Signs of Summer
Looking ahead to future national championship host sites, a 5U curler throws a first pitch, and a batch of teams qualify for the arena national championships!
I know, I know. It’s summer. It’s the time to take a break from the Roaring Game, go play some golf, and get mad at a different sport instead.
But it’s not too early to look ahead to next season. After all, our ice here in Utah just got put back in, and we’re ready to get back to seeing which way the ice is falling on a weekly basis at the Oval. (Big ups to our ice folks who do a great job making sure we have solid, predictable conditions!)
Summertime, while it’s a break for many, is when the field starts taking shape for the first national championship on the season calendar, the arena national championship. I’ll have more on the first teams who have qualified in the second part of this newsletter. Those teams will be headed to a brand-new curling facility: Dallas/Fort-Worth Curling Club.
The arena national championship hasn’t been in the same place since Eveleth hosted in back-to-back years, and we could be in for a fun tradition for the next few years that started in 2025: a championship hosted by a club that just made the transition away from arena ice into a new facility.
CurlVegas hosted in 2025, and with DFW tapped for 2026, we’ll see the pattern repeat for at least two consecutive years. In an ideal world, I would love to see Rocket City Curling Club host in 2027 with Huntsville’s 5-sheet club scheduled to be up and running early in 2027. Dedicated ice projects are making additional progress in Orange County and Omaha as well, and Glacial Ridge Curling Club also opened a facility in Willmar, Minnesota this past year. The opportunity is ripe for new facilities to host this event as a graduation party of sorts, and it’s a tradition I’d love to see established for so many reasons, not the least of which is that it means we’re seeing new ice opening regularly across the country!
Championship Home on the Front Range
Colorado has been a routine host for championship events since Rock Creek Curling opened just a few years ago, increasing the number of sheets in the Front Range from 4 to 10 sheets.
In the past two years, Rock Creek has hosted both televised events and national championships, with the Everest North American Curling Club Championships and the Mixed Doubles Olympic Trials being televised from the facility. They hosted the U18 National Championships this past season and have been selected again for another year.
On the other side of the metro area, Denver Curling Club has hosted the Mixed Fours National Championship for a couple years in a row, but that championship will move to another major metro in 2027. Windy City Curling Club was announced as the host for next season, a great sign after the club was severely damaged from a deluge of water taking over the facility just two years ago. A three-sheet club, the draw schedule shouldn’t be significantly altered as the 12-team draw schedule can simply alternate between pools.
While Denver was an excellent host, and always fielded a very strong host team, it’s good to see the love shared. There are still a few national championships whose sites have not been announced yet for next season, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see one of the clubs hosting an additional event next year.
Another Good Throw from 5U World Champs
For one 5-and-Under curling team, summer is a time for celebration. Last season, Team Purves out of St. Paul Curling Club won the 2nd annual 5U World Championship, defeating Quebec’s Alexis Boucher in the championship of this budding international invitational event.
Now, just a month after Cory Thiesse and Korey Dropkin threw a pitch at a Minnesota Twins game, Justin Purves found himself on the mound throwing out the first pitch across town for a AAA St. Paul Saints game.
In a brave move, Purves threw the pitch from the full 60 feet, 6 inches instead of in front of the pitcher’s mound, but he proved that curlers are athletes.
“I was a little nervous throwing from the mound, but I managed to throw it right down the middle into his glove,” Purves shared with me. “I was relieved I wouldn’t end up on SportsCenter’s Not Top 10.”
I’d like to think that this performance from Justin was the inspiration that gave the boost to Royce Lewis in his first game at AAA since being demoted last month. (I apologize for two straight newsletters referencing the Minnesota Twins.)
Arena Playdowns Results
Dakota Territory
Note: I am still searching for rosters and game results from the Dakota Territory playdown. Any help in getting detailed results would be appreciated. Feel free to contact me via Substack or email.
Women
Champion: Connell (Billings)
Runner-Up: Carlson (Sioux Falls)
The Dakota and Minnesota regions kicked off the arena playdown season in early April, and to date, the Dakota Territory has had the best turnout of any region. Four teams took part in the women’s playdown in Brookings, South Dakota, and for the second year in a row, Jamie Connell skipped her team to victory on the women’s side. Her team looks a little different, with only Mary Johnson returning from last year’s nationals team. Notably, the team added fellow Billings club member and Paralympian Katie Verderber to the squad.
Connell will be joined by returning champion Team Andenas-Weber to represent Dakota on the women’s side in Texas. It’s possible that Team Carlson of Sioux Falls could get an invite as well, depending on number of women’s teams registering out of other regions who have not yet played down.
Men
Champion: Weber (Sioux Falls)
Runner-Up: Nilson (Sioux Falls)
Eight men’s teams took the ice in Brookings to play down for the regional title, and it was an all-Sioux Falls finish with Austin Weber’s rink taking the victory and earning their fourth consecutive trip to the Arena National Championship. With such a large playdown, Team Nilson is in good position to grab any available wild card slots should one become available. However, no runner-up men’s teams competed at arena nationals last season.
