Curling News UNITED STATES
April 2012
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Volume 67 Number 4
Index Bonspiel Results.....16-18 College Curling..............5 Comics......................... 13 Curler’s Calendar......... 15 Letters..................... .......5 Member Services........... 3 Rocket Exhaust............ 15 Tales From Sheet 9........ 4 Training Tips................15 Tucked in the Back...... 19 USWCA News........... 6-8 Youth Corner..................3
Established 1945
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www.usacurl.org
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$2.50
Herries-Maxwell Trophy returns to USA
Inside Andy’s League............ P3 U18 Teams Set............ P3 Karst prevails.............. P7 Junior Medalists.......... P9 Champs crowned.. P10-11 Wheelchair Worlds.... P12 Handling pressure..... P13 Timing tips................ P15
Team USA captured the coveted Herries-Maxwell Trophy during the 2012 Scot Tour. To read the complete story about the 2012 Scot Tour and their adventures in Scotland, please see story on Page 14.
Curling 1, Blizzard 0 Connect with USA Curling on
A blizzard and an avalanche didn’t stop 10 members of the Boise Curling Club from making the trek northeast on Feb. 11 for a Learn to Curl event during the Stanley-Sawtooth Winterfest 2012 in Idaho. BCC member John Treinen (above) takes a coffee break during blizzard ice prep. To find out more about this journey, see story on Page 14. Submitted photo
Spring vote to determine USCA’s governance structure
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his Spring the 10 State and Regional Associations together with the At-Large clubs will be asked to vote on the proposed governance changes for the United States Curling Association (USCA). It is expected that the State and Regional Associations will meet
T H E
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S P O R T
ahead of time, at which the clubs in each of the states and regions will be asked to vote on the proposed governance changes. These changes as proposed are not insignificant in effect either on the structure of the USCA or for USCA’s future as a national governing body of the Olympic sport of curling.
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Distilled to its essence, the proposed changes in governance have two components. First is to acknowledge and reinforce that those who serve the USCA in elected positions do so consistent with the status of the USCA as an organization with a national perspective and responsibility. The second is to create a
F I T N E S S
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governance structure that supports a policy/strategic plan-focused Board and grants, clearly, operational authority to the paid staff headed by a Chief Executive Officer, and supported by volunteers.
See VOTE, Page 5
F I N E S S E
Curling News UNITED STATES
VOlUmE 67, No. 4
April 2012
Official publication of the United States Curling Association Editor — Terry Kolesar Associate Editor—Rick Patzke Emeritus Editor—David Garber Design: Terry Kolesar Next editorial deadline: April 27, 2012 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. The USCA and Curling News office is located at 5525 Clem’s Way, Stevens Point, WI 54482. Telephone 715-344-1199. Subscription price for non-USCA members: $16 per year (North America), $26 per year (overseas), payable in US currency. Single copy price: $2.50. Advertising rates on request. Established 1945. Periodicals postage paid at Waupaca, Wisconsin, and additional offices as requested. Postmaster sends address changes to U.S. Curling News, 5525 Clem’s Way, Stevens Point, WI 54482.
United States Curling Association Officers President Chris Sjue Vice Presidents Kent Beadle Dave Carlson Jerome Larson James Pleasants Treasurer Sean Silver Secretary Bob Pelletier Directors Paul Badgero [2012] Kent Beadle [2012] Craig Brown (AAC) [2012] Dave Carlson [2013] Maureen Clark (AAC) [2012] Gabrielle Coleman [2014] Lynita Delaney [2012] Janet Farr (USWCA) [2012] Dean Gemmell (AAC) [2012] Nancy Haggenmiller [2013] Peggy Hatch** [2014] Jonathan Havercroft [2013] Cyndee Johnson [2014] Gwen Krailo [2013] Jerome Larson [2012] Jan Legacie [2014]
Rich Lepping* [2012] Gordon Maclean [2013] Richard Maskel (AAC) [2012] Bob Pelletier [2012] James Pleasants [2013] Allison Pottinger (AAC) [2012] Leland Rich [2014] Sean Silver [2012] Chris Sjue [2013] Mark Swandby [2014] Ann Swisshelm (AAC) [2012] Beau Welling* [2012] Sam Williams [2014] * Board-elected ** Voice, no vote
USA Curling National Office 5525 Clem’s Way Stevens Point, WI 54482 Office: 715-344-1199 • Fax: 715-344-2279 E-mail: info@usacurl.org • Web site: www.usacurl.org CHIEF OPERATINg OFFICER: Rick Patzke, rick.patzke@usacurl.org DIRECTOR OF COmmUNICATIONS: Terry Kolesar, terry.kolesar@usacurl.org CONTROllER: Sandy Robinson, sandy.robinson@usacurl.org EVENT SERVICES mANAgER: Dawn Leurquin, dawn.leurquin@usacurl.org ADmINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT: Christy Hering, christy.hering@usacurl.org gROWTH & DEVElOPmENT mANAgER: Kim Nawyn, kim.nawyn@usacurl.org
Off-site staff: Director of Sport Education Scott Higgins 913-449-2933 • scott.higgins@usacurl.org
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APRIl 2012
USA Curling ... Dare to curl
Curling reunites military friends decades later I’m always in search of great “people stories.” You know, the kind that leave you thinking after you finish reading about them. Thinking about how you can make the world better or how you can better the people around you. Or, simply a story that brightens your day and gives you the warm fuzzies. This is likely why my newspaper career was cut short after four years of handling obituaries, troubling court cases and “hard” news. It wasn’t until I moved to the features desk that I found what I really enjoyed – the opportunity to share good, uplifting news stories. OK, stop reading now if you don’t want that kind of story. I’m going to tell it anyway. The 2012 World Wheelchair Championship concluded earlier this month in South Korea. Chuncheon City to be exact. This story isn’t about Team USA. It’s about Team USA’s coach, Steve Brown, and the story begins in 1971, when Brown was stationed in Korea as a member of the U.S. Army Medical Corps. While stationed there he met Chai Hyun Lim, who was assigned to Brown’s unit as a KATUSA (Korean Augmentation to the United States Army) – an interpretor, goodwill ambassador, problem-solver, and what they didn’t know upon first meeting – a lifelong friend. The KATUSA program began in 1950 during the Korean War as an unofficial agreement between the two nations that still exists today. While stationed in Korea, Brown and Lim became friends. “He took me to see the country; he
From the Editor’s Desk
Ideas? Complaints? Send your thoughts to Curling News Editor Terry Kolesar terry.kolesar@usacurl.org 715-344-1199, Ext. 202
taught me about Korea and we became very close friends,” Brown said. “He introduced me to other Koreans, took me to Korean baseball games and restaurants. He’s the one that made my life enjoyable while I was in the military. He kept me on the straight and narrow, and that’s why I have so much tremendous respect for him.” After returning to the U.S. the two new friends exchanged letters, and in 1980 they were reunited when Lim’s work as a banker brought him to New York City for a seminar. He contacted Brown and flew to Madison, Wis., to visit him. After that visit, the friends lost touch again. In 1995, Lim’s daughters attended Indiana State and Brown exchanged e-mails with the daughters and Lim, but never met up. Flash forward to 2011 and upon learning that the World Wheelchair Championship would be held in Korea, Brown tried in vain to get in touch with his long-lost friend. He
Director of High Performance Derek Brown derek.brown@usacurl.org US: +1 715-254-5024 • UK: +44 7793 099668
A special thanks to my friends Joanna Kelly and Daniel Parker from the World Curling Federation for catching on to this story and taping the interview between Brown and Lim.
ACF&M donations accepted
National Wheelchair Development Coach Steve Brown, steve@stevescurling.com National Wheelchair Curling Outreach Development Director Marc DePerno, mdeperno@sitrin.com
Donations to the American Curling Foundation and Museum, located in the Chicago Curling Club, can be sent to 555 Dundee Road, Northbrook, IL 60062. The curator is James Miller Jr., 847-272-7224.
Head Ice Technician Dave Staveteig 701-772-0705 • daveandbrenda@gfwireless.com
AmERICAN CURlINg FOUNDATION & mUSEUm The Museum is located at the Chicago Curling Club, 555 Dundee Road, Northbrook, IL 60062 CURATOR: James M. Miller Jr. 2011 Glendale Ave. Northbrook, IL 60062 847-272-7224 UNITED STATES WOmEN’S CURlINg ASSOCIATION OFFICERS PRESIDENT Maureen Guay FIRST VICE PRESIDENT Bridget Matzke SECOND VICE PRESIDENT Shelley Dropkin SECRETARY Mary Ann Hulme TREASURER Carolyn MacLeod USCA LIAISON Janet Farr PUBLIC RELATIONS Nancy Wilhelm PROMOTIONS Jennifer Stannard
found old mailing and email addresses but had no luck. He Googled his friend, but no luck. He even sent an Air Mail to the bank where he last knew Kim had worked, but didn’t hear anything back. Resigned, Brown sadly accepted that he may not see his friend while in Korea. Upon arrival for the event, however, he told his story to his translator, who quickly sped into action to re-connect the old friends. The translator contacted the personnel department at that same bank and they relayed the message to Lim that Brown was in Seoul and wanted to see him. A five-hour bus ride from Pusan later, and the two friends were reunited. “It’s pretty exciting to come back here again and to see him again,” Brown said. “It’s very emotional because he was such a good friend.” Brown’s joy was shared by Lim. “It’s exciting. I couldn’t sleep last night thinking about seeing him again,” he said. “I never thought we’d meet in Korea again. It’s kind of like a dream. I was surprised to get the phone call ... it’s really like a dream.” The two reunited friends, who shared a small part of their lives together more than 40 years earlier, spent the next few days together catching up and sharing the journeys they’ve both taken since meeting under unusual circumstances.
Two lifelong friends living worlds apart were reunited when Steve Brown (left), head coach for Team USA, and former KATUSA Chai Hyun Lim met in Korea in February while the 2012 World Wheelchair Championship was underway. Photo courtesy of the World Curling Federation
Is your copy of the Curling News going to the wrong address or missing altogether? Send updates and inquiries to Christy Hering at christy.hering @usacurl.org.
Curling News
USA Curling ... Dare to curl
APRIl 2012
UNITED STATES
gROWTH & DEVElOPmENT
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Your contact: Kim Nawyn, kim.nawyn@usacurl.org
U.S. teams set to compete at U18 in Toronto
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t’s been a busy month for the Roarin’ Game of Curling! By now most of the championships have been settled, which makes it a great time to turn the attention at your club to Bantam curling. Bantam curling covers two age categories, under 14 (U14) and under 18 (U18). Usually the younger groups play six-end games in an open format, and the older group plays eight ends in separate boys’ and girls’ divisions. These Bantam bonspiels are great fun and a great way to introduce competitive curling to kids in your youth curling programs. The logistics are easy. Simply call a friend at a neighboring club and put together a one-day ’spiel.
Youth Corner
By Dave Jensen, Chairman, USCA Youth Committee Speaking of Bantam curling, the teams that will represent the United
States at the Optimist International U18 bonspiel have been selected. The Optimist International U18 is the world championships of sorts in the Bantam curling world. Teams from every Canadian province, Japan, and the United States will compete this year April 4-8 at two curling clubs in Toronto, Ontario, in what is the largest Bantam bonspiel in the world. Participants from the United States in the past are some of the same names you now see in our men’s and women’s championships. This year’s teams are: girls michigan: Alexis Schroeder, Sidney Schroeder, Kayla Beauregard, Kaely Harmer Pennsylvania: Sarah Anderson,
Elizabeth Brundage, Taylor Anderson, Christine McMakin Wisconsin: Kathleen Dubberstein, Brittany Falk, Leilani Dubberstein, Madison Bear Boys minnesota: Tyler Running, Josh Moore, KC Dewar, Eric Jaeger Washington: Evan McAuley, Luc Violette, Nick Connolly, Blake Sweet Also attending the Optimist International will be the winner of a playoff between these two GNCC boys teams: Kent Suslavich, Joe Sipzner, Will Pryor and Andrew Dudt versus Darrel Dudt, Cameron Vike, Phillip Mack and Cody Clouser. Good luck and good curling to all our competitors at this great event!
Andy’s League aids Special Olympians
Certifications level I Instructor Ryan Brazell Al Campisano Linda C. Felice Hollis Felice James Figiel Mark R. Fisher Jacqueline Haynes Tim Hovre Adam Kapp Lonny Martin Aidan O'Dowd-Ryan Michael Petersen Susan Sims Dan White Sarah Wruck Re-certified level I Instructor Jay Watsky
Eager curlers and instructors have made Andy’s League, a curling league for athletes who participate in Special Olympics, a success at Midland.
by Gregg Young, Midland Curling Club
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n an experiment sponsored by The Dow Chemical Company, Chemical Bank, and Tim Hortons, the Midland Curling Club has established Andy’s League, a curling league for athletes who participate in Special Olympics, along with their families, friends, and staff. The goal is to discover the level of interest, and to determine if curling could be a viable Special Olympics sport in Michigan. The league is named for Andy Young, a 23-year-old Special Olympian who has been curling with a stick for six years as part of the Midland Curling Club’s Sunday afternoon Youth Program. When local parents learned of Special Olympics International’s interest in making as many Olympic sports as possible become Special Olympics sports, and of USA Curling’s interest in that concept as well, an effort was born to try it in Midland. At the end of the 2010-11 season, the organizers invited Andy and several other Special Olympians of high and low functionality from the area to try curling with the stick and no sweeping in a two-hour experiment. The athletes got comfortable
on the ice, learned the basics, threw a few practice stones, and then played a quick four-end game. The score was 4-3. The first-timers went from being nervous about getting on the ice to not wanting to get off. The concept was feasible. The summer was spent getting sponsors to cover the costs and making all the arrangements for a regular league time. (Special Olympics is funded 100 percent by donations. The athletes are never charged to participate. The experiment needed sponsors if curling was ever to become a Special Olympics activity.) The Dow Chemical Company, one of the global corporate sponsors of the Olympics, took the lead because this developmental effort supported their global commitment to the Olympics and Special Olympics. Chemical Bank and Tim Hortons followed Dow’s lead as part of their community outreach efforts that include support of Special Olympics. Now, as the 2011-12 season comes to an end, Andy’s League has made great progress. Thirty-four athletes, 17 family members, and 10 staff and support people have tried curling, all but two for the first time. Enthusiasm is high. Two of the club’s four sheets are full every time, with instruction taking place on a third sheet.
