// BONUS ONLINE-ONLY COVERAGE // CHAMPIONSHIPS Philly selected to


host 2014 National Championships


Championship set to begin just days aſter conclusion of Olympic Winter Games


By Terry Kolesar, Editor


near Philadelphia has been selected to host the 2014 USA Curling National Championships. IceWorks Skating Complex, located in metro


O


Philadelphia, will once again partner with the Philadelphia Sports Congress and Brandywine Visitor’s Bureau to host this top-notch event featuring the top 20 U.S. men’s and women’s curling teams. “Aſter the great success we had with this past


year’s Nationals we knew that we wanted the opportunity to host another USA Curling event here at IceWorks. Delaware County and the entire Philadelphia region showed a lot of sup- port for the sport of curling this past year, and we look forward to making the 2014 National Championship event bigger and more exciting than 2012,” said Anthony Lorusso, director of social media for IceWorks. Aſter hosting an event that saw sold-out


crowds on the closing weekend of the 2012 Na- tionals as well as strong event marketing, USA Curling’s Site Selection Committee opted to return to Aston, Pa., for what could be a criti- cal time period for USA Curling. Te 2014 Na- tionals will take place March 1-8, 2014, just six days aſter the close of the 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Sochi, Russia. “Here in the United States there is limited op-


portunity to watch curling on TV, so when the Olympics come around every four years, people are drawn to curling and watch for hours and hours at a time,” said Lisa Shaw, director of ad- vertising/marketing with IceWorks. “We will


build off the Olympic hype by hosting events during the Olympics and then give new fans of the sport a chance to see the great sport of curl- ing up close and personal here in the Philadel- phia area.” Other cities submitting bids to host the 2014


Nationals included Willmar, Minn.; Sioux City, Iowa; and Kalamazoo, Mich., which hosted the 2010 Nationals. “We had some terrific bidders interested in


hosting the 2014 Nationals, making it a very tough decision to choose the right facility and market to take these championships to just days aſter the closing ceremonies for the 2014 Olym- pics,” said Rick Patzke, USA Curling chief op- erating officer. “We have full confidence in the hardworking team at IceWorks and the support they will receive from the surrounding com- munity and the Philadelphia Sports Congress to make this a stellar event. Te 2012 Nationals organizing committee, led by IceWorks, signifi- cantly raised the bar for future championships, and I have no doubt they will ratchet it up even further come 2014.” n


n the heels of hosting a highly suc- cessful championship earlier this year, IceWorks Skating Complex


Volunteer statisticians needed for 2013 Nationals


Volunteers are needed to record curl-


ing shot statistics for the 2013 USA Curl- ing National Championships Feb. 9-16 in Green Bay, Wis. Recording curling statistics involves


taking notes on every shot thrown during a game, for both teams on a particular sheet. Te notes are entered on a computerized form, which simply involves moving the cursor to the particulars of each shot and clicking the mouse. Some of the information you enter for


each shot is the handle of the stone, the type of shot (draw, guard, take out, etc.), how much the stone was swept, and finally giving the shot a score of 0 to 5 based on how well the shot satisfied the skip’s call. No prior experience recording curling


stats is required; you will receive training on the soſtware and guidelines for scoring a shot before starting. What you do need is a good working


knowledge of the game and its strategies, enough that you can anticipate what the skip is asking for based on the current placement of stones on the ice, placement of the broom, the called handle, the end, and the score. You also need the eye-hand coordination to mark the shot character- istics on the computer screen in a timely fashion, and judge the score of the shot, all before the opponents’ next stone. What you get in return is free entry into


the game, and an experience that will for- ever change how you watch curling as a spectator. We will need volunteers for the entire week of the competition. Our goal is to cover every game of every draw. If you cannot volunteer for the entire week, we welcome any time you can give (especially those early morning draws mid-week). If you have questions, feel free to contact


Gordon Maclean, 906-482-6788 or gma- clean@starband.net. n


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