CONTINENTAL CUP The sport itself was the big winner in Vegas By Rick Patzke, Chief Executive Officer, USA Curling
winner of all was the sport of curling itself. If you were there in person, you don’t need me to tell you about the drama
W
that unfolded on Sheet C in the Mixed Skins Game, with the competition decided on the second-to-last stone thrown in this four-day event. If you missed being there, I encourage you to read all about it on the USA Curling website. (And try not to miss the next one!) A record 62,498 fans moved through the turnstiles at Te Orleans Arena
for this event, over 11,000 more than showed up for the Cup’s first excursion to Las Vegas in 2014, which was a great success in its own right. Te Orleans complex is uniquely set up to make for an ideal arena and resort property to host major curling events, with one of its biggest benefits, of course, being located in Las Vegas, just off that city’s famed Strip. Te ingredients that have made the WFG Continental Cups held in Las Vegas so successful are
no state secret, and include: t Mid-January time period, when a lot of winter-weary people flock to this mecca of entertainment in the desert, where average high tem- peratures for the month of January are in the upper 50s.
t Unique “Ryder Cup” type format, where traditional rivals compete on the same side for something bigger than themselves.
t A gathering of some of the best curlers in the world, playing on world- class ice that allows them to display their incredible abilities.
t Creative international player combinations, including for mixed dou- bles and mixed curling.
t Terrific Fan Fest aspects, which Curling Canada has perfected over time and professionally meshed into this event.
t
“Vegas-sizing” of the Cup to really amp up the entertainment aspects all around the four days of competition.
t And finally, but most significantly, the dedicated, passionate, traveling Canadian ticket buyers.
Tat last element is what made the 2014 Cup in Las Vegas a runaway hit
and led to the return this year, plus contributed to the successful bid for Las Vegas to host the 2018 Men’s World Curling Championship. But the record attendance this year was not solely because of more fans from Canada. Whereas maybe 90 percent of those at the 2014 Cup were
hile the final tally shows that Team North America defeat- ed Team World by one point in the 2016 World Financial Group Continental Cup in Las Vegas on Jan. 17, the biggest
Canadians, that was probably closer to 85 percent this time around. Tere were attendees from at least 20 states across the USA, plus volunteers from U.S. curling clubs from east to west, north and south. Te Las Vegas Curling Club was also represented in force, and you can read more about how they made the most of the Continental Cup elsewhere in this issue. More than anything, the 2016 Continental Cup was a celebration of curl-
ing and all the wonderful things that make people want to be around this fantastic sport. Curling was indeed the winner, and the Cup was one more piece helping to accelerate the sport’s move away from easy late-night joke fodder and being that Olympic oddity that Americans mostly snickered at 15 years ago. Te consistently strong viewership numbers for Curling Night in Amer-
ica on NBCSN further show in black and white that there are many more people beyond the 20,500 USCA members who are attracted to this sport. Ever-growing corporate event and open house numbers bolster the evi- dence, and this latest outpouring of love in Las Vegas adds an exclamation point. In Kim Nawyn’s article in this issue, you’ll read that 15 dedicated curling clubs have opened in the United States in the last five years. You should be proud, USCA members, of what you have accomplished
together. You should be proud that people want curling to flourish across this country, and that people want to come to this land to take part in and be part of what you have created. Let’s Make Curling in America Great Again and Again!!! Q
// COCKY ROCKY COMIC STRIP
14 ))
usacurl.org
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