The most rewarding thing has been seeing how excited these new curlers are, and that they are actively recruiting their friends to get involved. Once the athletes try curling, they love it. Some of the most enthusiastic participants are the people who were most nervous before they tried it. It bodes well for the future. We hope this is just the beginning. There is a large population of potential curlers in every community who would enjoy the game if only they knew about it and could try it. It simply requires a partnership between the local club, one or more sponsors, and an organizer who wants to get people with intellectual or other disabilities involved. The ARC of Midland and Kiwanis Aktion Club, two other organizations for people with disabilities, are using Andy’s League to learn more about curling for their members. The Lewiston Curling Club is also interested in starting a program in their area. The goal for next year is to expand the program to other clubs. For more information on Andy's League, and how you might get a program started in your area, please contact Gregg Young at gregg@youngassocinc.com or by phone at 989-839-9792 (H) or 989492-2029 (C).
level II Instructor Al Campisano Lenore Collins Barbara J. Klug Edward Klug Michael Petersen level I Official Kim Belf Jim Freund Daniel Grady Bill Hutt Andy Kaiser Ann Kirkpatrick Jeffrey Lee Gina Micek Alison Piatt Cathy Ritter Kimberly Sawyer Diane Scheunemann Colin Simpson Charles L. Skinner Jeff Thompson Clarence A. Topp Tim Widdowson Gregg Wolff level II Official Kim Belf Craig Evans Daniel Grady Martin Kelly Ann Kirkpatrick Jeffrey Lee Have certification materials to turn in? Contact Kim Nawyn at 715-344-1199, Ext. 203 or via e-mail at kim.nawyn@usacurl.org.
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Curling News UNITED STATES
APRIl 2012
USA Curling ... Dare to curl
Art of icemaking redefined in cold Eau Claire
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found myself glued to my laptop watching (new glam star) Tuck and others on the webstream of the USCA Nationals from Philadelphia. Those involved combined to make the show professional and interesting: athletes, coaches, ice makers, the local organizing committee, officials, timers, statisticians and USCA staff. The quality of the audio and video was terrific, with multiple cameras and views of all five sheets. 12th End Sports, the producers, are to be commended. This expanded nationals coverage, with over 1,000 people watching much of the time, is a good omen for more of the same for fans. Eau Claire Bob Fuller of the Eau Claire, Wis., Curling Club recently shared historical information with the Curling News. The original Eau Claire Curling Club was founded in 1876. The founding documents specified the club would operate under the rules of the Grand National Curling Club of
Tales From Sheet Nine
David Garber, dj.garber@charter.net
America (the same as the present-day GNCC). Each member agreed to own a pair of curling “blocks” and a broom, and to attend two meetings a month for the purpose of “practicing.” Those who did not own curling blocks could procure them “by inquiring of Frank Pulley at Railway Hotel, North Eau Claire.” Eau Claire was a lumber town. Presumably a curling
block was made of wood, with a handle attached. The original club evidently faded away, refounded in 1956 as the Indianhead Curling Club, with naturally cooled ice, in the county fairgrounds, like some other Wisconsin clubs then, e.g., Rice Lake, Wausau and a modern example, Superior. A club house, a third sheet and refrigeration were added during the 1970s. The present four-sheet facility was built in 1995, the effort led by Geoff Goodland and Doug Ottum. About that time, the name was changed back to Eau Claire Curling Club. Since 2001, membership has increased from about 100 to over 300, due in part, according to the club’s website, to Olympic Winter Games exposure. The late Bernie Bernicke, a founding member in 1956, kept a detailed log that explains the pains of making ice without artificial refrigeration, which he did for about two decades. It took him over 100 floods, in part because
Championship season continues across the globe As this issue of the U.S. Curling News went to press, two national championships and five world championships were still yet to be determined this season. The Mankato Curling Club will host 20 of the top curling teams in the U.S. as the 2012 USA Curling Club National Championships are contested March 3-10. At the same time, Team USA, led by Cory Christensen and Stephen Dropkin, hits the ice in Sweden at the 2012 World Junior Championships. The top 10 mixed teams will battle for the national title when the Portage Curling Club in Portage, Wis., plays host to the 2012 USA Curling Mixed National Championship March 17-24. At the same time, Allison Pottinger and Team USA will go for the gold at the 2012 Ford World Women’s Championship in Lethbridge, Alberta, March 17-25. Six U.S. teams will compate in the U18 International Optimist Bonspiel April 4-8 in Ontario. Heath McCormick and Team USA head to Basel, Switzerland, for the 2012 World Men’s Curling Championship March 30-April 8. To conclude the championship season, USA’s senior teams led by Ian Journeaux and Pam Oleinik head to Denmark for the 2012 World Senior Championships, April 14-21, and Seattle’s Brady and Cristin Clark look to earn USA’s first-ever medal at the 2012 World Mixed Doubles Championship, April 23-29 in Erzurum, Turkey. Keep checking for updates at www.usacurl.org to find out if live webstreaming will be available from the above exciting events.
the ground level was uneven, requiring an ice thickness of up to 5 3/4 inches. Bernie’s notes (he had great handwriting) indicate up to six floods each day, if cold enough, from six each morning until 3 a.m., from Thanksgiving to Christmas, when circles were laid. Curling could start by the New Year. The used compressor installed in the 1970s reduced flooding needs to about 35 floods, over a much shorter period of time. Even for a man who lived a block or so from the club, this decades-long love of icemaking was remarkable, and appreciated by Eau Claire and visiting curlers. Bernie, who died at age 96 last April, was honored by being selected to throw the first stone in the new club in 1996. Tale of a cold tail This writer played quite a bit at the old club, in the 1970s and 1980s, and as I recall, the three sheets were consistently the fastest in the state, even though there was no heat, let alone dehumidification or de-ionized
water, in the shed. I never learned the secret. In northern Wisconsin during the curling season, “no heat” means very cold. The Eau Claire club was so cold, a mammoth could’ve been preserved in it. It was so cold, they would set up a kerosene heater on the ice for the players to stand in front of and warm themselves. Skips, who got little exercise, needed various layers of clothing to survive, and could hardly settle down in the hack until maybe the third end, after repeated sliding loosened their clothes. The roof was bare boards, since insulation was not needed to keep the club ice cold. White snow crystals would form on the metal nail heads in the boards, and the little devils would fall on the ice during the game, a bit distracting but rarely interfering with a shot. Those were the days, when different clubs had truly huge variations in ice conditions. The term “reading ice” seemed to mean more when there was so much more to read.
Congratulations 2011-2012 USWCA Event Champions! 30th Annual Senior Women’s Bonspiel at Nutmeg Mayfield CC - Skip Dee Montgomery, Paula Forsythe, Kathy Collins, Leslie Cooke 64th Annual National Women’s Bonspiel at St. Paul Madison CC - Skip Lori Karst, Mary Parker, Dawn Nonn, Becky Reinhart The Junior Bonspiels At Cape Cod Curling Club Broomstones CC - Skip Jack Kelly, Chase Sinnett, Clayton Kincaid, Jake Yankee At Duluth Curling Club Madison CC - Skip Rebecca Hamilton, Tara Peterson, Karlie Koenig, Sophie Brorson At Exmoor Curling Club Midland CC - Skip Wes Pedersen, Aaron Carlson, BJ Kent, Wesley Swartz, Brandon Wichman The USWCA sincerely thanks our sponsors: Hot Shots Curling Camp, Rock It gurl and Brooms Up
Winning moments, like the one above shared by 2012 national champions Team McCormick, are cherished for curlers who have worked many years to reach the top. Photo by Stephan’s Fine Photography
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.”
Curling News
USA Curling ... Dare to curl
APRIl 2012
UNITED STATES
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College Curling
Participation in regional events doubles by Rich Larko, College Curling Coordinator
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he regional championship event at Bowling Green (Ohio) was a 20- team sell out Feb. 17-19. Final results and details are not in yet but will be reported in the next Curling News. The next regional event will be at Kettle Moraine (Hartland, Wis.) on March 10-11. At press time, the event was filled with 24 teams with a wait list being tallied. Contact Mike Schuder at mschuder@carrollu.edu if you have any questions. This will be a two-day event on will feature three games on Saturday and finals on Sunday.
There is still time to sign up for the Broomstones event just outside Boston. The sign-up deadline was March 1 but a waiting list will be started, if necessary. This will be the first College Curling Championship event held at the Broomstones Curling Club. With plenty teams from the East, this one should be very competitive. Remember, any college team can get in. Late teams may still have a chance to sign-up. Contact Monica Walker at monica.wlkr@gmail.com to inquire. After 20 years, the National College Curling Championship Tourament, held through the years at Eau Claire, Wauwatosa, St. Paul, Madison, and in recent years, the
Chicago and North Shore clubs, saw some changes. This season, in order to make travel easier and cheaper, we modified our business model to a regional format. We announced separate regional events at three fine clubs spread around curling land. We held our breath. Would the regional idea work? How many teams would participate? We need not have worried. The college program continues to be popular and successful. Our cup runneth over. This season 60-plus teams will play in three regional events as a climax to the regular season, compared with 32 teams in previous years. These three events are being
hosted by three fine clubs and their members. Our hats are off with many thanks to Nick Derksen, Bowling Green; Mike Schuder, Kettle Moraine; and Monica Walker, Broomstones. Our appreciation to all of you. College curling, and all of our events are funded mainly by The Chicago Community Trust and administered and hosted by the Illinois State Curling Foundation (and backed and supported by the directors of the Foundation). We acknowledge the help of the countless clubs and members who have helped the program in so many ways through the years.
VOTE: Continued from Page 1
Sportmanship still key part of curling Team North Dakota I would like to publicly thank the Curtis family for sponsoring the peer-selected Curtis Cup Sportsmanship Awards at the Junior National Championships. We were truly honored to be chosen for remembering this aspect of the game that may not always be built into other sports of the day. It’s still a gentleman’s sport where players respect the game and the other competitors both on and off the ice. Thanks again to the Curtis family for their contribution in maintaining and building the character of our future curling leaders. Good curling, Rachel Tharalson, Skip Anna Hopkins, Vice Jesa Legacie, Second Emily Brekke, Lead, Christina Lammers, Fifth
Sportsmanship was on full display at the 2012 Junior Nationals in Madison, Wis., last month. When the two GNCC women’s teams played each other, they started the game with a group hug and allhands-in cheer before and after their match. In addition, every GNCC team was present at every draw throughout the week to support one another, according to information shared with the U.S. Curling News. Submitted photo
Eight-Ender Wauwatosa, Wis. The Jim Kaczmarek rink of Jeremy McKenzie, Vince Kelber and Cheryl Doud were down by five points going into the fourth end of their second game in the Wauwatosa Curling Club Chili ’Spiel on Feb. 4, 2012. After his second shot, a take-
out requiring a runback around a guard to remove the opposing team’s shot rock, McKenzie said, “You know, Jim, we’re sitting six with two shots to go.” While Kaczmarek admitted that the comment didn’t help his nerves, he was able to draw to the house with his final skip’s stone to score an eight-ender.
To recognize the growth and maturity of the USCA as a national organization, the proposed governance change seeks to implement a national election for the memberelected members of the Board and the three Standing Committees— Nominating, Judicial and Ethics. Thus, the memberelected Directors and committee persons are expected to apply a national perspective, focused on what is in the best interest of the whole rather than taking the perspective of how will this effect a particular state or region. The states and regions will remain as separate organizations whose focus and purpose will continue to be on their respective state’s and region’s interests. By recognizing the individual curling clubs as the members of the USCA, this will give each club the opportunity to have a direct voice and vote. This direct voice and vote is consistent with the fact that it is the individual curling clubs, through the dues paid by their curler members, who provide direct financial support to the USCA. The preceding outlines the basic changes sought in the proposed governance reform. Each club, through their respective states and regions, is asked to support the proposed governance reform if they support the principals expressed by the basic changes sought. The details have been thoroughly vetted over the past 15 months and will probably be subject to further tweaking in the future. However, the vote this Spring should be focused upon whether there is an acceptance of these basic principles. These are: to implement a structure that both gives focus and priority to the national scope of the
USCA policies and programs, and a structure that recognizes and implements a business-like distinction between the Board as a policy, strategic planning body and the CEO and the paid staff, supported by volunteers, as the operational arm of the organization. As individuals, we come together to form our curling clubs. Let us join together in a common purpose spanning our curling community nationwide to support this governance change to propel the USCA into the future as an effective organization pursuing excellence in all of the programs and services of the USCA. Signed, Pam Finch, President, Denver Curling Club Ron Giedt, Training & Education Chairman, Circle City Curling Club Cynthia Smith, Vice President, Colorado Curling Association Leland Rich, member, Governance Task Force John Kram, president, North Dakota Curling Association Kent Beadle, Member, USCA Governance Task Force Dena Rosenberry, President, Colorado Curling Association Chris Sjue, USCA president David Carlson, chairman, USCA Governance Task Force Dick McCartney, president, Grand National Curling Club Jonathan Havercroft, president, Oklahoma Curling Club Sean Silver, Illinois, USCA board member and treasurer Jack Bernauer, Chicago Curling Club treasurer Jim Pleasants, Washington, USCA vice president Doug Boyd, president, Illinois Curling Association
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Curling News UNITED STATES
APRIl 2012
USA Curling ... Dare to curl
Winter meeting proves productive, successful by Maureen Guay, USWCA president
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he winter meeting of the United States Women’s Curling Association was held Feb. 13-18 in St. Paul, Minn., and was well attended by officers, committees and club representatives. The meeting was both successful and productive. The USWCA does recognize that to continue our success, we need to explore
ways to continue our work outside of the fall and winter meetings. To that end, each committee has been challenged to have a “virtual meeting” either by e-mail or conference call before next fall. Officers and representatives will work together to make that happen. Technology presents new and improved methods to work efficiently while members are at a distance. Last year, the USWCA began a strategic planning initiative. The following strategic planning goals
Guay
were unveiled at the winter meeting: 1-The USWCA is the
acknowledged leader in the sport of curling for grass roots education, programs, and opportunities for youth and women of all ages. 2-The USWCA is a vital resource promoting development, interactions and education for curling communities. 3-The USWCA is an organization that creates, fosters and develops a national network of representatives to grow the sport of curling. 4-The USWCA has a governance structure that
makes the most effective use of the time, talent, and experience available to us, seeks to develop future leaders of the organization and reflects our geographic diversity. 5-The USWCA is a financially healthy organization that raises the funds needed to support its programs and priorities. The women of the USWCA are more than equal to the task of meeting these goals and demonstrating that we truly are the “Heart of Curling.”
Three successful junior bonspiels in the books by Leslie Armstrong, USWCA Junior Bonspiel Chairwoman
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Cape Cod USWCA Junior Bonspiel champions were (l-r) Jack Kelly, Chase Sinnett, Clayton Kincaid and Jake Yankee of Broomstones.
Duluth USWCA Junior Bonspiel champions were (l-r) Madison’s Tara Peterson, Karlie Koenig, Rebecca Hamilton and Sophie Brorson.
