IN THE NEWS UW-Green Bay wins 2014 college title By Gordon Maclean, chairman, USCA College Curling Committee
Villanova University at the Four Seasons Curling Club in Blaine, Minn. Curlers from sixteen colleges and universities took part in the first college championship sanctioned by the U.S. Curling Association (USCA). Villa- nova and UW-Green Bay were joined in the Final Four by Carroll Univer- sity and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Te MIT team was making their second consecutive Final Four. Te championship culminated a season that saw college curling soar to
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new heights of activity. More than 30 schools took part in 64 college curling events during the 2013-14 season, including eight bonspiels and 23 head-to- head events. Each of these events earned their schools points, and the top schools at the end of the year received an invitation to the championship. Knowing that many schools were travelling long distances to attend this
event, we tried to provide as many perks as possible on our limited bud- get. Tis year all schools invited to the championship received a unique event patch. Nancy Myers (advisor, University of Nebraska Curling Club) organized a formal Opening Ceremony including a bagpiper leading in the participants, and a ceremonial toast (non-alcoholic).Two on-site meals were provided to the participants and a voluntary skills clinic run by Joe Mur- phy was held for teams during the draws when they were not competing. I also want to express my appreciation to Murphy for assisting with the Draw Shot Challenge measurements and acting as our de facto event official. We would like to thank the USCA for providing funding for this cham-
pionship. Te 2013-14 college curling season also saw several important corporate sponsorships that made many of the extra features of the 2014 championship possible.
Members of the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay (in grey) and Villanova (in blue) met in the final of the 2014 USA Curling College Championship with UW- GB's Marina Hauser rink prevailing.
Photo courtesy of Rich Harmer Tese sponsors include Brooms Up Curling Supplies, who provided six
brooms to the school of the winning championship logo design (congratu- lations Nebraska); Taco Bell, which provided an unrestricted cash stipend for the championship event and Taco Bell giſt cards to every participant; and Gabrielle Coleman, who provided copies of her new book “Introduc- tion to Curling Strategy” to participants of the Final Four. In return for their donations, the sponsors' logos appeared on the ban-
ners that were presented to each of the four finalists, on the College Curling USA website, and in the 2014 USA Curling College Championship Program. Looking ahead to the 2014-15 season, we expect several new schools
coming into the sport, especially at facilities with new dedicated ice such as the Fort Wayne and Triangle curling clubs, and continued growth in both traditional and nontraditional regions of the country. n
Bylaw changes will result in better run organization By Leland Rich, Fairbanks Curling Club T
he United States Curling Association (USCA) Board of Directors passed new bylaws at the last meeting. Many are wondering what effect these changes will have on them.
Te main change is that the USCA is going to a staff-driven model with
the board of directors giving strategic direction and oversight. Tis means that the board of directors establishes policy and direction for the organiza- tion. Ten the staff, through the chief executive, is tasked with fulfilling the goals of the organization. Te board of directors evaluates the performance of the chief executive and has the responsibility of making changes to the chief executive as needed. OK, so what does this mean to you? If you are an average league curler
it will mean you will see little change. You will be associated with a bet- ter run USCA organization. Te USCA will still do everything it does for curling now: assistance with new clubs, training classes, curling promotion through television opportunities, media relationships to get curling cover- age, U.S. Curling News magazine, rock programs, and loan/grant programs to mention a few.
Te bylaw changes have little effect on competitive curlers. Te high per-
formance staff had control of the High Performance Program through a board resolution before the changes, and they will still have control of the program. Te biggest change will be for the board of directors. Te new board will
be a policy board. Tat means they set policy, direction and goals for the organization, a very important and not so easy task. Board members will not be allowed to be on operational committees. Tey cannot be on a com- mittee responsible to the staff when they are overseeing the staff. Tis would be a clear conflict of interest and what is trying to be avoided. Te staff will create and administer committees and seek volunteers for
those committees as needed, but the responsibility and authority will be with the staff. Te board members are individually accountable to the rest of the board
for their actions. A yet to be formed ethics committee is charged with polic- ing the board. Te board is also tasked with the important function of fund raising. Tis is the model that most successful nonprofit organizations use, whether they are sports related or not and should result in a better run and more efficient United States Curling Association. n
USA Curling (( 19
he University of Wisconsin-Green Bay's team of Marina Hauser, Preston Waala, Phil Huberty, and Heather Lindahl won the 2014 USA Curling College Championship on March 16 by defeating
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