// 2013 NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS
Brooms Up Curling Supplies named presenting sponsor of 2013 National Championships
By Harry Maier, 2013 National Championships Committee
ing sponsor for the 2013 U.S. National Championships, which will be held at the Cornerstone Community Ice Center in Green Bay, Wis., next Febru- ary. Bill Rhyme and Don Chilson, 2013 Nationals co-chairmen, reported that
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Brooms Up Curling Supplies, Woodbury, Conn., will be the primary finan- cial sponsor for the event. Te tournament will bring to the area the top 10 men’s and top 10 wom-
en’s curling teams from across the country. Te tournament is scheduled Feb. 9-16, 2013. Brooms Up Curling Supplies represents nearly every major manufacturer of curling equipment including Asham, BalancePlus, Gold- line, Olson and Te Curling Company. “Te Suslavich family and their business, Brooms Up, has been and con-
tinues to be a very supportive sponsor of USA Curling in many areas, and their further support of the 2013 Nationals through a sponsorship agree-
National Championships sweep into Green Bay
By Harry Maier, 2013 National Championships Committee
the story of the Green Bay Curling Club, a neo- phyte organization in 1959 that hosted the third annual U.S. Men’s National Curling Champion- ship. Te club is hosting it again; this time it is the
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2013 national tournament, which will include the top 10 men’s and top 10 women’s teams from across the country. Joining the Green Bay club in this project are
the Cornerstone Community Ice Center, site of the tournament games, and the Brown County Visitor and Convention Bureau. Tere wasn’t much of a selection process for
hosting the championships in the early days. Story is that Walter Selck, Chicago, then presi-
dent of the U.S. Men’s Curling Association, was driving through Green Bay and spotted the new- ly-constructed Brown County Veterans Memo- rial Arena. It was right alongside of Highway 41, now Lombardi Avenue and just east of Lambeau Field. Te decision was made and Selck contacted
the Green Bay Curling Club, which had been organized in 1958 and was curling on Sunday nights at the arena.
hat goes around comes around. Tat’s In the 1959 program, Selck wrote: “We are for-
tunate indeed, to have been able to conduct this championship here in Green Bay and I would like to express the appreciation of all our curlers to the city officials and other individuals who have been so helpful in our arrangements. We could not have been more warmly welcomed than we have been here and I am sure we would like to come back again.” In those early years, the championship event
was sponsored by Marshall Field & Co., and Hughston M. McBain, chairman of its board and a curler. Te third tournament brought teams from
North Dakota, Minnesota, Washington, Con- necticut, Michigan, Massachusetts, Illinois, New York, Alaska and Wisconsin. Te Wisconsin foursome included William
James, Bernard Samuels, Carl Lucas and Doug Bogue, all of the Portage Curling Club. Aſter a few opening draws, Bogue raised some concern over the condition of the ice. He maintained that the heat from the arena’s overhead lights was af- fecting the condition of the stones. One set of rocks had white handles and covers, the other black handles and covers. Bogue said the black stones absorbed heat,
while the white stones reflected heat, which meant that one stone would travel faster and far-
ther than the other if each had the same weight. His issue was never resolved, but the ice offi-
cials did concede a point and covered the stones between draws and slightly dimmed the lights during the games. Te games continued with the Fran Kleffman team of Hibbing, Minn., ulti- mately recording an 8-1 mark with its only loss to North Dakota, which finished second.. In the final game, Kleffman topped the Bogue
rink of Wisconsin, 11-4. Wisconsin finished third. Tis was the second national title for Klef- fman, having won the first national champion- ships in Detroit, Mich. In 2013, the Green Bay Curling Club will
be joined by the Cornerstone Community Ice Center hosting the Nationals. Tere will be five sheets of ice and seating for 2,000. Te facility is the home ice for the St. Norbert College hockey team, Division III national champions. n
USA Curling (( 17 national supplier of curling equipment has been name the present-
ment with the host committee is just great to see. Hosting an event of this magnitude is no small task, and the Brooms Up sponsorship will surely help both the bottom line and championship atmosphere for the Green Bay host committee, as well as the services for competitors,” said Rick Patzke, chief operating officer for USA Curling. Te company is owned and operated by Gary and Megan Suslavich and
their children, Abbey and Kent. “As a company which has experienced the genuine values of this sport, we stand behind our athletes as they achieve their Olympic dreams,” Megan Suslavich said. Te winners of the 2013 Nationals will represent the U.S. at the 2013
World Championships and earn berths into the 2014 U.S. Olympic Team Trials for Curling next fall in Fargo, N.D. n
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