Exmoor USWCA Junior Bonspiel champions were (l-r) Wes Pedersen, Aaron Carlson, BJ Kent, Wesley Swartz and Brandon Wichman of Midland Curling Club.
he USWCA has sponsored junior bonspiels for a dozen years. As I looked over one of the trophies, I saw many names that have continued on to be very successful men’s and women’s curlers. It is great to see that the time put into holding junior events is fostering a love for the game that stays with the athletes into their adult lives. The USWCA sponsored three junior bonspiels this year, in which 49 teams of curlers competed in both competitive and developmental divisions. The bonspiels were held at the Cape Cod Curling Club, Exmoor Country Club and Duluth Curling Club. The West Region’s bonspiel was held at the Duluth Curling Club in conjunction with the Bert Payne Memorial Bonspiel. The bonspiel included 12 teams in the competitive division, nine in the developmental and three in the recreational division. The teams were from Minnesota and Wisconsin, with Becca Hamilton, Tara Peterson, Karlie Koenig and Sophie Brorson from Madison winning the competitive division. The runner-up team was Derek Peterson, Alex Patterson, Ian Mathis and Sonja Bauman from St. Paul. In the developmental division, the winning team was Jon Harstad, Colton Milner, Brody Russell and Jace Brademan from Duluth. The runner-up team was Carter Peterson, Brandon Wipson, Nick
Jordan, and Ryan Rice from Duluth and Chisholm. The Central Region’s bonspiel was held at Exmoor Curling Club. Nine teams from Michigan, Illinois and Wisconsin competed in two divisions. The title was captured by Wes Pedersen, Aaron Carlson, BJ Kent, Wesley Swartz and Brandon Wichman from the Midland Curling Club. The runner-up team was from Exmoor and skipped by Shannon Brown with an all-star vice, Alex Harlow from the Dallas Curling Club, and Susanne Fluri and Sarah Calcutt, also from Exmoor. The developmental division was won by Logan Cook, Wesley Swartz, Will Hackbarth and Marcus Minardi of the Midland Curling Club. The runnerup team was also from Midland with Kevin Przygocki skipping, Alex Johnson as vice, Austin Fransdsen at second, and Ian Strong as lead. The East Region’s Bonspiel was held at the Cape Cod Curling Club as part of its annual Junior Spiel. Participating curlers came from Broomstones, Cape Cod, Nashua, Nutmeg, Petersham, Schenectady, Utica and The Country Club. Awards were given for the top two teams in four events. The USWCA and Heisler Trophy went to the Broomstones rink skipped by Jack Kelly with teammates Chase Sinnett, Clayton Kincaid and Jake Yankee. The second event – the Fuller Trophy – was won by the Cape Cod team of Truman Dunkley, Dalius Kleinas, Austin Sylvester and Marius Kleinas. The third event Jones Trophy
was won by the TCC Brookline team skipped by Matt Greene with Ben Doughty, Rebecca Krane and James Richardson. The fourth event was won by the Schenectady/Utica team of Blake Hagberg, Raquel Hillis, Valerie Spencer and Ashlyn Hillis. Three very successful USWCA-sponsored events were held this season. The USWCA is proud to help sponsor events for emerging curlers. It is our goal to support grassroots curling across the country. Providing events for juniors is vital to the continued success of curling in the U.S. Travel assistance was available to teams traveling to these ’spiels. Thanks to the clubs and individuals who made these events happen. Please contact me at flingtime@comcast.net if you would like to be part of the magic of the junior curling for the upcoming seasons.
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USA Curling ... Dare to curl
Curling News
APRIl 2012
UNITED STATES
7
Karst rink captures USWCA title by Rose-Marie Barton, 2012 National Bonspiel Chair
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he 64th Annual USWCA National Bonspiel, “Rockin’ on the River,” was held in St. Paul, Minn., from Feb. 15-19 and was hosted by the Arden Hills Cairn Lassies. The event kicked off with a welcome kit party at the St. Paul Curling Club on Wednesday evening. The committee in charge decided that a Scandinavian theme was in order and a smorgasbord of herring, lox, open-faced sandwiches, Swedish meatballs and Bundt cakes were served up. The opening ceremony featured St. Paul curler Mike Crea and his “button box” accordion playing a medley of polkas. Holding the broom for the ceremonial throwing of the first rock was Paula Arnold, who is a founding member of both the St. Paul Bonnie Spielers and the Arden Hills Cairn Lassies. A soon-to-be 85 years old,
Arnold is still actively curling with the Cairn Lassies and helped out on the Hospitality Committee. President Maureen Guay threw the opening stone, which was swept to the button by eight past presidents. The bonspiel began on Thursday morning with two draws and a banquet that evening at the Crowne Plaza Hotel. A trio of sisters aptly named “Sister” provided the entertainment and four young ladies from the Minnesota Youth Orchestra played their violins during the dinner. Four draws a day on Friday and Saturday, which featured some excellent curling, brought us to the finals on Sunday. Friday evening the house party was held at the St. Paul Curling Club and an Italian buffet was enjoyed by all. The head official, Donna Statzell, provided training for the timers and she and two assistants ably oversaw their work. On Sunday morning, in keeping with tradition, the
finalists were piped onto the ice. The Fourth Event was a match between two Eastern area clubs – Potomac and Utica – with Potomac prevailing. The Third Event saw a Duluth team hold on to win over Cape Cod. The Second Event had an interesting match-up of old and new USWCA clubs. A team from Coyote Curling Club in Arizona skipped by Susan Lang was defeated by Marcy Calaway’s team from Exmoor (Illinois) – one of the original USWCA clubs. The first event saw two Wisconsin teams pitted against each other – Lori Karst’s Madison 2 team defeated Bonnie Dixon’s Kettle Moraine 1 squad. The weather Gods were kind to us providing sunshine and warm weather, which made sightseeing around St. Paul an enjoyable experience. The Cairn Lassies were proud and honored to host this year’s event. Here are the final results: 1EW—Madison II: Lori
Winners of the 2012 USWCA National Bonspiel were Madison’s Lori Karst, Mary Parker, Dawn Nonn and Becky Reinhart.
Karst, Mary Parker, Dawn Nonn, Becky Reinhart 1ERU—Kettle Moraine I: Bonnie Dixon, Pat Van Till, Kathy Hyslop, Carol Stevenson 2EW—Exmoor: Marcy Calaway, Tracy Lawless, Leslie Armstrong, Anneliese Crawford 2ERU—Coyotes: Susan Lang, Carol Ann Naso, Denise Juillard, Mary Jordan 3EW—Duluth: Linda
Christensen, Becky Johansen, Barb Payette, Lucy DeVore 3ERU—Cape Cod: Matina Heisler, Mary Colacchio, Cathy Offinger, Liz Abeltin 4EW—Potomac: Dawn Findlay, Dominique Banville, Susan Armiger, Virginia Chalmers 4ERU—Utica: Michele MacEnroe, Susan Williams, Melissa Foote, Audrey Foote
2012 Friendship Tour members selected by Charlene Fitzgerald, 2012 Friendship Tour Committee At the USWCA Annual Dinner held Feb. 16 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in St. Paul, Minn., 16 women with two alternates were selected to be members of the 2012 Friendship Tour to the beautiful province of British Columbia. The Tour members will arrive in Victoria, British Columbia, on Oct. 31, with their curling events beginning on Nov. 1. The Friendship Tour takes place every six years, with this Tour being the fourth time the United States USWCA women have traveled to a Canadian province. The Canadian ladies have been touring the United States for 18 years, with their last tour to the Central and Wisconsin regions in 2009. The Tour women were selected by the 2006 Friendship tour members Carolyn MacLeod, Janet Farr, Jeannie Borland, Karen Ronk, Barb Hamm,
and Cathy Offinger, who were attending the banquet. Congratulations to the 2012 USWCA Friendship Tour members: East: Wendy Berger, Albany; Coco Wellington, Cape Cod; Alisa McCann; Philadelphia; and Joan Partridge, The County Club. Central: Martha Mazzarella, Bowling Green; Karen Hamilton, Columbus; Susan Tortorelli, Detroit; Laurie Rahn, Exmoor; and Anne Vanic, Mayfield. Wisconsin: Carla Lynch, Madison; Paula Kalke, Racine; and Mary Pat Shandor from Kettle, who is unable to participate so the first alternate Jackie Shuster, Chisholm, will go in her place. West: Myrna MacKinnon, Arden Hills; Nancy Myers, Aksarben; Rielly Mannery, Granite; and Molly Jensen, St. Paul. First alternate chosen is Jackie Shuster from Chisholm, Minn., and second alternate is Majik Jones
from Chesapeake from the East. Five of the 16 team members were on hand for the drawing: Martha Mazzarella, Coco Wellington, Molly Jensen, Myrna MacKinnon, and one of the alternates, Majik Jones. The proposed itinerary has the tour members arriving in Victoria to spend three days curling on Vancouver Island before traveling to the mainland where they will curl for four-five days at interior curling clubs, then back to curl their last three days in the Vancouver area. The last day of curling and the final ceremonies will be Nov. 11. The tour will return to the United States on Nov. 12. Coordinators for the tour are Committee Chairwoman Roberta Crain, Jeannie Borland, Maggie McMahon, Karen Ronk, Michelle Drlaca, Kathy Hyslop, Janet Farr, Luci Schey, Saralee Schneck and Charlene Fitzgerald.
Present for the selection of the USWCA 2012 Friendship Tour were (l-r) Majik Jones, Myrna MacKinnon, Martha Mazzarella, Molly Jenson and Coco Wellington.
Curling Pin silent auction helps Norfolk Curling Club At the Winter Meeting of the USWCA, part of a large collection of older curling pins was used for a silent auction to help the Norfolk Curling Club’s Rebuilding Fund. The club was destroyed by an arson fire in December. The pins were from a large collection given to The Country Club by past curlers or their families. The Board of the USWCA voted to donate all the money raised from this auction of 124 pins and made a contribution to their Rebuilding Fund in the sum of $2,080.
8
Curling News UNITED STATES
APRIl 2012
USA Curling ... Dare to curl
Jamaica-themed senior bonspiel set by Jeannie Borland, USWCA Senior Bonspiel Committee
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he Mayfield Curling Club in South Euclid, Ohio, will host “Jamaica Me Crazy,” the 31st Senior Women’s Bonspiel on Wednesday, Nov. 28 through Sunday, Dec. 2. It will be a 24-team bonspiel on three sheets of ice. The bonspiel will kick off with a
Kit Party the evening of Nov. 28. Curling will take place Thursday through Sunday with the finals on Sunday at 10:30 a.m. To be eligible to curl in this great bonspiel, you must have reached the age of 55 before Jan. 1, 2013, and have paid USWCA dues for the 2011-12 season. Entrants must curl in at least one league at a USWCA member club and pay full dues at their registered club. Three
team members must be members of the same club and all team members must be from the same USWCA region. Invitations, along with an intent form, will be mailed before the end of this curling season, with a deadline for the intent form to be returned next August. However, an invite can be sent any time prior to the deadline. Please check with your club’s
Strong sales of manual lead to second printing
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he release of USA Curling’s first sport education resource has been swept down the ice and landed on the button. To date the book has been purchased in eight different countries with sales exceeding expectations and the initial printing of 250. With a second printing now complete, USA Curling has decided to extend the introductory purchase price to all members until March 30. What is The Five Elements of Curling Technique book? The Five Elements of Curling Technique© manual is the first in what is expected to be a growing library of resources developed by USA Curling. This first book focuses exclusively on curling technique. The book was coauthored by Rodger Schmidt with input from our U.S. national team coaches and select Olympians. The book provides the framework for curlers of all ages and abilities to improve their curling delivery. Rather than develop a specific teaching methodology, the book identifies and discusses the five most common elements that exist in the best techniques of today’s top international, world-class curlers. What are the Five Elements? The Five Elements are a core theme in all USA Curling sport education resources. The five elements reflect the five areas required for success in the sport of curling identified in July 2009 by a group of top U.S. coaches and athletes. These elements are technical, tactical/strategy, team systems, mental skills, and physical conditioning. As USA Curling develops resources for our curling community, they will fall under one of the core “Five Elements” categories. How can I learn more? Interested USA Curling members can learn more about the book by previewing a copy, or listening to interviews with coauthor Rodger Schmidt and curling’s 2010 U.S. Olympic coaches, as well as Olympian and current Project 2018 coach John Benton. The links can be found on the USA Curling website at www.usacurl.org. How can I get a copy? Orders can be placed through the online ordering site link, which can be found at www.usacurl.org (look for the Five Elements manual logo). All USA Curling members may purchase the book
for an introductory price of $24.95 plus $8.95 shipping and handling until March 30, 2012. Members must enter the promotion code CURLMEM5EB when placing their order. The discount will be applied at checkout. What formats are available? The book is available in traditional print format as well as E-Book for Kindle and Ipad. Will more resources be produced? USA Curling Sport Education, in cooperation with the Curling Academy Rodger Schmidt, is presently working on a second book titled “The Five Elements of Shotmaking.” “We are pleased with the response from both the U.S. and international curling community,” said Scott Higgins, director of USA Curling’s Sport Education department. “A primary outcome of the USA Curling sport education program is to make relevant, world-class curling knowledge available to our curling community. We understand improving an individual’s level of knowledge in his or her sport will positively affect the recruitment, retention, and longevity of the individual in that sport for our regions and clubs. We believe the production of this first resource for our membership represents a significant step toward the achievement of that outcome. With the E-book now available for Kindle and Ipad readers, I am certain sales will continue to be strong.” The book is dedicated in honor of former USA Curling President Chris Moore. A portion of the proceeds from sales will support the Chris Moore Legacy Fund. “The expertise and ideas contributed by a wide range of people from both the USA and abroad—including Olympic medalists and world-class coaches—is what has made ‘The Five Elements of Curling Technique’ such a unique and well-received book,” said Rick Patzke, chief operating officer of USA Curling. “As others who have gone through publishing a book well know, there is a ton of time and effort involved in the production, and Scott’s facilitation of the process and oversight of all of the moving parts was key. The Sport Education group is already well into the development of the next manual in the series— “The Five Elements of Shot Making”— and I am sure it will be a great addition to the first book.”
USWCA representative for more information and a copy of the invitation. So, start to form your team and make plans to have a crazy good time at the Mayfield Curling Club’s “Jamaica Me Crazy” USWCA Senior Woman’s Bonspiel next fall. For more information, visit www.uswca.org or send an e-mail to SBPC@uswca.org. We hope to see you there!
USWCA’s Circuit Event off to a roaring start by Jennifer Stannard, USWCA Circuit Committee The USWCA Circuit for the season is well underway. Fifteen women’s bonspiels to date are participating nationwide and the competition has been keen. Last season’s national winner, Shelley Pilon of the Exmoor Curling Club, was awarded the winner’s trophy, sponsored by Brooms Up Curling Supplies, and a check for $850 from the
USWCA. Developed to encourage women’s curling and bonspiel participation, the event has been a success. Women from Connecticut to Seattle are attending bonspiels with the added incentive of cash prizes, Hot Shot’s Curling Camp scholarships and Brooms Up Curling Supplies gift certificates for the regional winners. Sponsor RockIt Gurl provides each participating bonspiel with merchandise for their raffle.
