USWCA NEWS Buy a gift, support women's curling By Nancy Seitz, USWCA Promotions Chairwoman
plan, don’t you think? But, have you ever noticed that good plans are rarely that simple to execute? So, how is it that the women of this all-volunteer organization manage to deliver on that charge in today’s world? USWCA consists, first and foremost, of member curling clubs across the
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U.S. and the individual curlers who then have the opportunity to partici- pate in a broad range of curling events like the Women’s Circuit, regional five-and-under bonspiels, All-American intra-club competition, junior bonspiels, and Women’s Nationals. Te trick to making these and many other services happen lies in our organization. Member representatives from each club form the basis of our board of directors, which meets twice a year to make plans, finalize arrangements, and identify new opportunities for our members. For every event, we have a working committee of volun- teers from each region. We also have a marketing committee to get the word out about USWCA; they handle all media from Facebook and our website to posters for club bulletin boards and articles for the Curling News. When it comes to money matters, we have committees for budget and financial oversight. Money matters. Just when we get really enthusiastic about what we need
to serve the mission, that subject always seems to come up. Our dues are low and we fight to keep them that way. Our events are planned to be revenue neutral and that works for now. But we need a money tree to fund special projects like new equipment to clubs for junior programs, seed money for a new event, or printing a special banner or brochure to bring the USWCA to more curlers. Tere are always more things we want to do! About 10 years ago, when ideas were flowing but money was tight, some
of our members had a great idea and a new committee was formed – Pro- motions. Just like it says, the mission of this committee was conceived to
he mission of the United States Women’s Curling Association (USWCA) is to develop, nurture and promote the sport of curling among today’s women and all youth. Sounds like a good, simple
create curling-themed products, present them for sale to curlers through our system of club representatives, and use the proceeds to pay for extra benefits for curling. We started with one custom jewelry pin featuring three curling stones, designed by USWCA member and past president Bridget Matzke. Today that pin, in pewter, silver and gold, continues to be our signature piece, but has been joined by a wide range of other custom clothing and giſts that ap- peal to curlers. Recently, there is a new dimension to our promotion of curl- ing. In searching out new products, we have begun to reach out to creative curlers across the coun- try to feature their prod- ucts through the USWCA. Tat’s one more layer of supporting curlers! Our new snow curler is
featured in this issue, but you can find lots more giſt ideas on our website at
www.uswca.org or you can speak to any USWCA representative of our member clubs. Please check us out and support our promotions products so we can continue supporting grass roots curling! n
Find the USWCA curling snowman (above) for just $14 and many other holiday giſt ideas at
www.USWCA.org.
the cost of travel. Tese bonspiels are now held regionally across the U.S. and this season are being held in the following locations: •
East Region: Nutmeg Curling Club, Bridgeport, Conn., Feb. 21-23
• Central: Centerville Curling Club, Centerville, Wis., Dec. 6-9 • West: Evergreen Curling Club, Portland, Ore., Feb. 28-March 2 And finally, the Women’s Circuit is a national and regional tour which
was developed by Jennifer Stannard while she was serving as USWCA President. It began during the 2010-11 curling season. Te purpose of the tour is to support competitive aspiration and team development among women curlers. Another benefit of the tour is to provide exposure and in- terest in women’s events held at USWCA-member clubs. Prize money in circuit events is awarded based on cumulative performance. Over the past three years, more than $20,000 has been distributed in cash and prizes from our generous sponsors! Regional winners and a national winner are deter- mined each season based on points. Te event has seen continued growth in participants each year. Shelly Pilon, Exmoor Curling Club, was the na- tional champion for 2011; Jennifer Stannard, Nutmeg Curling Club claimed the national title in 2012; and Tracy Lawless, Exmoor Curling Club, is the
reigning national champion. How do USWCA-sponsored bonspiels and events help promote the re-
tention and development of women and youth curlers? Our nurturing pro- grams and venue provide a unique forum for camaraderie, connection, re- lationship building and learning. Whether you come to curling having been an athlete in high school or not at all, curling brings an incredible blend of education, community, friendship and opportunity for achievement found in few other sports. With the spirit of curling’s inherent expectation of win- ning and losing with grace, our environments are truly ideal for creating life-long curlers. As the oldest national curling organization in the U.S., which started
from a small group of women curlers who met in Milwaukee in January 1945 and conceived of the idea of an organization for female curlers, a tre- mendous amount has been achieved since those humble beginnings. With special thanks to the founding clubs of Appleton, Exmoor, Indian Hill, Skokie, and Wauwatosa, we pay tribute to the creative ideas of so many women over the past 66 years who have helped the USWCA become the valuable and supportive organization it is today. n
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