USWCA NEWS
USWCA Senior Friendship Tour a resounding success
By Martha Mazzarella, USWCA
from British Columbia to Minneapolis on Nov. 11 for a 10-day tour of curling clubs and gracious home-hosting in Minnesota and North Dakota. Molly and Anne had participated in the previous tour when the USWCA ladies curled in British Columbia in November 2012. Te curling began Nov. 12 at the St. Paul Curl-
C
ing Club. Te Cairn Lassies hosted the curlers for eight ends and lunch. In the aſternoon the Canadians visited the Mill City Museum in Minneapolis where they learned about the roots and history of the Twin Cities. A casual burger stop at Shamrocks completed the first day. Te next morning the ladies curled at Four Seasons Curling Club in Blaine, Minn., against two lo- cal teams and two teams from Centerville, Wis. Te club threw a festive Mexican buffet lunch. Te group boarded the bus and headed north. In Alexandria, Minn., they had a delightful French meal at LaFerme, where they gave the chef a standing ovation. Ten it was on to Fargo, N.D. On Nov. 14 they experienced culture and local lore including Vikings, explorers, and movie props before heading north for an aſternoon of curling at the Grand Forks Curling Club. USW-
ouriers Molly Jensen and Anne Vanic of the U.S. Women’s Curling Asso- ciation (USWCA) welcomed 15 ladies
CA President Donna Pearson gave them a warm welcome followed by eight ends and dinner at the club. Tis stop saw the beginning of an episodic poem composed by one of the BC guests. Te tour returned to Minnesota on Nov. 15 to
curl at Itasca Curling Club in Grand Rapids, fol- lowed by a visit to the Judy Garland Home and Museum, one of the hits of the trip. Te next day, the Canadian curlers headed to Chisholm where they enjoyed lively curling and a lunch of local cuisine. Aſter a short drive to Hibbing the group toured the town’s noteworthy high school and curled another eight ends, followed by a tra- ditional American Tanksgiving feast. A team from the 2012 Friendship Tour provided good competition at Chisholm and Hibbing. Duluth was the next northern Minnesota venue. Te ladies enjoyed two games at the Duluth Curling Club interspersed with a dinner hosted at the iconic Kitchi Gammi Club. Viewing the Duluth harbor and Lake Superior gave the BC guests a sense of the shoreline and water boundaries as well as a reminder of their seaport towns back home. On Nov. 19 the tour returned to St. Paul, curl-
ing against the Bonnie Spielers at the St. Paul Curling Club. Te ladies spent the evening in Minneapolis seeing Carole King’s new musical “Beautiful” – a hit for all. Friday was for explor- ing: quilt shops, nature preserves, shopping at
USWCA Senior Friendship Tour members gather to dine in North Dakota on one of many stops during the 10-day trip to curling clubs in Minne- sota and north Dakota.
the Mall of America, and touring the area’s new- est curling facility in Chaska where the Canadi- an curlers enjoyed fun activities before wrapping up their stay. Tokens of appreciation and caring were shared among all the participants– friend- ships cemented in “stone” forever. Te USWCA and its Senior Friendship Tour
Committee want to thank all of the curling clubs and their many volunteers and organizers who went above and beyond to create a successful 2015 tour. Q
Circuit FAQ: Scoring demystified By Elizabeth Demers, USWCA O
ne of the main questions that curlers new to the USWCA Circuit have is, how does the scoring work?
Let’s take a fictional curler, Nancy Skip. Nancy
and her teammate, Jane Broom, have both signed up for the Circuit and have entered the Women’s Wonderful Bonspiel as part of the same team. (Remember, you must have at least two Circuit players on a team and enter a Circuit bonspiel to receive points.) Each player receives 100 points for joining the Circuit. Circuit points accumulate through wins in
the various events. Nancy’s team wins their first game. Nancy and Jane each receive 100 points. If they win all the rest of their games (three to-
tal before the final) and win the first event final (worth 200 points), they will have each scored 500 points for the bonspiel. Add to that their ini- tial participation points, and they each have 600 points so far. Te next week, Jane and Nancy play in the
Hurry Hard Sweep-o-rama. Tey win their first game (100 points), but lose their next (no points). Tey win their third game (60 points) but lose in the third event final (30 points for being in the final). Tey score a total of 190 points for the bon- spiel. Cumulatively, they now have 790 points. Nancy and Jane stay out too late and win only
their second game in their next bonspiel, the Down-in-Flames (60 points). However, in their
last bonspiel of the season, the Victory Lap, they again win the first event, for an additional 500 points. Total for the season: 1,350 points. Since only their top three finishes count, even with one off weekend, our heroines finish the season with 1,290 points. Is this good enough to win prize money?
It depends on where they finish in the overall standings, but they did pretty well. Fiſty percent of Circuit curlers in each region win money, in addition to the overall national winners. Nancy and Jane had a great season and can’t wait to cash their checks and sign up again next year! Midseason Circuit results are available on the USWCA website now,
www.uswca.org. Q
USA Curling (( 19
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