Lean on regional liaisons to stay in touch with USWCA by Bridget Matzke, Chairwoman, Area Regional Liaisons The USWCA strives to promote the sport of curling throughout the United States and to enhance communication between our nation’s curling clubs. One of the avenues the organization uses to provide direct communication is through member club representatives. Each USWCA club has an elected representative and within each area or region, one representative serves as a regional liaison. This helps to ensure direct communication and feedback, and aids in identifying areas where the USWCA can help and support its member clubs. If you would like to connect with an area regional liaison, want additional information about becoming a USWCA representative, or if you would like to learn about the benefits of USWCA membership, here is the information for your area: East:Elaine Ritchie/Lee Ladd, EastLiaison@uswca.org Central: Cathy Westphal, CtrlLiaison@uswca.org Wisconsin: Mary Beth Goelzer, WisLiaison@uswca.org West I: Diane Davis, WestILiaison@uswca.org West II: Kelly Stevens, WestIILiaison@uswcw.org If you are not sure which area your curling club is in, you may contact Bridget Matzke, chairwoman of the Area Regional Liaisons and First Vice President of the USWCA at VP1@USWCA.org.
USA Curling ... Dare to curl
APRIl 2012
9
Minnesota, Massachusetts capture junior titles 2012 Junior men’s Nationals Round Robin Massachusetts (Dropkin) Wisconsin II (Morton) Wisconsin I (Jensen) North Dakota II (Kakela) Minnesota I (Meyers) Washington (Vukich) New Hampshire (Clark) Minnesota II (Wright) North Dakota I (Kitchens) Alaska (Flippo)
9-0 6-3 5-4 5-4 5-4 4-5 4-5 3-6 2-7 2-7
Tiebreaker: *Minnesota I 102 010 000 0 – 4 North Dakota II 020 201 010 1 – 7 Page Playoffs 1-2: *Massachusetts 101 110 20x x – 6 Wisconsin II 000 001 01x x – 2 Page Playoffs 3-4: *Wisconsin I 000 200 210 0 – 5 North Dakota II 110 021 000 1 – 6 Semifinal: *Wisconsin II 010 021 02x x – 6 North Dakota II 000 000 10x x – 1 Championship final: *Massachusetts 404 000 010 0 – 9 Wisconsin II 010 111 102 1 – 8 *last stone in first end
2012 USA Curling Junior National champions (back, l-r) Stephen Dropkin, Korey Dropkin, Thomas Howell III, Derek Corbett and Cameron Ross from Massachusetts. Junior champions (front, l-r) Cory Christensen, Elizabeth Busche, Anna Bauman and Sonja Bauman. Photo by Rich Harmer
by Terry Kolesar, Editor
eams skipped by Stephen Dropkin of Massachusetts and Cory Christensen of Minnesota won the 2012 USA Curling Junior National Championship titles on Feb. 4 at the Madison Curling Club in McFarland, Wis. Both teams will now represent the U.S. at the 2012 World Junior Championships March 3-11 in Oestersund, Sweden. The U.S. men last won gold at the World Juniors in 2008 while the last – and only – women’s gold was won in 2002. Dropkin (Southborough, Mass.) and teammates Korey Dropkin (Southborough, Mass.), Thomas Howell (Brick, N.J.), Derek Corbett (Rochester, N.Y.) and Cameron Ross (Princeton Junction, N.J.) became the first team from the East Coast to win the junior nationals when they defeated Blake Morton’s Wisconsin 2 rink, 9-8. Dropkin’s team started aggressive with four points in the first end and added four more in the third end to lead 8-1 after just three ends of play. Morton (McFarland, Wis.) and teammates Marcus Fonger (Cottage Grove, Wis.), Tommy Juszczyk (Madison, Wis.), Calvin Weber (McFarland, Wis.) and Chris Bond (Madison, Wis.) staged a comeback thereafter, scoring a single in the fourth and stealing a single in each of the next
T
three ends to pull within three points at 8-5. Massachusetts scored one more in the eighth end, but the Wisconsin team kept things interesting with a deuce in the ninth to pull within two points with one end remaining in the match. Wisconsin would steal one more point but it was not enough to complete the comeback. This was Stephen Dropkin’s ninth consecutive appearance at Junior Nationals with last year’s silver finish being his best performance until this year when the team went through the competition with a perfect 11-0 record. The championship title win continues an impressive season by the Dropkin rink. The team has won two Great Lakes Curling Tour events, two Ontario Curling Tour events, the Grand National regional playdowns, and Korey Dropkin earned a bronze medal just two weeks ago in mixed doubles at the 2012 Youth Olympic Games. This is the first junior
men’s title for a team from Massachusetts since the Junior Men’s Nationals began in 1974. In an all Minnesota women’s gold-medal game, Christensen’s team from Duluth captured the 2012 USA Curling Junior Nationals women’s title. Christensen and her team of Elizabeth Busche, Anna Bauman and Sonja Bauman (all of Duluth, Minn.) defeated Miranda Solem’s team 10-8 to win their first junior national title. They finished the tournament with a 9-2 record. In a back-and-forth gold-medal match, Solem (Cohasset, Minn.) and her team of Mackenzie Lank (Lewiston, N.Y.), Julie Lilla (Trempealeau, Wis.), Chelsea Solem (Cohasset, Minn.) and Becca Funk (Madison, Wis.) scored four points in the fourth end to take their first lead of the game at 5-3. A steal of two in the following end then gave Solem’s reigning Minnesota state junior champions a bigger lead at 7-3.
The Washington boys were the recipients of the Curtis Cup for Sportsmanship. Team members include (l-r) Jake Vukich, Evan McCauley, Luc Violette and Kyle Lorvick. Photo by Rich Harmer
Curtis Cup Sportsmanship Award recipients: Washington: Jake Vukich, Evan McCauley, Luc Violette, Kyle Lorvick All-Star Team: Skip: Korey Dropkin, Massachusetts Vice: Marcus Fonger, Wisconsin II Second: Mark Fenner, Minnesota I Lead: Alex Fenson, Minnesota I gold medalists: Massachusetts: Stephen Dropkin (Southborough, Mass.), Korey Dropkin (Southborough, Mass.), Thomas Howell (Brick, N.J.), Derek Corbett (Rochester, N.Y.), Cameron Ross (Princeton Junction, N.J.) Silver medalists: Wisconsin 2: Blake Morton (McFarland, Wis.), Marcus Fonger (Cottage Grove, Wis.), Tommy Juszczyk (Madison, Wis.), Calvin Weber (McFarland, Wis.), Chris Bond (Madison, Wis.) Bronze medalists: North Dakota 2: Kyle Kakela (Rolla, N.D.), Ryan Westby (Grand Forks, N.D.), Spencer Tuskowski (Minneapolis, Minn.), Kyson Smith (Minot, N.D.), Paul Tharalson (Hoople, N.D.)
But, the lead would be short-lived as Christensen’s team worked its way back into the match. The teams exchanged singles over the next two ends with Minnesota II closing the gap to 8-6 by scoring a deuce in the eighth end. Christensen’s team closed out the final two ends with back-to-back steals of two points to earn the win and gold medal. This was the second straight runner-up finish for Solem’s team at the Junior Nationals.
2012 Junior Women’s Nationals Round Robin Wisconsin II (Hamilton) Minnesota II (Christensen) Minnesota I (Solem) New York (Ely) Wisconsin I (Haag) Alaska (Persinger) North Dakota II (Lindgren) North Dakota I (Tharalson) Washington (Sweet) Massachusetts (Walker)
8-1 7-2 6-3 6-3 5-4 5-4 4-5 2-7 1-8 1-8
Page Playoffs 1-2: *Wisconsin II 030 010 003 0 – 7 Minnesota II 001 102 030 1 – 8 Page Playoffs 3-4: *Minnesota I 100 012 011 x – 6 New York 000 100 100 x – 2 Semifinal: *Wisconsin II 211 010 001 x – 6 Minnesota I 000 102 230 x – 8 Championship final: *Minnesota II 102 001 022 2 – 10 Minnesota I 010 420 100 0 – 8 *last stone in first end Curtis Cup Sportsmanship Award recipients: North Dakota 1: Rachel Tharalson, Anna Hopkins, Jesa Legacie, Emily Brekke and Christina Lammers Katie Beck memorial Award: Jesa Legacie, second, Team North Dakota I All-Star Team: Skip: Becca Hamilton, Wisconsin II Vice: Tara Peterson, Wisconsin II Second: Karlie Koenig, Wisconsin II Lead: Sophie Brorson, Wisconsin II gold medalists: Minnesota 2: Cory Christensen, Elizabeth Busche, Anna Bauman, Sonja Bauman (all of Duluth, Minn.) Silver medalists: Minnesota 1: Miranda Solem (Cohasset, Minn.), Mackenzie Lank (Lewiston, N.Y.), Julie Lilla (Trempealeau, Wis.), Chelsea Solem (Cohasset, Minn.), Becca Funk (Madison, Wis.) Bronze medalists: Wisconsin 2: Becca Hamilton (McFarland, Wis.), Tara Peterson (Eagan, Minn.), Karlie Koenig (Oconomowoc, Wis.), Sophie Brorson (Duluth, Minn.)
Jesa Legacie, second for Team North Dakota I, was the recipient of the Katie Beck Memorial Award for exceptional play at the second position. Photo by Rich Harmer
The North Dakota I girls were the recipients of the Curtis Cup for Sportsmanship. Team members include (l-r) Rachel Tharalson, Anna Hopkins, Jesa Legacie, Emily Brekke and Christina Lammers. Photo by Rich Harmer
10
APRIl 2012
USA Curling ... Dare to curl
Pottinger rink returns to world championships 2012 Women’s Nationals Round Robin Allison Pottinger 8-1 Cassie Potter 7-2 Alex Carlson 6-3 Aileen Sormunen 6-3 Maureen Stolt 5-4 Erika Brown 5-4 Becca Hamilton 4-5 Patti Lank 3-6 Kim Wapola 1-8 Janice Langanke 0-9
by Terry Kolesar, Editor
F
amiliar faces will wear the red, white and blue at the upcoming World Championships as Team Allison Pottinger captured the gold medal Feb. 18 at the 2012 USA Curling National Championships at IceWorks Skating Complex. “It’s always fantastic but special this time,” said Pottinger, who won her first national title as skip. “We all took the challenge and moved up a spot and brought Tab (Peterson) on the team. We knew we’d have to work at it and it’s so great to get the payout and win. As a team, the girls were fantastic all day.” 2010 Olympians Pottinger (Eden Prairie, Minn.), Nicole Joraanstad (Verona, Wis.) and Natalie Nicholson (Bemidji, Minn.) along with two-time U.S. junior champion Tabitha Peterson (Eagan, Minn.) will represent the U.S. at the 2012 World Championships March 1725 in Lethbridge, Alberta, after defeating Team Cassie Potter, 7-5. “We’re super excited. We love wearing USA on our backs and going to play and represent the U.S.,” Joraanstad said. Despite today’s loss, Potter (St. Paul, Minn.) and teammates Jamie Haskell (White Bear Lake, Minn.), Jackie Lemke (Medford, Wis.) and Stephanie Sambor (Minot, N.D.) leave today with a berth in the 2014 U.S. Olympic Team Trials. “It feels really good to hang in there and prove that we can stick with the rest of them,” said Potter, who represented Team USA with her sister Jamie at the 2006 Olympic Winter Games. “The playing field this week has been really even. A lot of junior teams are coming up, and it’s not a matter of the top same two or three teams anymore. It’s the top five or six, which is really good. I hope it keeps getting better.” This is the 10th national title for Pottinger, seventh for Joraanstad, eighth for Nicholson and first for Peterson. “It’s pretty nuts; it’s my first one so I can’t describe it,” said Peterson, 22, who won two U.S. junior titles and a world junior bronze medal in 2010. In comparison to the Page Playoff 1-2 game, the gold-medal match between Pottinger and Potter had an aggressive start with lots of rocks in play in the first end. Team Pottinger scored first as the skip made a draw through a narrow port
Page Playoffs 1-2: *Pottinger 100 110 000 12 – 6 Potter 001 000 012 00 – 4 Page Playoffs 3-4: *Carlson 010 010 0xx x – 2 Sormunen 101 202 4xx x – 10 *Potter Sormunen
Semifinal: 201 330 100 1 – 11 020 002 023 0 – 9
Championship final: *Pottinger 200 200 200 1 – 7 Potter 011 010 002 0 – 5 *last stone in first end
2012 women’s national champions (l-r) Allison Pottinger, Tabitha Peterson, Natalie Nicholson and Nicole Joraanstad. Photo by Stephan’s Fine Photography
in the top of the house to tap back Potter’s stone for two. In the second end, Potter could only see a smidgen of the button as she tried to draw for two to tie the game, but she didn’t have the line on it and settled for one. Potter stole a single in the next end and the game was knotted 2-2. Pottinger extended the lead in the fourth end with a draw for two. Team Potter tried to blank the fifth end but Potter’s hit didn’t roll out. Pottinger added two more points in the seventh end with another draw into the four-foot. Trailing now by three points, Team Potter missed out on an opportunity for the deuce in the eighth end when Potter’s first stone slipped out of the back of the house. They would blank that end and start over in the ninth end with Team Potter capitalizing on a missed takeout by Pottinger to score two. Needing to steal the 10th end, Team Potter was able to keep the guards up throughout the end and got stones in play, but the game was won by Team Pottinger when Potter wasn’t able to convert either of her runback attempts to move her stone closer to the button. “We were hoping that we’d keep it a close game. We’ve had a few games where we were up on points and we’ve had a tough time playing defense so we wanted to keep it close and put a few more rocks in play at the end of the game,” Potter said. “We did pretty well. We had rocks in there at the end and the last one didn’t curl up as much. We were hoping for a little bit more roll off the last one.” This is the first trip back to the Worlds since 2009 for Pottinger, Joraanstad and Nicholson. They took a
Tabitha Peterson (left) and Natalie Nicholson show off their sweeping prowess during the women’s gold medal match at the 2012 Nationals in Aston, Pa. Photo by Jeff Albertini, JNA Media
year away from the National Championships after the 2010 Olympic Winter Games and finished second last year in Fargo, N.D. “It feels really, really good but especially coming
back from last year when we lost the finals. We feel good about coming back this week and playing really well and winning,” said Nicholson, who works as a registered nurse and is the mother of two daughters.
2012 Nationals runner-up Cassie Potter, who also is a 2006 Olympian, 2005 U.S. national champion, 2002 world junior champion and two-time U.S. junior champion, was added as the alternate for Team USA for the 2012 Women’s Worlds in Lethbridge, Alberta. Photo by Stephan’s Fine Photography
Ann Brown Sportsmanship Award recipient: Tara Peterson, vice skip, Team Hamilton Top Five Stats leaders (through round robin): Skip: Allison Pottinger, 81.9% Patti Lank, 74.1% Aileen Sormunen, 73.5% Cassie Potter, 73% Erika Brown, 72.2% Vice skip: Nicole Joraanstad (Pottinger), 83.5% Debbie McCormick (Brown), 79.8% Courtney George (Sormunen), 77.9% Jamie Haskell (Potter), 76.4% Monica Walker (Carlson), 73.6% Second: Jessica Schultz (Brown), 79.8% Emilia Juocys (Stolt), 77.5% Natalie Nicholson (Pottinger), 76.2% Jackie Lemke (Potter), 75.9% Amanda McLean (Sormunen), 72.7% lead: Tabitha Peterson (Pottinger), 79.8% Ann Swisshelm (Brown), 81.9% Miranda Solem (Sormunen), 76.8% Stephanie Sambor (Potter), 75.4% Sherri Schummer (Stolt), 74.4% Team: Team Pottinger, 81% Team Brown, 78.5% Team Sormunen, 75.2% Team Potter, 75.2% Team Lank, 73.1% Gold medalists: Team Pottinger: Allison Pottinger (Eden Prairie, Minn.), Nicole Joraanstad (Verona, Wis.), Natalie Nicholson (Bemidji, Minn.), Tabitha Peterson (Eagan, Minn.) Silver medalists: Team Potter: Cassie Potter (St. Paul, Minn.), Jamie Haskell (Bemidji, Minn.), Jackie Lemke (Medford, Wis.), Stephanie Sambor (Minot, N.D.) Bronze medalists: Team Sormunen: Aileen Sormunen (Duluth, Minn.), Courtney George (St. Paul, Minn.), Amanda McLean (Duluth, Minn.), Miranda Solem (Cohasset, Minn.)
