Arena Nationals Field Taking Shape
What we know (and don't know) about the Arena National Championship teams
At the close of my last newsletter, I had shared that it would be about a month or so before the next newsletter, with it being unlikely that I’d get anything else out with before the final two arena playdowns were complete. As it turns out, this was mostly true with one false element: we still have one playdown to go!
I learned this past week that the Alaska region will, in fact, have a men’s playdown between Palmer and Talkeetna Curling Clubs this August to determine an Alaskan representative at the Arena National Championships this November! By my record, this is the first time we’ve seen an arena playdown for the Alaska region.
Clubs were asked to declare intent to send regional representatives for nationals by July 24th, but I have not heard officially if Alaska will be sending a women’s team. With that said, while the final few teams are yet to be determined for arena nationals, I wanted to run down what we know so far. As always, this information is not the official list of qualified teams and number of representatives from each region. Official word will come from USA Curling ahead of November’s championship event in Irving, TX.
Women’s Field
All but two spots have been filled for the women’s field. As the reigning champions, Team Andenas-Weber of Sioux Falls Curling Club is awarded a spot and the opportunity to defend their title. One berth is still up for grabs at the Coulee Sweep Arena Qualifier in La Crosse, Wisconsin at the end of August. The only other question mark is Alaska.
If Alaska sends a women’s team, every region will be represented this year, and no wild card berths would be awarded. If Alaska is not represented, then it appears as though the runner-up of the MACA region would receive a wild card berth to nationals. MACA had the largest playdown with six women’s teams. See later on in this newsletter for those results!
Men’s Field
For the men’s event, every region is claiming a spot again this year, which gives us ten of the twelve teams. As with the women, one spot will be going to the winner of the Coulee Sweep Arena Qualifier. It is also unclear whether or not the reigning champions on the men’s side will not be competing this year.
Team Myers of Dallas/Fort Worth Curling Club won last year’s event. With their dedicated curling facility set to open in a few weeks, the club is about to graduate from arena nationals eligibility. USA Curling’s eligibility states that team members must be members of a club that plays in an arena setting, which will no longer be true once their new facility is open. Additionally, if members of the team play in the DFW’s leagues that are beginning in the near future, they would also exceed the 10-game limit on league games played on dedicated ice.
If Team Myers does not compete, this opens up a spot for a wild card berth on the men’s side. The 8-team Dakota Territory Curling Association playdown was the largest in the country, putting Team Nilson of Sioux Falls at the front of the line (by my math) for a spot on the ice in the country’s newest dedicated curling club.
Arena Playdown Results
Grand National
Women
Champion: Hackett (Rocket City Curling Club)
Runner-Up: Hammond (Rocket City Curling Club)
The five-team GNCC women’s playdowns were held in Huntsville, Alabama, home of the soon-to-be dedicated ice Rocket City Curling Club. In what should be their last go-around of eligibility for the arena national championships, Rocket City made up three of the five teams in the women’s event. At the conclusion of the round robin, it was two Rocket City teams in the final.
Sara Hammond, who was the vice for Abbey Carlson at last year’s arena national championship, went undefeated in pool play. The game against the fellow club team led by Molly Hackett was Hackett’s only loss of the event, setting up a rematch in the Sunday morning finale.
Hammond started off strong by hanging a score of four in the second end. After getting forced in the third, Hackett charged back, stealing in three consecutive ends and went into the eighth end tied with the hammer. The Hackett rink capitalized on the last rock advantage, scoring three in the final to win 9-6. In avenging their lone round robin loss, Team Hackett punched their ticket to Texas this fall.
Men
Champion: Bartlett (Rocket City Curling Club)
Runner-Up: Curtis (Rocket City Curling Club)
With six teams competing in the men’s playdown (all six having members from Rocket City Curling Club), the organizers ran a unique format I had been wanting to see in curling, a modified Swiss-system tournament. While this format is most commonly seen in trading card games, chess, and esports events, it is one that can find a unique place in curling, and a playdown with limited teams and draw availability can fit the bill.
In this format, teams are effectively reseeded after each round of play, so the top-ranked teams play each other after each round. For example, the Curtis, Butler, and Bartlett rinks each won their games in round one of Swiss play, so the top two teams by record and Draw Shot Challenge scores, Curtis and Bartlett, faced off in round two.
