianClub of Boston were Kay Ham, Jennifer Tschumakow, JoslinMurphy and Ann Viele.

Winners of the Hollywood Curling Club’s Blockbuster Bonspielwere (l-r) Ben Womack, Mark Rubey and Charles Taggart.

Winners of the Cape Cod Men’s Bonspiel from Boston were (l-r) Sam Williams, Pete Rosetti, Scott Olson and Andy McKellips.

Winners of the Cape Cod Mixed Bonspiel were Cape Cod’s (l-r)Joe Cammarano, Cathy Offinger, Ken Thomson and VirginiaBristol.

Minnesota’s Drobnick, Muller named top coachesby Terry Kolesar, Editor

MDrobnick Muller

CCeelleebbrraattiinngg 5500 yyeeaarrss –– 11995588--22000088 FALL 2009 15

®

Thank you to our loyal donors!Thank you to the following

donors who helped the USCA’spin program in the 2008-09 sea-son:

ALASKAFairbanks:

Rich, Leland TAT-LARGE

Dallas-Fort WorthFarr, Janet B

GRAND NATIONALREGION

Broomstones:Chandler, Robert BClaflin IV, William BCousins, Grayland BKelly, Marty BSecor, David B

Nashua:Krailo, Gwen B

Merrimack ValleyKrailo, Gwen B

Lake PlacidBrown Garcia, Michelle BGarcia, Eugene BMcKernan, Amber BHanna, Robert B

PhiladelphiaKaiser, Andy BMerry, Allen BVan Schonni, Rob BWolff, Gregg BWheeler, Mark G

PotomacLeonard, Robert $500Pelletier, Robert BS

GREAT LAKES REGIONMayfield

Appel, Joel & Sally SBammel, Brian & Pat BBellamy, Bob BBernosky, Cindy & James May BSBotros, Allie BBusch, Ron & Wendy BChaney, Jim & Jeannie SChisholm, Henry & Sally BBCollins, Scott & Kathy BCooke, Bruce & Elin BCooke, Tom & Leslie BCoolidge, Mark & Dianne BDedolph, Doug & Rita BDoloff, Matt BDrake, Rick & Cheryl BForsythe, Bill & Paula TGreene, Estay & Rebecca S

Groen, Albert BHanson, Gary BHorn, Deb & Roger Meredith BBHumphrey, Bob BKnabel, Wayne & Marla BBKosmin, Mindy SKunkel, Bob & Brenda SLavertu, Pierre BLewandowski, Jan & Kristine SLindsay, Dan BLoveland, Gordon & Lisa BLowry, Ashley BMaisonville, Dan & Mary Jane BMiller, Ned & Lynn SMitchell, Jerry BNantell, Tom & Marcia Hurt BNovak, Joe & Liz BBParis, Peter & Jane BPeckinpaugh, Roger & Martha SPoe, Jeff SRiehl, Charles & Kersti BRoberts, Gary & Kathy BRoenigk, Kristen BRosenfeld, Buzz & Susie BSah, Byron & Jill Renee BSasak, Ed & Kelly SSchilz, Robert BSchmidt, Dan BSchmidt, Dan & Courtney GShaw, Lynn SSmith, Don SSobeck, Jeff & Erin Smith BTortorelli, Gerry & Susan BTschudy, Jim & Jane Van Vilet SVanic, Gary & Anne BVespoli, Wayne & Lynde BWebb, Bill BWilen, Jenna BWroblewski, Dave & Jacki SYoung, Kent & Eloise BZimmerman, John & Pat S

ILLINOISChicago

Anderson, Andy TIn memory of Jane Anderson BAnderson, Scott BArnold, Paul & Marcia $25Arntz, Willa G

Bennett, Susan BBerlin, Larry GBerman, Jody BBernauer, Jack TBloss, Bob BBoyd, Doug SBuchanan, Ron SBurmeister, Monica BBurnett, Mal BCahill, Dan & Ellen GCarlson, Steve BCleave, Carol GCooley, Nancy BCrawford, Craig BDavis, Ed & Linda SDuerwachter, Dave BDuffy, Betty BDunbeck, Joe BFields, Mary GFriese, Jim BGeake, David BBBBGrube, Larry BHager, Cheryl SHaverick, David SHolmes, Richard BHuber, Irv BJohnson, Judith BJohnson, Larry BJones, Alison $100Jones, Mike & Kim SKehoe, Bob BKish, Steve BKitchen, Skip BKuhn, Bob BLove, Mike BMacDonald, Jim BMadden, John BMawicke, Hank $100McDonald, Susan BMiller, Jim BMoore, Tom TNiehus, Grant $25Phillips, Dick $50Porter, Alicia BPorter, Morgan $100Rand, Don BReese, Michelle SReid, John BRittgers, Colin SRoob, Ed SSlabas, Stan TSweeney, Paul GThompson, Phil STray, Steurt STruskowski, John B