USA Curling ... Dare to curl
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McCormick rink set to represent U.S. at Worlds by Terry Kolesar, Editor eam USA will be represented by new faces on the men’s side but they are familiar on the world scene as Heath McCormick’s team captured the men’s 2012 USA Curling National Championships title on Feb. 18. Team McCormick dethroned Pete Fenson’s national champions, 5-4, in front of a sold-out crowd of more than 1,300 fans at IceWorks Skating Complex. “It’s incredible. It’s super exciting. It’s just kinda setting in at the moment,” said McCormick, 35, after the win. “Obviously for the last day I know that it was a possibility, but you have to tell yourself to stay in the moment even when it comes right down to it and not get too far ahead of yourself.” This was the second straight year a men’s team has advanced through the national championships undefeated. This is the first U.S. men’s title for McCormick (Sarnia, Ontario) and teammates Bill Stopera (Briarcliff Manor, N.Y.), Martin Sather (Hastings-onHudson, N.Y.) and Dean Gemmell (Short Hills, N.J.). They will now represent the U.S. at the 2012 World Men’s Championship March 31-April 8 in Basel, Switzerland. “Pretty damn exciting; we’ve been close in the playoffs the last two years. We got a new skip, and he’s a fantastic player,” said Gemmell after the win. “It’s really exciting. None of us have ever represented the U.S. in a world event. That’s exciting.” McCormick sealed the win with his first rock of the final end – a freeze that made Fenson’s final shot one with a high degree of difficulty. “A game like that you have to come and play
2012 men’s Nationals Round Robin Heath McCormick 10-0 Pete Fenson 9-1 Craig Brown 7-3 John Shuster 6-4 Brady Clark 5-5 Mike Farbelow 4-6 Todd Birr 4-6 Tyler George 4-6 Eric Fenson 3-7 Owen Sampson 2-8 Blake Morton 1-9
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Page Playoffs 1-2: *McCormick 110 001 000 2 – 5 P. Fenson 001 100 110 0 – 4 *Brown Shuster
Page Playoffs 3-4: 020 010 110 0 – 5 001 102 001 2 – 7
*P. Fenson Shuster
2012 men’s national champions (l-r) Heath McCormick, Bill Stopera, Martin Sather and Dean Gemmell. Photo by Stephan’s Fine Photography
great. They played great, and we made some mistakes,” Fenson said. “They capitalized and the couple of times they made a mistake, we couldn’t do that as well as we needed to. They just played terrific. They played great all week and went undefeated.” Despite the loss, Fenson (Bemidji, Minn.) and teammates Shawn Rojeski (Chisholm, Minn.), Joe Polo (Duluth, Minn.) and Ryan Brunt (Bemidji, Minn.) have accomplished one goal – qualifying to the 2014 U.S. Olympic Team Trials. “That was our No. 1 goal. We agreed we wanted to win all the nationals between now and then and try to win a world championship because we still haven’t done that,” said Fenson, who has won nine U.S. titles and bronze at the 2006 Olympic Winter Games. “But we also want to go back and upgrade our medal from the Olympics so we had to qualify for the Trials ... and we did that. Once the pain starts to go away from the loss, we have that to look forward to.” McCormick struck first with a routine takeout for two in the opening end to get things going. In the sec-
Team Fenson (above) was aiming for a three-peat in Aston but fell to eventual champion Heath McCormick in the gold-medal match, 5-4, in front of a sold-out crowd at IceWorks. Photo by Jeff Albertini, JNA Media
If you arrived early you could get a front-row seat for the final day of competition at the 2012 Nationals in Aston, Pa. Team McCormick’s Martin Sather (left) and Bill Stopera became men’s national champions for the first time and will head to Switzerland to represent the U.S. at the 2012 Men’s Worlds. Photo by Stephan’s Fine Photography
ond end, McCormick twice wrecked on the guard as they had Team Fenson on the ropes. The result was a big swing as Fenson drew for two. McCormick was forced to take one in the fourth end but then stole a single in the fifth after capitalizing on a missed last shot by Fenson. Fenson was forced to a single in the sixth end to close the gap to 4-3. After the eighth end was blanked, Fenson stole a point to tie the game when McCormick’s final stone sunk behind the tee-line. “We got two points in the first end, which was nice so we got off to a good start. It was a sloppy second end where we gave them two points back but then we leveled out,” McCormick said. “I felt like we were in control of the game for the most part and always had the pressure on them. We couldn’t ask for much more having the hammer heading home.” Team Fenson was forced to a single in the ninth end, giving Team McCormick the hammer back to seal the win in the 10th. Brunt got the guards up and then they got a stone in the house but it was short-lived as Sather converted a triple peel to
open things up. Fenson froze his first stone to the two McCormick stones in the top of the four-foot. McCormick followed him down, leaving Fenson with a runback but he couldn’t convert and McCormick didn’t need to throw his final stone. “He had a very, very difficult shot. When my first rock came to rest I got ahead of myself. I thought it was basically in a spot where he really didn’t have a shot ... he basically didn’t. They were unsure whether they had a shot themselves,” McCormick said. “When Martin made that triple it was curtains,” Fenson said. “Even if I make it, he’s got a gimme for the win. After the fact we decided it was there. But even if I make it he’s got a nose hit for the win.” The live webstreaming throughout the 2012 Nationals was courtesy of the 12th End Sports Network and the U.S. Olympic Committee and brought in 189,428 unique viewers throughout the weeklong competition. The 2013 Nationals will take place Feb. 9-16, 2013, at the Cornerstone Community Center in Green Bay, Wis.
Semifinal: 100 200 110 3 – 8 002 002 001 0 – 5
Championship final: *McCormick 200 110 000 1 – 5 P. Fenson 020 000 101 0 – 4 *last stone in first end Ann Brown Sportsmanship Award recipient: Kroy Nernberger, vice skip, Team Brown Top Five Stats leaders (through round robin): Skip: Heath McCormick, 80.6% Pete Fenson, 79.7% John Shuster, 78.4% Tyler George, 75.8% Craig Brown, 75.2% Vice skip: Shawn Rojeski (P. Fenson), 82.1% Kroy Nernberger (Brown), 81.9% Chris Plys (George), 81.8% Darren Lehto (Clark), 78.9% Bill Stopera (McCormick), 78.5% Zach Jacobson (Shuster), 78.5% Second: Joe Polo (P. Fenson), 88.1% Rich Ruohonen (George), 86.2% Jared Zezel (Shuster), 85.6% Matt Hamilton (Brown), 82.3% Doug Pottinger (Birr), 81% lead: Steve Lundeen (Clark), 84.1% Derrick Casper (Brown), 83.7% Ryan Brunt (P. Fenson), 82.8% John Landsteiner (Shuster), 81.4% Kevin Birr (Birr), 81.2% Team: Team P. Fenson, 83.2% Team Shuster, 81% Team George, 80.8% Team Brown, 80.8% Team McCormick, 79.2% gold medalists: Team McCormick: Heath McCormick (Sarnia, Ontario), Bill Stopera (Briarcliff Manor, N.Y.), Martin Sather (Hastings-on-Hudson, N.Y.), Dean Gemmell (Short Hills, N.J.) Silver medalists: Team Fenson: Pete Fenson (Bemidji, Minn.), Shawn Rojeski (Chisholm, Minn.), Joe Polo (Duluth, Minn.), Ryan Brunt (Bemidji, Minn.) Bronze medalists: Team Shuster: John Shuster (Duluth, Minn.), Zach Jacobson (Langdon, N.D.), Jared Zezel (Duluth, Minn.), John Landsteiner (Duluth, Minn.)
2012 recipients of the Ann Brown Sportsmanship Awards were Kroy Nernberger and Tara Peterson.
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USA Curling ... Dare to curl
USA finishes fifth at World Wheelchair event by Terry Kolesar, Editor
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fter a strong start to the week, things unraveled for Team USA on the final day of the round robin of the 2012 World Wheelchair Championship at the Uiam Ice Rink in Chuncheon, South Korea. USA’s team of Patrick McDonald (Orangevale, Calif.), David Palmer (Mashpee, Mass.), James Joseph (New Hartford, N.Y.), Penny Greely (Green Bay, Wis.) and Tim Kelly (Rockford, Ill.) finished fifth in the field of 10 teams. The 6-4 overall finish qualifies the U.S. for the 2013 World Wheelchair Championship and earns pivotal 2014 Paralympicqualifying points for the Americans. “I couldn’t be more proud of them,” said Steve Brown (Madison, Wis.), Team USA head coach. “Here’s a team that was so inexperienced and had really hardly ever played together. Their team dynamics have been fantastic. Their effort throughout the year, their practice and preparation just exceeded all their expectations. Obviously, it’s going to be extremely frustrating at this point to have played so well and then lose. All four games they lost, every single game was lost on the last shot so it is just really tough for them.” In similarly eerie fashion, USA lost its final round robin game to Canada, 7-5, with a miss on the final stone of the extra end. That put the Americans in the tiebreaker game against Slovakia to earn the final playoff berth but this game ended the same way as well for this new USA team. In the round robin finale with Canada’s Darryl Neighbour rink, USA needed a win to clinch an outright berth in the playoffs. USA forced Canada to make a hit and stay with their final stone in the eighth, which was converted, to push the game to an extra end. McDonald’s final stone – a raise attempt – was wide and Canada stole the win. In the tiebreaker against Slovakia’s Radoslav Duris rink, the U.S. had a 5-4 lead heading into the final end without the last-rock advantage. Slovakia drew through a narrow port to grab a single and tie the game. In the extra end, Slovakia snuck through the port again and converted a takeout. That left
2012 World Wheelchair Championship Round Robin Korea 7-2 Russia 7-2 China 7-2 Slovakia 6-3 USA 6-3 Sweden 3-6 Canada 3-6 Scotland 3-6 Norway 2-7 Italy 1-8 *USA Slovakia
Tiebreaker: 002 110 100 – 5 210 001 012 – 7
Russia *Korea
Page Playoffs 1-2: 020 001 100 – 4 102 000 011 – 5
*China Slovakia
Page Playoffs 3-4: 210 400 0x – 7 001 000 1x – 2
China *Russia Slovakia *China
Semifinal: 000 001 01 – 2 011 000 10 – 3 Bronze medal: 101 000 2x – 4 020 230 0x – 7
gold medal: *Korea 100 000 0x – 1 Russia 013 211 1x – 9 *last stone in first end USA round robin scores: USA 7, Korea 6 USA 4, Sweden 3 USA 8, Italy 3 USA 8, Slovakia 2 USA 6, Scotland 4 China 7, USA 3 Russia 3, USA 2 USA 7, Norway 3 Canada 7, USA 5
McDonald with a hit and roll for the win but his stone was again wide and Slovakia moved on to the playoffs – the first ever for the nation. This was the first world championship for Palmer and Kelly. “The thing that I feel so good about is their shotmaking and execution,” Brown said. “This is a team
USA’s team of Patrick McDonald (Orangevale, Calif.), David Palmer (Mashpee, Mass.), James Joseph (New Hartford, N.Y.), Penny Greely (Green Bay, Wis.) and Tim Kelly (Rockford, Ill.) finished fifth at the 2012 World Wheelchair Championship in South Korea. Photo by Richard Gray, World Curling Federation
that is just going to continue to improve because they are so inexperienced. They can learn from this experience. Some of the teams in the past, I thought maybe they had levelled out and weren’t going to go forward. But this team here, you can see what they’ve learned and how far they’ve come. The experience of not knowing the right shot, at the right time, occasionally just puts us a little bit behind. But to be that close, with that experience level, bodes well for their future.” Brown was assisted by Rusty Schieber (Portage, Wis.) and Marc DePerno, USA Curling’s national wheelchair outreach and development program
2014 Paralympic Winter games Qualification Points Standings: Country 2011 2012 2013 Total Russia* 7 12 19 Canada 12 4 16 Korea 5 10 15 China 6 8 14 Great Britain** 10 3 13 USA 4 6 10 Norway 8 2 10 Sweden 3 5 8 Slovakia 0 7 7 Germany 2 0 2 Italy 0 1 1 Czech Rep. 1 0 1 *Russia as host country for the 2014 Paralympic Winter Games has guaranteed qualification. **Points for Great Britain are gained by Scotland at World Wheelchair Curling Championships.
www.united.com/usoc – Both codes below must be used Z code: ZMGP and Agreement Code: 716372
director. Russia went on to defeat Korea, 9-1, to win the gold medal. China defeated Slovakia, 7-4, to earn the bronze. The 2013 World Wheelchair Championship will serve as the test event for the 2014 Paralypmic Winter Games and will take
place Feb. 16-23, 2013, in Sochi, Russia. Ten nations will qualify for the 2014 Paralympic Winter Games based on points accumulated at the 2011, 2012 and 2013 world wheelchair championship. Russia, as host, receives an automatic entry, just like for the 2014 Olympic Winter Games.
Team USA shares a light moment before competition at the 2012 World Wheelchair Championship in South Korea. Photo by World Curling Federation
Curling News
USA Curling ... Dare to curl
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Handling pressure: Which gender will rise in 2014?