Team Bartlett and Team Butler were the only two teams that won both of their first two games, so they played each other in the third and final round of Swiss play. The top four teams after the three Swiss rounds moved into a four-team playoff. Bartlett and Curtis won their semifinals, and it was Gideo Bartlett’s rink who came out victorious in the final, winning 11-6 over the 2024 Arena National Championship bronze medalists.
Mid-America
Women
Champion: Segovia (Curling Club of Houston)
Runner-Up: Linke (Aksarben Curling Club)
The Mid-America Curling Association put together the largest women’s playdown in the country once again this year. Six teams made the annual pilgrimage from Texas, Oklahoma, and Nebraska to Four Seasons Curling Club in Minnesota for one of the most successful regions in the country for this championship series. MACA has had at least one team in the both the women’s and men’s championship games every year since 2017.
Multi-time arena national champion Houston’s Team Segovia went undefeated in round robin play, handing Aksarben’s Elizabeth Linke their only loss. Because MACA has a provision preventing teams with 1-loss from being eliminated, Linke was still alive but would need to win two elimination games against Segovia, while Segovia just needed one.
The Houston rink raced out to an early lead, scoring four on Julie Segovia’s well-executed hit-and-stay in the first end. Linke was unable to muster any offensive momentum against the multi-time national champions raced out to the early lead, and Segovia secured the regional championship with a 9-3 victory. After a one-year hiatus, the decorated Houston will find themselves driving I-45 this fall as they seek to add more hardware to an already impressive trophycase.
Men
Champion: Heger (Aksarben Curling Club)
Runner-Up: Major (Curling Club of Houston)
On the men’s side, seven teams played down in a round robin event. With host Dallas/Fort Worth Curling Club preparing to open their dedicated curling facility soon, the field was absent multiple notable teams this year. The region still boasted a strong field, including two-time silver medalist Team Ridder.
The field proved to be evenly matched, with four teams finishing round robin play with a 4-2 record. Due to MACA’s playdown rules, just three of those teams moved into the tiebreakers with one, Team Koppen of Lone Star Curling Club, ultimately being eliminated through the Draw Shot Challenge.
Houston’s Greg Major, an arena mainstay in the MACA region, defeated Team Ridder in the first tiebreaker to face off against Aksarben’s Sawyer Heger in the final. Heger got off to a dream start, taking full advantage of having last rock to kick off the game. The UNO college curler made a draw to score two in the first end, forced Major to one in the second, and hung another three points in the third.
Much like the women’s final, the team who raced out to an early lead was unrelenting and never allowed a comeback to be mounted. In this game, Heger was supported by his fellow college teammate, Isaiah Jacobsen, who exhibited excellent sweeping ability, throwing third rocks and sweeping for Heger’s stones. Perhaps his first half sleeveless look was a tribute to Team Shuster and Frontier Curling Club, or maybe it was just warm on the ice in Blaine, Minnesota. Either way, it was an impressive effort by all members of Team Heger as they cruised to a 9-3 victory.
Across the entire, Heger allowed opponents to convert with hammer just two times. If they can put a similar effort forward in Irving, they’ll represent Aksarben well at the Arena National Championships.
Thank you to the GNCC and MACA hosts for providing draw schedules and game results online. An additional thanks to Matt Smith (Rocket City Curling Club) and Nic Ridder (Aksarben Curling Club) for providing additional supporting information for the newsletter.
In Case You Missed It
Shortly after my last newsletter, I wrote an article for thegrandslamofcurling.com on Brad Gushue’s first weeks at the helm of USA Curling’s High Performance program. I was able to interview both Gushue and John Shuster for the piece, where we discussed the formation of the new Team Shuster and how Gushue is navigating a women’s program with a lot of youth. Be sure to check it out if you missed it.
What do you want to see?
We’ll once again have a brief hiatus in the leadup to the next newsletter, but as my coverage of curling in the US evolves, I’d love to get your feedback on what you’d like to see. Whether that be mailbags, different types of features, or your opinion on what type of content I put forward, I’d love to hear it!
I can’t guarantee what I’ll be able to implement, but I’m just one person. I’d love to hear any feedback on the type of content you’d like to see or what I have already done. You’re welcome to leave a comment on this post, or you can also share feedback with me privately via my contact page.
It’s hard to believe summer is winding down. Before you know it, the busy curling season will be upon us, and more coverage will be coming your way!
Until then, thanks for reading, and good curling!