Urevig, Dick & Lucie Dumas BWilde, Dick BWulfekuhle, Jack $50Yanis, Lloyd S

ExmoorAlsteen, Bob & Janet SAnderson, Chip SArmstrong, Russ & Leslie GBeckwith, John & Joanne TBinder, Paul BBrichard, Ken & Rachael BBrown, Larry & Ann SBrown, Ken & Amy SBrown, Russ SBuntrock, Gordon BCalaway, Jim & Marcy GCrawford, Bob & Anneliese BGoldman, StephenGriem, Mike & Peggy GGroover, Ken & Bobbie SGross, Katy BHartwell, David & Amy BHatch, Steve & Leslie SHelt, Art & Dianne BJohansson, Nils TKadleck, Joe SKanairs, Peter & Katie GKohn, Bob SKovach, Joe & Peggy SKugman, Eileen SLindsey, Gary BMcNeill, Vince & Dainee GMcClintic, Bill SMoulton, Bob & Deb BMurray, Steve BMurray, William & Patty BPicchietti, Pixie BPyle, Angela SRahn, Scott & Laurie GRyan, John & Rosemary BSchallmo, Chris & Tammie BShaw, Beth SSilver, Sean & Ann Swisshelm GSmith, James BStevenson, Sandy S Swisshelm, Bill & Nancy GVan Vuren, Roger & Sue BWalsh, Robert BWaters, Steve GWest, Henry & Georgia $500Wright, Jeff SWright, Jeff SZander, Harry S

WalthamClark, Harvey & Dee B

Klinefelter, Kyle BOlson, Kent BOlson, Maurice BPuckett, Rachel BRaley, Rachel BScharlau, Bev & Don BSchomas, Mary Lou BVaughn, Dean & Ann BVaughn, Robb BVaughn, Will BWilson, Alan BWilson, Jane & Dave BWhitake, Sidney BWalsh, Tim BYednock, Lance BYednock, Twila B

MINNESOTACurl Mesabi

Bonner, Jennifer BNewman, Jim BPearsall, John BWeappa, Cheryl B

DuluthStatzell, Donna BB

Heather-MapletonSolie, Tim & Lee SSt. PaulAbraham, Dennis SAnderson, Harold SBernet, Vincent BDexter, Jim BEssling, Ann BEustice, John BFarbelow, Mike BGibbs, Dale BLutgens, Thomas GMarkley, Hugh BMiller, John BNunber, Aaron SO’Neil, Mike BRuohonen, Arthur BRuohonen, Rich BSerier, John BSeverson, Cindy BSmith, Marjorie BSolin, Tim BWillmert, Mark BOlson, Ken BBeadle, Kent B

MOUNTAIN-PACIFICCoyotes

Desbien, Dwain BGallagher, Greg SHuntress, Carroll BMcGrady, Hal B

Naso, Carol BNelson, Carl SShaw, Theresa BTait, Karen BZimmerman, Shari B

Wine CountryTabuchi, Patrick BFeist, Wendy BWagner, Fran BKuhl, Bob BMarkowski, David BHartman, Alice B

NORTH DAKOTACapital

Cleary, Bill BDaley, Mike BHendrickson, Robbin BHiemenz, Greg BOwen, Wally BPicard, Chuck BReiser, Cullen BReiser, Jeff BSambor, Ken BSchmidt, Dwayne B

WASHINGTONGranite

Sorenson, Charles & Linda BRadmer, Lisa & Jay BSeiser, Mark & Karen BHaff, Thomas & Melody BSmith, Charles BWood, Jim BMiller, Barb B

WISCONSINAnonymous T

Kettle MoraineFlemming, Robert BMaier, Judy TSharkus, Craig BStevenson, Edward & Carol S

MadisonSwandby, Mark & Toni $300

PoynetteBoutwell, Phillip BBoutwell, Shelly BCarlson, David GCarlson, Jan GHavlik, Paul SRoe, Dick B

Stevens PointGarber, David B

Guide:Bronze (B): $40Silver (S): $80Gold (G): $125Team (T): $250

The Chris Moore Legacy Fundwas established earlier this springafter the former USCA president passaway. Donations received include:McInnes, Robert $100Jarrett, MM & JV $100Dobbins, Mark & Pamela $100Beckwith, John & Joanne $25Kuczmarski, Patricia $25Tellich, John $25Carlson, Bonnie $20Peet, John & Deborah $50Montgomery, Robert & Delores $100Hurley, James & Deanne $20Farner, Gordon & Jeanne $50Garber, David $100Hipp, George & Joanne $25Savett, Enid $25Novak, Joseph & Elizabeth $135Gherlein, Claudia & John $100Brown, Larry & Ann $50Meyer, Ann $50Melzer, Carl & Barbara $25Fruge, Don & Mary Ann $25Federal Reserve Bank Audit Dept. $60Silver, Sean & Ann $250Wixed, John & Carol $200Greiner, Mary Ann & Richard $50Hanscom, Richard & Francis $25Listerman, Bruce $50Groth, John $30Hill, Murray & Gerry $35Hackett, Phyllis $50Schmidt, Courtney & Daniel $50Knabel, Marla & Wayne $600Ohio Division of Financial Instit. $100Fulton, David $100Stevenson, Edward & Carol $25Zolidis, Michael & Nancy $50Farr, Janet $100Cooke, Thomas $25White, Robert & Mary Evelyn $50Conference of First Vice Pres. $1500Adams, Kelly $107Bellamy, Bob $100Bernosky, Cindy $190Botros, Karim & Allison $26Busch, Wendy & Ronald $60Chaney, James & Jean $15Collins, Scott $170