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he World Championships in Basel, Switzerland, for the men and Lethbridge, Canada, for the women are approaching and a curling connoisseur reflecting on the performances of men’s and women’s teams from different countries at previous Worlds asked me if there were any differences in how men and women approached and coped with competition pressure. We told them we would investigate the question and with the aid of research literature we found differences between the genders in their coping response to competition. How do women and men cope with competitive pressure? According to research findings, in general, highlyskilled female athletes approach competition with a positive mindset and proactive behaviors like problem solving, feedback seeking, solution finding using effective communication skills. Highly-skilled female athletes find ways to engage with the pressure and deal with the cause of the stress directly; and engage in more emotional and social support coping strategies than their male counterparts who prefer a more rational, sociallydetached treatment of competitive pressure. Men have been found to suppress their emotions and not use social support (coaches, teammates and friends) to
By John Coumbe-Lilley, USA Curling sports psychology consultant
inform or enhance their performance when they are experiencing competitive stress, e.g. willingly use a coach for feedback purposes. Female athletes, on the other hand, have been found to use the venting as a unhelpful coping strategy. Research shows that competitive female athletes prefer a positive supportive social environment and their dominant coping responses in competition are emotionally focused not problem- and solutionfocused. Men, on the other hand, are likely to be problem/solution-focused and typically neglect the social connection with teammates and others. What does this mean to coaches, teammates and friends of competitive curlers? Research suggests that competitive female athletes should engage in more problem-focused coping and men should engage in emotional-focused coping strategies so that athletes
The Funny Side
have more tools in their toolboxes to cope with the perceived threat that competitive pressure brings. Coaches should increase their awareness of the differences in coping capability of adolescent and teenage curlers as both male and female curlers will use more unhelpful emotional responses early in their competitive careers. Additionally, coaches should be very careful in the way that feedback is provided to younger curlers. Coaches should avoid harsh criticism, negative appraisal and unhelpful feedback. Instead, they should provide specific performance improvement and positive coping. This recommendation has been found across ages, experience and gender to have a negative impact on athletic performance. But, women have been found to be more influenced by negative appraisal and criticism from someone in their social circle during competition like a coach, friend or teammate. Team effects From a mental game perspective these insights offer us some intriguing concepts: 1. A team that is too emotionally focused and too emotionally sensitive is likely to be shaken in competition when presented with on- and off-ice problems that it will not deal with and does not have the personal or social qualities and skills to cope with.
This means that teams should learn how to cope on an individual, sub-unit and team level. This means training their mental game and approaching the inevitable competitive stress, not avoiding it. 2. A team that is problem and solution focused, but neglects the social cohesion risks alienating team members that prefer a balance of task and social focus. A typical response in this situation is a curler seeking more social balance or withdrawal from a situation that does not meet their social needs. A male team can anticipate this by ensuring that focus is given to the social connectedness in the roles, communication and use of coaches and the like around the team to enhance performance. 3. A team that is too much task or too strongly socially oriented risks cracking under pressure, which is more likely because they do not have a balance of coping skills for the pressure situations they find themselves in. What now? Teams and their coaches should assess how their gendered team handles pressure; and identify what triggers negative and positive individual and team
responses to competitive pressure. Next, they should develop a team improvement approach and develop individual and team coping capabilities building off their strengths and developing their weaknesses. What we know is that men and women curling teams are different in how they cope with competitive pressure. Being mindful of this will help team builders, coaches and teammates develop their most effective ways of coping with pressure. Readers notes Readers should note that this is a general interpretation of primary research conducted on gender differences in a variety of sports. Readers are invited to read my blog at www.learn2peak.wordpress.com for a more formal discussion of this topic, including the tools and techniques that help both genders prepare for competition. Prospective Research Notification In Fall 2012 I will be recruiting front-end specialists to participate in an investigation about the effectivesness of mental skills training to improve control and consistency over critical front end performances in competition.
The U.S. Curling Association is proud to recognize the following sponsors who support our sport and organization:
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Curling News UNITED STATES
USA Curling ... Dare to curl
Americans return home with coveted trophy
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he 20 curlers on the 2012 USCA Scotland Tour were successful in their quest to return the Herries Maxwell Trophy to the United States. Dating from 1805 and similar to the Trafalgar Vases awarded to heroes of the Battle of Trafalgar, the trophy was donated in 1951 by Commander D. Herries Maxwell for competition between curling touring teams of Scotland and the USA on a home and away basis. The Tour has been played every five years since 1952, with the USA having won six times and Scotland seven. Playing in 20 venues across Scotland from Inverness to
Dumfries and Stranraer to Aberdeen, the 3 1/2 week 2012 Tour included 147 competition games plus 10 exhibition games. The competition was decided by the total score of all 147 competition games, with the USA prevailing 1,075-797. “The competition was keen and the camaraderie, fellowship and friendship overwhelming. My teammates were great and every Scotland area and province put on their very best for us. Congratulations to our Scotland opponents for many hard-fought games, and congratulations to my teammates for emerging victorious. We are extremely proud to have brought
the trophy home with us. We are already looking forward to the 2017 USA Tour when we will defend possession of the trophy on U.S. soil and will do our best to match Scottish hospitality,” said Mark Swandby, 2012 Scot Tour captain. The 2012 USCA Scotland Tour members included Russ Armstrong and Russ Brown of the Exmoor Curling Club; Paul Badgero, Detroit Curling Club; Dan Brunt, Portage Curling Club; David Carlson, Poynette Curling Club; Bob Chandler, Boston Curling Club; Doug Dedolph, Mayfield Curling Club; Bob Dixon, Kettle Moraine Curling Club; Dennis
Jorgensen, Curl Mesabi Curling Club; Herb Kupchik, Broomstones Curling Club; Russ Lemcke, Cape Cod Curling Club; Rich Lepping and Mark Swandby, Madison Curling Club; Dick Macartney, Triangle Curling Club; Jon Mielke, Capital Curling Club; Dave Peck, Denver Curling Club; Bill Rhyme, Green Bay Curling Club; James Pleasants, Granite Curling Club; Chris Sjue, Fargo-Moorhead Curling Club; Carl Thomas, Utica Curling Club; and Couriers Hugh Templeton and Robert Stewart. To find out more about the 2012 Scot Tour, visit the team’s blog at https://sites.google.com/site/scottour2012/.
Snowy delivery
Ten Boise Curling Club members didn’t let a blizzard or an avalanche stop them from introducing curling to the small town of Stanley, Idaho (left) during its Winterfest. Club members making the trip included (below, l-r) John Treinen, Russ Benson, Thomas Tomlinson, Craig Paprocki, Rob Smith (kneeling), Jeff Salmans, Scott Fuhriman, Suz Rittenhouse, Dave Rittenhouse Submitted photos
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oise Curling Club members got more of an adventure than they expected on Feb. 11 as they traveled to the high mountain town of Stanley, Idaho, to stage an outdoor curling demonstration and learn to curl event during StanleySawtooth Winterfest 2012. “Most of us began the three-hour drive to Stanley after work on Friday,” said Rob Smith, Boise Curling Club member, who was hauling a trailer full of stones and brooms. “I got turned back an hour out of Boise because an avalanche had closed the road to Stanley.” Smith’s detour back to Boise and then “the long way around” to Stanley through Sun Valley and over Galena Pass turned into a seven-hour trip through fog and darkness late Friday evening. “When I finally got in to Stanley the weather was clear, the outdoor ice sheet was beautiful, and there were a million stars out. ‘This is going to be spectacular, I thought.’” The curlers awoke Saturday morning to 6 inches of new snow on the ice. Just as they started getting it clear with snowblowers and shovels, it began to snow so hard they couldn’t keep up with it ... and yet people were showing up to learn curling. “For the first 90 minutes of the event, we had to clear snow from the
sheet after every single throw. About all we could do was teach people how to slide,” Smith said. “Then the snow finally stopped and we were able to get the ice into decent shape for a game.” In spite of all the challenges, the event was a big hit in this Idaho mountain town with a population of 63 at the last census. “I lost count of the people who came up to thank us for bringing curling up here,” Smith said. Boise Curling Club plans to return for next year’s Winterfest event in Stanley.
Hall of Fame nominations sought Nominations are now being accepted for consideration for the USA Curling Hall of Fame. Curlers can be nominated in three categories: curler, builder or curler/builder based on the candidate’s contributions to the sport. Nomination paperwork can be found online at www.usacurl.org/goodcurling. The deadline for submissions is June 1, 2012. Submit supporting information to the USA Curling office via e-mail to Dawn Leurquin at dawn.leurquin @ usacurl.org, via fax to 715-344-2279, or by mail to 5525 Clem’s Way, Stevens Point, WI 54482. Selection is determined by the USCA Athlete/Curler Recognition Committee.
Nominate a great volunteer The U.S. Curling Association is proud to roll out its Volunteer of the Year Award. Nominations will be accepted through June 1, 2012, with the inaugural winner being announced next summer. The Volunteer of the Year Award honors one great volunteer who stands out for his/her work to help promote the sport of curling. Please help spread the word about this great award to thank the backbone of our organization – our volunteers! Criteria and a nomination form can be found online at www.usacurl.org/usacurl. Thank you to all our great volunteers. For more information, contact the USCA office at 1-888-CURLERS (287-5377).
Curling News Timing to aid sweeping decisions
USA Curling ... Dare to curl
s a sweeper, how do you know when to sweep? Generally speaking, calls related to line are up to the skip and calls related to weight are up to the sweepers. There are certainly exceptions, but sweepers are in the best position to judge the speed of a draw shot and to know if the stone needs sweeping to get it to the desired spot on the ice. So, how do you know? Well, there are four primary ingredients that help sweepers determine if brushing is needed. First and foremost, sweepers need to develop good judgment. They must be able to observe the speed of the stone and, given its location on the sheet and the keenness of the ice, know if it has plenty of weight or if it needs sweeping. If it’s light, don’t wait for someone else to tell you – sweep! A second bit of input that helps sweepers know if brushing is needed is the shooter. Right out of the shooter’s hand, that person should have some sense of how the rock was thrown. Was it heavy or was it light or was it about right? The shooter should immediately communicate with the sweepers and let them know how the rock felt. As the rock nears the far house, the skip is also in a position to judge the rock’s momentum and to provide input to the sweepers. Actually, at that point, the skip will usually override everything else and is providing a directive, rather than merely input. Trust the skip’s judgment when he or she calls for sweeping,
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regardless of whether it is for line or weight. A fourth input tool that many sweepers use to help determine weight is a stop watch. The timing method used is the same interval timing that we discussed in the last article about using a stop watch to develop muscle memory and thereby being able to throw all kinds of weights precisely. As we talked about last time, interval timing involves timing the delivery from the time that the lead edge of the stone touches the backline, until it touches the near hog line. The key to getting accurate times is to have a shooter who does not “feed” or pull back on the stone during the delivery. Ultimately, the goal is to determine the relative keenness of the ice based on an interval time for a rock that comes to rest, without sweeping, at the far tee line. Typically interval times on club ice are in the neighborhood of 3.4 to 3.6 seconds. We also mentioned in the last article that 1/10th of a second in interval timing is equal to about 6 feet in distance. Therefore, on 3.5second ice, a rock thrown with an interval of 3.6 seconds would come to rest just biting the top of the house. Conversely, a rock thrown at 3.4 seconds would travel to the back line. If the skip calls for tee line weight and the shooter throws a 3.7 second shot, start sweeping because you need to take the rock an extra 12 feet. Sweepers and the shooter should communicate what kind of interval time the shooter is striving to throw.
Training Tips From Jon
Jon Mielke, jon.mielke@ndsu.edu If the skip calls for a shot to the tee line on 3.5 second ice, the shooter should tell the sweepers that they should look for a 3.6 second throw. Remember, a 3.6 second throw would naturally stop at the top of the house. But, the goal is to throw just on the light side of perfect and to leave it up to the sweepers to make the shot perfect. Don’t “take the broom out of your sweepers’ hands” by throwing just a bit too heavy. Mechanically, teams should have their strongest sweeper sweeping next to the stone. That sweeper should be ready to sweep immediately, even before the stone gets to the near hog line. The other sweeper should, therefore, be the person in charge of timing. You don’t need two timers – it will only lead to confusion and leave you without a sweeper for a portion of the trip down the ice. The timing sweeper should immediately communicate the resulting time to both the other sweeper and to the shooter. Letting
the shooter know will help them constantly recalibrate their muscle memory so they can effectively know how hard to push out of the hack. Sweepers also need to communicate weights with the skip. Let the person in the house know where you expect the rock to end up. Different teams use different terminology and many use zone numbers. We’ll talk more about that in later articles, but, for now, remember to communicate with the skip. Saying something and being wrong is better than never saying anything at all. Say something – it’s part of your job as a sweeper. You will get better with practice. I also have to say that after I teach my team members how to interval time to judge rock speed, within a couple weeks I inevitably
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tell them to put the watch away and to start using their head. There is nothing more frustrating than calling for a rock to the top of the four-foot and then watching it stop in the 12foot without the sweepers ever laying a broom to it. When asked why, they invariably say that the watch said that the weight was good. Remember, the stopwatch is a great tool, but it is no substitute for good judgment. Always remember to use your head! Until next time – good curling!
Jon Mielke is a Level III instructor and a Level III coach. He is the past chairman of the USCA’s Training & Instruction Committee and a member of Bismarck’s Capital Curling Club.
Top 10 “Buffalo Wild Wings” Restaurant Ways to Prolong the Televised Spectating Enjoyment of their Customers During the Men’s World Curling Championship Gold Medal Final by Surreptitiously Messing Up the Hammer Shot in the 10th and Sending the Game into an Extra End: 10] The fire alarm goes off in mid-delivery, thus startling the thrower enough to make him lose balance and fall flat on his face. 9] A switch is thrown resulting in the sensor handle flashing “red” even though the delivered stone was properly released. 8] A trained squirrel, released from a hidden cage, runs onto the ice and knocks the running stone off its trajectory. 7] A secret trap door concealed in the top eight-foot circle suddenly opens up and swallows the rock just before it gets to the button. 6] A rinkside photographer uses a camera flash to momentarily blind one of the sweepers and cause him to foul the stone.
Key: O–Open; X–Mixed; XD–Mixed doubles; M–Men’s; W–Women’s; S–Senior; Wc–Wheelchair C–Cashspiel; J–Junior; St–Stick Events are listed Friday through Sunday but some may begin earlier. Check the club’s website for more information. mARCH 9–11 Centerville, WI–Funspiel O Columbus, OH X Cook County, MN O Grafton, ND M Granite, WA–USWCA W Green Bay, WI–Shamrock W Pardeeville, WI–Alumni O Portage, WI–Alumni O Schenectady, NY–Gordon Em. M Stevens Point, WI M Wauwatosa, WI M Willmar, MN O mARCH 13–14 Itasca, MN (Grand Rapids) SX mARCH 16–18 Centerville, WI SM Curl Mesabi, MN–Springspiel M Duluth, MN–Dunlop X Grand Forks, ND M Granite, WA J Green Bay, WI J Heather, MN J Kettle Moraine, WI M Lodi, WI X Nutmeg, CT–Golden Handle O Superior, WI J
Utica, NY–Gordon mARCH 23–25 Arlington, WI Blackhawk, WI Duluth, MN–House of Hearts Grafton, ND Itasca, MN (Grand Rapids) Missoula, MT–Zootown Potomac, MD–Cherry Blossom mARCH 29–APRIl 1 Granite, WA Green Bay, WI Mankato, MN Petersham, MA–Spring Fling Stevens Point, WI Two Harbors, MN APRIl 1–6 Potomac, MD–Rotary APRIl 13–15 Anchorage, AK–Spring ‘Spiel Plainfield, NJ–Bonsqueal Rochester, NY APRIl 20–22 Coyotes, AZ–Desert Ice APRIl 27–29 Broadmoor, CO–High Altitude mAY 4–6 Dallas-Fort Worth, TX mAY 18–20 Park City, UT–Utah Open mAY 25–27 San Francisco, CA JUNE 8–10 Granite, WA–Summerspiel JUNE 16–17
M SM M O X O O O O X X O X X M O O O O O O O O O
Coastal Carolina–Lighthouse O JUNE 29–JUlY 1 Hollywood, CA–Blockbuster O JUlY 5–8 Pittsburgh, PA–Tropicurl O JUlY 12–15 Cape Cod, MA X Green Bay, WI–Tailgate O JUlY 15–18 Cape Cod, MA W JUlY 19–22 Cape Cod, MA M Capital, ND O JUlY 23–26 Cape Cod, MA Wc AUg. 3–5 Triangle, NC–Carolina Classic O Green Bay, WI SM AUg. 10–12 Charlotte, NC–Grits ‘n Granite O AUg. 31–SEPT. 2 Vacaville, CA–The Crush O SEPT. 7–9 Wenatchee, WA–Desert Rocks O OCT. 25–28 Madison, WI–Halloween O NOV. 30–DEC. 1 Milwaukee, WI–Kiltie W Don’t see your event listed or it’s listed incorrectly? Send bonspiel dates and corrections to Terry Kolesar, terry.kolesar@usacurl.org. The next deadline for submitting bonspiel results is April 27.