Minnesota
Women
Champion: Schuder (Rochester)
Kelsey Schuder has been a regular fixture at arena nationals representing the Curling Club of Rochester, and this year will be no different. Schuder’s rink was the only team from Minnesota to register for playdowns, earning an uncontested berth in the national field. Schuder will be looking to improve on last year’s 2-3 performance in Las Vegas.
Men
Champion: Russell (Rochester)
Runner-Up: Despins (Rochester)
With Glacial Ridge Curling Club graduating from the ranks of arena clubs, the Curling Club of Rochester remains as the lone regular participant in Minnesota regional playdowns. Two teams played down from Rochester, reigning two-time champion Steve Russell and his challenger, Tyler Despins. They competed in a best-of-five playdown at Dakota Curling Club, and game one set the tone for the series.
After blanks in the first two ends, Despins stole two in the third to get the ball rolling, but it was all Team Russell from there. Russell made an excellent tap to cut the lead in half and proceeded to steal every remaining end of game on to notch a 5-2 victory, and they never looked back. The Russell rink would go on to sweep the series following 11-1 and 10-4 victories and secure their third consecutive berth to the Arena National Championship this fall.
Wisconsin
Women
Champion: Rice (Rhinelander)
Wisconsin’s arena playdowns took place at the 3-sheet Green Bay Curling Club in April before the club shut down for the summer. Rhinelander Curling Club’s Team Rice won the playdown uncontested and will return to arena nationals after making their national championship debut in 2025. They’ll be headed to Dallas seeking Rhinelander Curling Club’s first win at a national championship event.
Men
Champion: Bessert (La Crosse)
Runner-Up: Chladil (Rhinelander)
A year after Brian Bessert and Pete Chladil had an epic best-of-three matchup in Eau Claire, they met up once again with the same title on the line. Just like last year, the two teams made sure the scoreboard was filled up when all was said and done.
Rhinelander’s Chladil opened up the scoring in game one taking a 4-0 lead after two ends, but Brian Bessert roared back with two consecutive 4-enders to take an 8-4 lead at the midway break. The La Crosse Curling Club rink held on to take game one 10-7.
Game two was another roller coaster ride. In a back-and-forth game, Bessert took a three-point lead going into the seventh end, but Chladil responded with a score of four points to take the lead going into the eighth. Brian Bessert’s tap attempt to score two for the win couldn’t convert, but he did still score a single to move to an extra where he managed to steal two points and take the victory, sweeping the best-of-three match.
Bessert’s rink is no stranger to arena nationals, with their last trip coming in 2024 in Wausau. They’ll head to Dallas after their one-year hiatus from the national event.
Thank you to Dustin Luecke for sending in a report on this unstreamed playdown!
Great Lakes
Women
Champion: Mercer (Cleveland Skating)
For another year, Katy Mercer was once again named as the Great Lakes regional representative at nationals. Her team has been a near-constant at nationals, and in addition to their regular presence, they’ve been consistently tough to play against. For the second season in a row, Mercer finished in fourth place and will no doubt be a podium contender again in 2026.
Men
Champion: MacKay (Derby City)
Runner-Up: Galsworthy (Grand Rapids)
On the men’s side, three teams competed in a short three-time round robin at Cincinnati Curling Club. Team MacKay faced off against Guy Mercer in the semifinals, with the 2025 national representatives Galsworthy getting the bye directly to the finals. MacKay earned a got the win in the semifinal on a crazy final shot (and line call!), where their draw rubbed against Mercer’s final shot and rolled to sit one and take the victory in the final end.
In the final, the team from Derby City stole a point in each of the first five ends which proved to be too insurmountable of a lead for the reigning regional champions from Grand Rapids. The MacKay rink did not need to throw their last in the final end, holding on to take a 5-3 victory and earn their place at arena nationals.
In Case You Missed It…
If you read this newsletter in your email inbox, you may not have noticed that I gave a slight refresh and rebrand to my Substack. The newsletter can now be found at www.curlingintheusa.com, and in addition to my coverage of arena, club, and 5U curling, I’ll be occasionally doing some coverage of the top teams in the country at Stones & Stripes: Tour Talk.
I have this set up as a different newsletter, but under the same website. Both free and paid subscribers received my first post there where I dug into the announcement of Brad Gushue as High Performan Director for USA Curling.
How much I coverage I provide on Tour Talk will depend on how much writing I do for any other curling sites next season, but I wanted to have a place to cover the news in the meantime as well as any extra coverage I can provide. For the near future, Tour Talk will be available to free and paid subscribers, but it is possible I may have some content on that side available for subscribers only. That said, my coverage of arena, club, and 5U curling will always be free to read.
It will probably be a good 4-6 weeks before my next traditional Stones & Stripes newsletter. I aim to break down the MoPac and Midwest arena playdowns and share some of my experiences from participating at Dallas/Fort Worth’s first bonspiel in their new facility. If we see any major roster news come down for US curling teams in that time frame, you can expect to find my reactions over at Tour Talk!
Until next time, good curling!