GROWTH & DEVELOPMENT
Denver breaks ground on new curling center
By Phil Moir, Denver Curling ,
phil.moir@denvercurling
club.com
where the building will begin to rise and take shape in 2014, symbolizing a new and glorious day for curling in Denver, Colo., and the USA. Club members, the club's Board of Directors, the public and various construction partner representatives eagerly dug shovels into the ground with the same enthusiasm as if sweeping a rock into the house for a perfect draw to the button. “Hurry, hurry, hurry hard” could be heard from various members as they happily tossed the freshly excavated dirt into the air. Te ceremony was highlighted by energetic and entertaining speeches
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from Denver Curling Vice President Matt Culbertson, President Pam Finch and the Building Committee Chairman, Scott Stevinson. Te 4.7-acre site will also house the future Colorado State Patrol Museum and Learning Center, a group that has been extremely supportive of the curling center including participating in the ground-breaking ceremonies. A second ground-breaking was held four days later for Denver members who could not attend the first ground-breaking, providing an opportunity for another 30 curlers to participate and view the building site first hand. What Denver and this region of the USA lack in dedicated curling fa-
cilities, it certainly makes up with enthusiastic, keen and knowledgeable curlers. In addition to those who have learned the game locally, Denver is home to many Canadians, and former residents of those USA curling powerhouse states such as Minnesota, Wisconsin, North Dakota and Illi- nois who curled for years before moving to Denver. In addition, hundreds, if not thousands, of local residences have turned up for various public or corporate Learn to Curl and demonstration events over the last few years in Colorado, many of who are now Denver Curling Club members. From Colorado Springs to Denver, from Fort Collins to Leadville at 10,152 feet, the response is the same – everyone wants to try the sport and quickly fall in love with it. Without a doubt, curling being recognized as an Olympic sport has fueled both the awareness and the public desire to give it a try. Each one of these events underscores the next question participants have, “Where do I join a league?” Te answer is usually unsatisfactory at best as local arena clubs struggle to find ice time, competing for expensive primetime with organized hockey. “How would you like to curl at 9:45 p.m. on a Satur- day night?” is a real bubble-buster to that newfound curler, and especially to juniors. Te nearest dedicated curling facility is Bismarck, N.D., a mere 700-mile drive to the northeast. Newly established facilities in Portland (1,200 miles northwest) and Phoenix (800 miles southwest) are the nearest western dedicated curling neighbors. Members of Denver Curling recently transported 1,300 lbs (two sets) of stones 400 miles south to Santa Fe, N.M., for a curling open house at the Genoveva Chavez Community Center. Te eagerness and interest was tremendous, so they are planning another open house in April with the aim of offering full time curling in September 2014. With the completion of the first dedicated facility in Denver things will
change as Denver Curling will continue existing programs as well as ex- panding instructional, recreational and competitive curling programs for
Denver Curling Club members broke ground on the club's new facility last fall. Construction should be completed this summer.
youth, adult, senior, wheelchair and adaptive curlers at reasonable hours. Denver Curling is eagerly looking forward to opening the doors of the new Center and becoming a preferred curling destination for local and world class curlers. Construction is now anticipated to be completed by summer 2014 and ready for full league play in September. For ongoing building sta- tus updates, see the website at
www.denvercurlingclub.com. n
ct. 29, 2013, marked the start of the exciting construction phase for the new Denver Curling Center in Colorado. Approximately 60 people turned out at the empty "field of dreams" location
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and you will receive an autographed photo of Team USA along with the following perks: • Official “USA Curling Fan Club” membership card • USA Curling logo pin • Specialized address labels • USA Curling membership sticker • USA Curling logo pen • One-year subscription to the U.S. Curling News • Learn to Curl pamphlet • Subscription to official e-Newsletter, Stone Soup To join, visit our website at
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