5] An official clandestinely throws white sand onto the ice just prior to delivery, resulting in a dramatic “pick” halfway down the sheet. 4] An overhead sprinkler kicks in and re-pebbles ice in front of the running stone, drastically slowing it down. 3] The sweepers’ stopwatches are remotely triggered to register an excessively high interval time, thereby inducing them to inadvertently brush the rock right through the house. 2] An attractive female spectator sitting in the front row is cued to suddenly start disrobing, thus distracting the players from making the proper line call and allowing the delivered stone to wreck on a guard. 1] A drugged and “brainwashed” Bob LaBonte is sent running into the house in order to fall down and deliberately kick the rock out of the four-foot. – Richard Maskel
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Curling News UNITED STATES
APRIl 2012
USA Curling ... Dare to curl
Wisconsin, Minnesota teams win USSMCA titles
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he United States Senior Men’s Curling Association held its annual competition Feb.16-19 at the Kettle Moraine and Wauwatosa Curling Clubs. The Master’s Division title was won by the Two Harbors, Minn., club skipped by Ron Gervais. John Geason of the Kettle Moraine (Wis.) club captured the Super Senior Division and Larry Sharp’s rink from Rice Lake, Wis., earned the Senior Division title. Here are the full results: Senior Division: 1EW—Rice Lake: Larry Sharp, Bill Kind, Greg Dahl, Don Drost 1ERU—Madison: Stan Vinge, Wally Henry, Tony Parme, Don Kind 2EW—Curl Mesabi: Lonnie Gulbranson, John Pearsall, Gordy Dahl, Scott Love 2ERU—St. Paul: Art Ruohonen, Mark Faltesek, Dale Gibbs, John Eustice 3EW—Madison: Richard Berling, Richard Maskel, Walter Erbach, Larry
Baeder 3ERU—Exmoor: Jeff Wright, Art Helt, Mike Griem, Paul Lange 4EW—Rice Lake: Dale Stoik, Kraig Smith, Mel Pearson, Don Peterson 4ERU—Portage: Bob Daly, Mike Moe, Bill Tierney, Ken Ryczek 5EW—Blackhawk (Janesville): Mike Zolidis, Jim Wilhelm, Henry Clement, Doug Ewing 5ERU—Rice Lake: Larry Anderson, Gary Schieffer, Bob Stanonik, Tom Cochrane Super Senior Division: 1EW—Kettle Moraine: John Geason, Gerry Flakas, Rob Haagensen, Herb Rasmussen 1ERU—Granite (Seattle): Robert Knievel, Charles Smith, Vic Lemacha, Jerry Foley 2EW—Kettle Moraine: Gary Dowd, Jim Buege, Pat O’Driscoll, Jeff Seboth 2ERU—Detroit: Dave Nelson, Gil Schumacher, John Danckaert, Pete Sylvain 3EW—Madison: Steve O’Connor, Dan Lynch, Tony Wendricks, Allan
Hafeman 3ERU—Kettle Moraine: Jack Johnson, Jerry Helding, Bob Flemming, Jim Nelson 4EW—Poynette: Mark Kretzmann, Jon Vaningan, Bruce Garner, Don Jackson 4ERU—Wauwatosa: Jack Baker, John Clark, Vic Hybinette, Neil Doese masters Division: 1EW—Two Harbors: Ron Gervais, Earl Meyer, Ray Micholajak, Gordy Klein 1ERU—Poynette: Dean Teeter, Barney Lohan, Vern Herr, Charles Hilgendorf 2EW—Clintonville: Merrit Sasse, Steve Fellman, Al Prudom, Tom Felts 2ERU—Bemidji: Max Hirt, Larry Oaks, Jim Howard, John Liapis 3EW—Arlington: Bill Monteufel, Bernie Dushek, Art Woodward, Don Thurston 3ERU—Chicago: Paul Arnold, Dan Cahill, Don Rand, Ed Roob 4EW—Detroit: Dallas Schneider, Don Warthman, Ken Zryd, Ron Grover 4ERU—Chicago: Andy Anderson, Ed Davis, Stu Tray, Morgan Porter
green Bay men’s The Green Bay Men’s Bonspiel took place Feb. 17-19 in Green Bay, Wis. Here are the results: 1EW—Green Bay: Brad Casper, Kirt Johnson, Jeff Kuemmel, Mike Krajewski 1ERU—Appleton: Tony Meuller, Tim Paterson, Reed Rudie, Bob Thomas 2EW—Wausau: Howie Fisher, Doug Stone, Mark Sorge, Jeff Stubbe 2ERU—Green Bay: Jamison Miller, Dan Miller, Jerry Miller, Jake Berlinski 3EW—Stevens Point: Don Guay, Doug Anderson, Scott Armstrong, Chris Schwanz 3ERU—Clintonville: Mike Sasse, Pete Sasse, Mark Prignitz, Pete Gretzinger 4EW—Wausau: Corey Sandquist, Charlie Hanz, Steve Gullickson, Jon Burnett 4ERU—Waupaca: Chris Johnson, Randy Swenson, Rick Peeter, Dave Schultz
The Super Senior champions were (l-r) John Geason, Gerry Flakas, Rob Haagensen and Herb Rasmussen.
The Super Senior runner-up team included (l-r) Robert Knievel, Vic Lemacha, Charles Smith and Jerry Foley.
Winners of the Rice Lake Men’s Bonspiel were (l-r) Phil DeVore, Doug Cameron, Dave Johnson and Mark Lusche. Winners of the Senior Division were (front, l-r) Don Drost, Greg Dahl, Bill Kind and Larry Sharp. Runners-up were (back, l-r) Don Kind, Tony Parme, Wally Henry and Stan Vinge.
Belfast men’s The 53rd Men’s Little International Bonspiel took place Feb. 16-19 in Belfast, Maine. Here are the results: 1EW—Belfast: Jeff Dutch, Terry Fancy, Paul Hauser, Cory Chase 1ERU—Heather (New Brunswick): Phil Bartlett, Brian Cummings, Vern Lister, Les Gardiner 2EW—Glooscap (Nova Scotia): Bill Hennigar, Trevor Archibald, Dave Leonrgan, Geza Fekete 2ERU—Woodstock (New Brunswick): Terry Johnston, Tom Muise, Dana Kaye, Peter Lang 3EW—Nackawic (New Brunswick): Scott Fox, Jamie Pollack, Dana Fox, Weldon Pollack 3ERU—Broomstones: Robby Melville, Michael Rosa, Scott Olson, Jeff Marchand 4EW—Thistle St. Andrews (New Brunswick): Jeff Stewart, Kevin Baxter, Danny Armstrong, Dave Lin, Dave Hansen, Greg Baker 4ERU—New Pond: Doug Burchesky, Brad Glaser, Keith Dropkin, Jim Parsons
Winners of the Master’s Division were (front, l-r) Gordy Klein, Ray Micholajak, Earl Meyer and Ron Gervais. Runners-up included (back, l-r) Charles Hilgendorf, Vern Herr, Barney Lohan and Dean Teeter.
Winners of Belfast’s 53rd Men’s Little International Bonspiel were (l-r) Paul Hauser, Cory Chase, Terry Fancy and Jeff Dutch (skip).
Rice lake men’s The Rice Lake Men’s 2012 Invitational took place Feb. 3-5 in Rice Lake, Wis. Here are the results: 1EW—Duluth: Phil DeVore, Doug Cameron, Dave Johnson, Mark Lusche 1ERU—Duluth: Bob Magie, Dan Peterson, Rick Fox, Kevin Stevens 2EW—Rice Lake: Larry Sharp, Scott
Sharp, Bumper Bergstrom, Mike Wolff 2ERU—St. Paul: Bob Nelson, Tim Lindgren, Dan Frey, Steve Meyer 3EW—Madison: Ken Neidhart, Adam Derringer, Jeff Robinson, Josh Koehler 3ERU—St. Paul: Jim Bronson, Jim Bata, Wayne Richert, Bill Haider 4EW—Rice Lake: Phil Henkel, Jim Berndt, Greg Leach, Terry Sirek 4ERU—Columbus: Ryan Moellman, Steve Shaffer, Bryan Wilson, Adam Huffman
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USA Curling ... Dare to curl
UNITED STATES
APRIl 2012
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Cleveland mixed The 52nd International Mixed Bonspiel took place Jan. 27-29 at the Cleveland Skating Club in Shaker Heights, Ohio. Here are the results: 1EW—Columbus: P.J. Kearney, Sharon O’Brien, Jon Chambers, Erica Chambers 1ERU—Ridgetown: Doug Young, Sheila Young, Bill Humphrey, Theresa Humphrey 2EW—Roseland: Phil Partington, Terri Hooft, Ed Hooft, Melinda Partington 2ERU—Mayfield: Else Festersen, Bob Bellamy, Debbie Horn, Roger Meredith 3EW—Oakville: Doug Kelsey, Mary Anne Hulme, Roy Hulme, Ginette Louth 3ERU—Hamilton-Victoria: Ken Phillips, Sharon Lederman, Larry Marriot, Nancy Phillips 4EW—Mayfield: Daniel Schmidt, Courtney Schmidt, Wayne Vespoli, Lynde Vespoli 4ERU—Curling Club of Collingwood: David Erler, Deb Erler, Morley Bercovitch, Joan Bercovitch 5EW—Hamilton-Victoria: John Scott, Judy Scott, Jim Neales, Christina Neales 5ERU—Annandale: Jim Sliva, Shannon Sliva, Dave MacDonald, Heather MacDonald, Katy Mercer (alternate)
Winners of the Arlington Men’s Bonspiel were (front, l-r): Dean Teeter, Jon Vananigan, Rick Walstad and Terry Thompson. Runners-up included (back, l-r) Stan Vinge, Rob Wixson, Sheldon Bender and Joe Sokal.
Winners of the Wisconsin State Curling Bonspiel hosted by Cottage Grove Lions at the Madison Curling Club in January were Waupaca Curling Club members (l-r) Dale Matheson, Larry Gordon, Doug Eskritt and Tom Olmsted.
Schenectady Women’s The 2012 Empire State Bonspiel took place Jan. 19-22 in Schenectady, N.Y. Here are the results: 1EW–Oakville, Ontario: Doris Bitz, Gail Cosman, Cheryl Van Der Kroon, Chelsea Allen 1ERU–Kayuta Lake: Karen Rogowski, Heather Swiercz, Julie Chanatry, Lisa Magnarelli 2EW–Otterburn Park: Elaine de Ryk, Nancy Wurth, Nancy Sage, Linda Austin 2ERU–Utica 2: Cindy Brown, Barbara Felice, Liz Nolan, Kathy Palazzoli, Diane Higgins 3EW–UNUT: Anne Stuhlman, Lenore Collins, Phelicia Howland, Elly Bockley 3ERU–Rochester 2: Carol Wood, Rebecca Hahn, Andrea Greisberger, Bonney Bennett 4EW–Philadelphia: Rosemary Morgan, Jo Hess, Leslie Dudt, Pat Jolly 4ERU–Rochester 1: Gail Short, Kathy Lomnicki, Mary Fredlund, Claudia Raven 5EW–Utica 1: Susan Williams, Ylva Cortright, Kathy Davis, Jan Rishel 5ERU–Albany: Wendy Berger, Megan Boyak, Emma Foster, Annie Petersen
Winners of the Racine Men’s Invitational were (l-r) Chris Anderson, Matt Wood, Stephen Baylon and Tom Feick.
Winners of the Marshfield Men’s Bonspiel were (l-r) Dana Haagenson, Gary Haagenson, Andy Krahn and Preston Hill.
Winners of the 52nd International Mixed Bonspiel at the Cleveland Skating Club were (l-r) Jon Chambers, Sharon O’Brien, Erica Chambers and P.J. Kearney.
Winners of the 2012 Racine Curling Club Mixed Invitational Bonspiel were (l-r) James Krutilla, Sue Blizzard, Fred Blizzard and Pauline Krutilla of the Milwaukee Curling Club.
Winners of the Badger Women’s Bonspiel were (l-r) Margo Pufahl, Lisa Wendt, Carrie Cook and Laura Mitchell.
Winners of the Schenectady Empire Bonspiel were (l-r) Doris Bitz, Gail Cosman, Cheryl Van Der Kroon and Chelsea Allen.