Corso, Jennifer $25Doershuk, Carol & marian $100Fox, Angela $160Goldsmith, Chris & Barbara $19Kosmin, Mindy $100Lavertu, Pierre & Christiane $950Lindsay, Daniel & Courtney $197Lowry, Ashley $30Maisonville, Daniel & Mary $295Maurer, Laurel $105Meredith, Roger $275Mitchell, Gerald $34Nantell, Thomas & Marcia Hurt $77Paris, Peter $90Poe, Robert & Mary $50Sah, Byron & Jill $62Schmidt, Courtney & Daniel $372Schreiber, Donna $70Tortorelli, Gerald & Susan $290Tschudy, James &Jean Van Vilet-Tschudy $150Vespoli, Wayne & Lynda $40Ferone, Allessandro & Jennifer $20Lewis, Elizabeth $60Loveland, Lisa & Gordon $20Bammel, Brian $100Vanic, Gary $25Rosenfeld, Susie $20Hicks, Mark $20Chisholm, Henry $100Zimmerman, John & Pat $20Cooke, Leslie $20Hogg, Richard & Francine $100Robinson, David & Sandra $50Moore, Marty $25Bernauer, John & Patricia $250Read family $100Wojdon, Dianne $10Mayfield Sand Ridge $100McMahon, Margaret $25Oliver, Leslie & Carl $100Turner, Thomas & Lisa $100Blackwell, W.E. $500Maier, Charles & Judith $50Redmond, Homer Everett $100Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland $355Smith, Donald & Beverly $200Stannard, Jennifer $100Findlay, Elizabeth $300Dickinson, Denny & Cathy $50Elgin Place Mall, Bill Hall $500

Online registration for the 2010 U.S.Mixed Doubles is now live on the USCAwebsite via the Compete-At links throughwww.usacurl.org. The sign-up deadline isOct. 29.

The host hotel for the event will be:Holiday Inn Express 14115 Aurora Ave. N Seattle, WA 98133

877-410-6667Phone (206) 365-7777Fax (206) 365-8888

Rooms are available Dec. 2-5 for $95 aday plus tax. Room choices are two queenstandard or a king leisure suite. The reser-vation deadline is Nov. 18 for this rate.When calling, mention Granite CurlingClub.

Registration open, host hotel finalizedfor 2010 U.S. Mixed Doubles

No Ice? No Problem forthe inaugural CacheSpiel!No. The title is not a typo.It really says “cache” vs.“cash.” This ‘spiel didn’tinvolve curling stones,brooms or even ice.Instead it involved familiesof treasure hunting curlerswith GPS’s taking eighthours to make the 30minute drive fromWatertown to Fort Atkinsonin central Wisconsin.

Instead of a curling com-petition, this was aGeoCaching competition.For those of you not famil-iar with GeoCaching it is asport where you search forhidden treasures, or caches,by using a GPS and the lati-

tude and longitude coordi-nates of the cache. You canget more information aboutthe sport atwww.GeoCaching.com.

This particular competi-tion started out inWatertown, Wis., wheremembers of three curlingclubs – Monroe, Janesvilleand Wauwatosa – all met ina local park at the coordi-nates for our first cache ofthe day. Once everyonearrived we all piled into ourown team vehicles andheaded off to find othercaches. This took teamsinto at least eight differenttowns where they found acombined total of morethan 50 different caches.

At the end of the day allthe teams met up for agroup dinner in Fort

Atkinson where the scoreswere tallied. Once all wassaid and done the team of“The Bonspielmans” &“JettPickett” were awardedthe beautifully crafted trav-eling trophy made by par-ticipant James Krutilla.

This event made for agreat time for all thoseinvolved and gave us theexcuse we all needed to gettogether in the off season.It also provided some veryquality family time as well.Of the 18 participants sevenwere between the ages of 4and 15. This event will takeplace again next summer,and we hope to includeeven more of our curlingfamily in the hunt. Formore information, pleasecontact me atBonsplr@sbcglobal.net.

From curling to geocachingby Ryan Spielman

16 FALL 2009 CCeelleebbrraattiinngg 5500 yyeeaarrss –– 11995588--22000088

¤