Racine men’s The Racine Men’s Invitational took place Nov. 6-8 in Racine, Wis. Here are the results: 1EW—Racine: Chris Anderson, Matt Wood, Stephen Baylon, Tom Feick 1ERU—Milwaukee: Mark Conrardy, Steve Shallock, Fred Richter, Tom Christensen, Steve Seivers 2EW—Wauwatosa: Michael Vigil, Michael Elwing, Greg Touchette, Dave Gross, Doug Drzycimski 2ERU—Alpine: Scott Wild, Mike Woods, Steve Johnson, Harlan Edelman 3EW—Milwaukee: Mike Moll, Scott Kania, Dick Barnes, Jim Hintz 3ERU—Racine: Nate Hazen, Josh Hoffman, Keith Erdman, Mike Zimmerman 4EW—Racine: Mike Dry, Steve Thery, Bob Miers, Bob Johnson 4ERU—Racine: Jim Mataczynski, Josh Doe, Zach Schlemming
mayfield Women’s The Mayfield Women’s Bonspiel took place Jan. 21, 2012, in Cleveland, Ohio. Here are the results: 1EW—Team International: Ann Hull, Sherry Paling, Rosemary Birka, Linda Peterson 1ERU—Columbus: Amy Lyle, Karen Hamilton, Barb Baroni, Jan Kriebel 2EW—Cleveland: Rebecca Storey, Julia Sullivan, Audrey Lynn, Annie Hubbard
2ERU—Brantford (Ontario): Karen Moffat, Krista Berrill, Laurie Tottle, Shannon McMannis 3EW—Columbus: Jen Paine, Sarah Fields, Valerie Dolence, Amy Clawson 3ERU—Mayfield: Debbie Horn, Leslie Cook, Laurel Cox, Courtney Schmidt
marshfield men’s The Marshfield Men’s Bonspiel took place Feb. 10-12 in Marshfield, Wis. Here are the results: 1EW—Marshfield: Dana Haagenson, Gary Haagenson, Andy Krahn, Preston
Hill 1ERU—Marshfield: Dennis Jacobsen, Jeremy Dohr, Jake Ferch, Paul Logan, Kellen Kangas 2EW—Marshfield: Steve Borgemoen, Luke Behling, Bryan Borgemoen, Mike Behling, Jeff Schliesman 2ERU—Marshfield: Mike Bissonette, Jon Kalsow, Matt Ruhbusch, Mitch Langreck 3EW—Stevens Point: Jack Konopacky, Dusty Lochner, Jack Edgerton, Kurt Klussendorf 3ERU—Eau Claire: Fred Fetzer, Bob Scott, Clarence Topp, Brent Carpenter 4EW—Marshfield: Todd Besler, Drew
Gillett, Chris Schwanz, Gary Gustafson, Craig DeGrand 4ERU—Marshfield: Steve Schmidt, Jim Freund, Clarence Tam, Rob Brown
Kettle moraine Women’s The Badger Women’s Bonspiel took place Jan. 27-29 at the Kettle Moraine Curling Club in Hartland, Wis. Here are the results: 1EW—Pardeeville: Margo Pufahl, Lisa Wendt, Carrie Cook, Laura Mitchell 1ERU—Stevens Point: Bev Schroeder, Lori Kawleski, Sarah Kreager, Patti
Henning 2EW—Kettle Moraine: Judy Maier, Teresa Thomas, Kathy Hyslop, Ali Bedborough/Jean Bosenbecker 2ERU—Appleton: Nancy Davis, Jeri Norris, Sue Van Rooy, Teresa Larkin 3EW—Madison: Cindy Godar, Angie Montgomery, Sara Dewey, Sandii Zylkowski/Dae Jahnke 3ERU—Racine: Lora Christensen, Lisa Johnson, Paula Kalke, Tanya Schober 4EW—Waupaca: Carol Peotter, Linda Eskritt, Sue Tuss, Cheri Wolverton 4ERU—Racine: Barb VanderLeest, Denise Knudsen, Jody Erdman, Dawn Flegel
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Curling News UNITED STATES
APRIl 2012
USA Curling ... Dare to curl
Blackhawk mixed The Blackhawk Mixed Bonspiel took place Jan. 20, 2012, in Janesville, Wis. Here are the results: 1EW—Waltham: Jim Thomson, Chelsey Lamont, Matt Galas, Beth Walker 1ERU—Kettle Moraine: Jerry Helding, Millie Buege, Jim Buege, Chris Helding 2EW—Wauwatosa: James Krutilla, Pauline Krutilla, Jason Pickett, Erica Pickett 2ERU—Appleton: Joe Norris, Jeri Norris, Fred Messman, Wynne Messman 3EW—Chicago: Paul Arnold, Marcia Arnold, Wilson Gottschild, Karrie Gottschild 3ERU—Milwaukee: Dick Barnes, Roanne Barnes, Dave Goelzer, Mary Beth Goelzer 4EW—Racine: Chris Anderson, Amanda Hyttel, Matt Wood, Virginia Anderson 4ERU—Blackhawk: Aaron Richards, Deb Richards, Randy Thompson, Cathy Idzerda
Winners of the Women’s First Chance in Janesville were (l-r) Pam Oleinik, Laurie Rahn, Julie Denten and Stephanie Martin.
Winners of the Blackhawk Mixed Bonspiel were (l-r) Jim Thomson, Chelsey Lamont, Matt Galas and Beth Walker.
Winners of the Broomstones Baystate Bonspiel were (l-r) Maggie McMahon, Joyce Folkins, Sandra Brown and Nancy Dinsdale.
Winners of the Green Bay Men’s Bonspiel were (front, l-r) Mike Krajewski, Jeff Kuemmel, Kirt Johnson, Brad Casper
2012 Badger State Games junior women’s gold medalists were (l-r) Alanna Witter, Michaela Gunseor, Calla Buttke and Melissa Sandquist.
2012 Badger State Games junior men’s gold medalists were (l-r) Andrew Summers, Evan Brauer, Ryan Kernosky and Jeremy Stubbe.
2012 Badger State Games men’s gold medalists were (l-r) George Goyke, Gordon Hetzel, Greg Adams and Hank Bowman. Also pictured is Blair Slaminski.
2012 Badger State Games women’s gold medalists were (l-r) Fran Cook, Tiffany Reilly, Rebecca Nguyen and Stacy Bast.
Blackhawk Women’s The 2011 Women’s First Chance Bonspiel took place at the Blackhawk Curling Club in Janesville, Wis. Here are the results: 1EW—Chicago: Pam Oleinik, Laurie Rahn, Julie Denten, Stephanie Martin 1ERU—Madison: Jenna Haag, Grace Gabower, Chloe Pahl, Erin Wallace 2EW—Appleton: Wynne Messman, Jeri Norris, Teresa Larkin, Lisa Curtis 2ERU—Blackhawk: Nancy Wilhelm, Sharon Davidson, Beth Hilt, Sally Edelman 3EW—Madison: Marnee Hafeman, Boots Stolt, Carla Lynch, Dae Jean Jahnke 3ERU—Chicago: Susan McDonald, Cheryl Dudek, Donna Slabas, Joby Berman 4EW—Wauwatosa: Melva Sabatke, Kim Rudkin, Tiffany Reilly, Evie Zuroske 4ERU—Green Bay: Karen Ronk, Ashley Lyman, Deborah Moulton, Lisa Schroeder
Centerville Women’s The Women’s Sippy Spiel took place Feb. 3-5 at the Centerville (Wis.) Curling Club. Here are the results: 1EW—St. Paul: Margie Smith, Debbie Dexter, Sally Augustin, Peggy Gazzola 1ERU—Centerville/Wauwatosa: Lorene Harris, Kara Sacia, Cally Hein, Kathy Van Vleet 2EW—Rice Lake: Sara Lorenz, Lynn Struzan, Kelly Flach, Stacy Schlampp 2ERU—Centerville: Mary Trim, Barb Guse, Megan McCluskey, Carrie Pohjola 3EW—Medford: Mary Nelson, Jenna Nelson, Debbie Nernberger, Shalon Holbeck 3ERU—Rice Lake: Lola Skogstad, Marion Olund, Carlotta Romsos, Barb Beguhn 4EW—Blackhawk: Stacy SennettBaden, Sonja Bagley, Kathy Idzerda, Jean Moats 4ERU—Centerville: Lisa KirkeyHosler, Shellie Nelson, Norma Van Vleet, Trudi Ewing
Racine mixed The Racine Mixed Bonspiel took place Feb. 10-12 in Racine, Wis. Here are the results: 1EW—Milwaukee: James Krutilla, Sue Blizzard, Fred Blizzard, Pauline Krutilla 1ERU—Kettle Moraine: John Geason, Carey Nelson, Jeff Nelson, Stella Geason 2EW—Blackhawk: Aaron Richards, Deb Richards, Phil Boutwell, Denise Knudsen 2ERU—Kettle Moraine: Jeff Moylan, Shelley Brzinski, Cary Brzinski, Cyndy Seitz 3EW—Milwaukee: Steve Sedgwick, Alice Sedgwick, Tim Sullivan, Cindy Gallun 3ERU—Stevens Point: Tom Okray, Paula Kalke, John “JT” Anderson, Monica Anderson
4EW—Wauwatosa: Michael Elwing, Pat Heim, Rick Heim, Holly Elwing 4ERU—Blackhawk: Gary Olson, Darcie Olson, Harlan Edelman, Sally Edelman
Broomstones Women’s The 2012 Baystate Ladies Bonspiel took place at Broomstones in Wayland, Mass. Here are the results: 1EW—Nashua I: Nancy Dinsdale, Sandra Brown, Joyce Folkins, Maggie McMahon 1ERU—The Country Club II: Anne Robertson, Lissa England, Robin Jackson, Scoopy Stevens
2EW—Broomstones II: Dawn Gutro, Carolyn MacLeod, Debra Kutok, Heather Campbell 2ERU—Nashua III: Wendy Tulgan, Ellen McDonnell, Beth Curran, Linda Denner 3EW—The Country Club I: Pam Ellsworth, Lee Ladd, Jean Childs, Lyn Lord 3ERU—Cape Cod II: Gabriele Bruce, Natalie Galligan, Krista Longnecker, Amy Henderson 4EW—Broomstones IV: Mary Kitses, Betsy Chalmers, Marsha Edmunds, Fran Daly 4ERU—Broom/Valley clubs: Karen Smith, Judith Cantlin-Ho, Paula Ellis, Gwenn Munroe
Winners of the Kettle Moraine Classic Bonspiel were Madison Curling Club members (l-r) Steven O’Connor, Marie O’Connor, Tom Hilt and Beth Hilt.
Curling News City of Brotherly Love opened my eyes
USA Curling ... Dare to curl
H
oly buckets! I flew to Philly to watch Nationals and I’m certainly glad that I did. It was a double takeout to the checkbook, but worth every penny. Besides the great curling (that is covered in more prominent pages of the U.S. Curling News), I saw some amazing things ... truly amazing things. Three of these might be considered “game changing.” Media is never supposed to be “the story.” I know this because professional media people have told me. Fortunately, I am not a media professional. The webcast coverage of the curling is certainly one of the top stories to come out of the Philadelphia Nationals. I am not patting myself on the back. My contribution to the webcast was laughably small. The credit belongs to Joe Calabrese and Brian Anderson of the Rochester Curling Club. These technology wizards (another term might be “nerds”) put together high quality productions for every round robin game and every playoff game. They used over a dozen cameras and even had cordless microphones on the teams. They had graphics and remaining rock counters and onscreen stats and logos for sponsors. The net result was coverage that rivaled professionals without as much commercial interruption. USA curling fans finally have the coverage that they deserve. Kudos to the USCA for having the guts to give 12th End Sports Network a chance and a nod to those like Bill Morehouse that came before and whetted our appetites. How this coverage affects USA curling in the future remains to be seen, but I do have some
APRIl 2012
UNITED STATES
thoughts on the matter. Alas, I do not have the space in this column ... maybe some other time. Speaking of the USCA showing some guts: An arena in the East? That had to be outside of their comfort zone. Just like 12th End Sports Network, the East not only justified USCA’s faith, but far exceeded expectations. The community made everybody feel extremely welcome. It was so very obvious that they were thrilled to have this event. Philly is sports-crazed. Forget about Chicago, New York and Boston. Philly is nuts for sports. I never thought I would live long enough to see a curling event in the USA sell out. They sold all the seats. Then they added more seats. Then they sold all of them. Then they added even more seats. I mean, we’re not stupid. Still, in the end, there were people with cash in their hands turned away at the door. How cool is that? So cool that it most likely means the end to Nationals being hosted at any but the very largest curling clubs. Arenas are here to stay. If the Midwest cannot sell a thousand tickets for the finals, look for more Nationals to be held at population centers in arenas that work hard at pre-event publicity. They also generated a lot of media interest. It became an event that could be a “game changer.” We got a taste of this with the Grand Forks Nationals and the Grand Forks Worlds, but not to this extent. The third “game changer” that I noticed was the depth of the women’s field. For years (and, to some extent, decades), we have pinned our hopes on three or four accomplished teams. It was exciting to see eight teams vie for the
Tucked in the Back Page
By Ben Tucker tuck@usacurl.org playoff positions and two other rinks that were pretty dang good. Internationally, our women’s teams have done very well ... but this newfound depth is important to our continued success, increasing success and our future on the world stage. Plus, it makes things a whole lot more interesting and a whole lot more fun. For The good of the game: Instead of random thoughts, I’ll stick with a few shorter thoughts on what I observed in Philly. • Members of the Norfolk CC were in attendance to raise money toward rebuilding their club. Thanks to curlers on site and curlers donating from home, they raised thousands of dollars. Some of our past Olympians have donated memorabilia for them to raffle off. Check out their website and help them out if you can. I hope I get one of Chris Plys’ Olympic jackets. • Dean “Duck” Gemmell shoots for the gold-medal winning McCormick rink. His Plainfield Curling Club mates showed up in force to cheer on their rink, but also cheered any good shot by any team. When Duck
made anything close to a good shot, they blew on duck calls. I thought that this might be a little too rowdy for our gentleman’s game, but it was great. A little color is what this game needs. The duck calls brought some color ... mostly the color red to Gemmell’s embarrassed face. They called their cheering section The Duck Pond. Way cool. Martin Sather, also from the gold-medal men’s team, played the national anthem on his saxophone before the start of the Women’s Page Playoff games. The last couple of measures gave me goose bumps. That kid can blow a mean sax. An obscure Philadelphia Phillies baseball tradition is to bring goodies to the broadcasting booth. The city took a shine to us, so we got some local delicacies ... soft pretzels, Yum Yum doughnuts and Tastycakes. I grew to love Philly. The ice for Nationals was beyond good. It started out a little “green” and dang swingy. After a couple of draws it settled into Nirvana. David Staveteig is using a light nip and then running the rocks. It gives him ice that is already pretty fast for the first practice and pebble that showed very little wear at the end of the game ... or even in an extra end. It was extremely impressive. I think that Dave and his crew are climbing up the ranks and can now compare their results with the best icemen in the world. That’s saying a lot, but it’s what I saw. I surprised myself at the end of it all. I have friends or acquaintances on many of the teams, so I think of myself as fairly neutral. Once the shooting was over, however, I found myself feeling badly for
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2012 national champion Martin Sather is not only an accomplished curler but an accomplished saxophone player as was evident when he treated the crowd at IceWorks to a moving rendition of the national anthem at the start of the women’s playoffs in Philly. You can find out more about his musical career at www.martinsather.com.
Team Patti Lank, Team Erika Brown and really badly for Team Pete Fenson. Now that is just silly, especially for Fenson since they qualified for the Olympic Trials. I think it comes from cheering so hard for them at Worlds. All of that cheering must have made me a fan. Strange. I never saw it coming. I still feel glad for the winners and hope the very best for them. I guess I’m just becoming less of a curler and more of a curling fan as time slips by. Shoot me an e-mail if you get the time. – Tuck Tucker is a member of the Grafton Curling Club and makes his living farming in North Dakota. Send questions or comments to Tuck at tuck@usacurl.org. Send complaints to his dictatorial editor (terry.kolesar@usacurl.org).
Please help curling continue to grow USA Curling’s 2012 Sweep the Country Annual Appeal is underway. This program replaces the existing annual pin program that so many of you have graciously donated to in the past. Pin collectors will be pleased to know that a pin is still available as a thank you gift from us. Your gift is tax deductible. Check out the online donation web portal at www.usacurl.org (look for the logo above) and donate today to help curling continue to grow across the U.S. Thank you!
Tuck (far right) hard at work calling a game during the 2012 USA Curling National Championships in Aston, Pa., along with Leland Rich of Alaska (left) and 12th End Sports Network producer Brian “BA” Anderson with the “ladder of death” looming in the foreground.
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USA Curling ... Dare to curl