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Bowling Green dreaming the dedicated ice dream
By Jennifer Williams, Bowling Green CC
ber of the Bowling Green Curling Club, whose dedicated ice was converted to “multi-purpose ice” in 2010, everything he said was true. And, we have it good. We get the ice for three consecu- tive days, have real houses painted on the ice, and have space to permanently keep the rocks on ice. The Bowling Green Curling Club was founded
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in 1968 and has played in the Bowling Green State University Ice Arena. The affiliation means that students have the opportunity to take a curl- ing class to fulfill a physical education require- ment and to join the college club. Our club has sent numerous teams to national events, once hosted the Mixed National Championship, and has held tremendously successful summer bon- spiels. But, in an attempt to make the Ice Arena more
profitable, the four sheets that were leased to the club were modified during the summer of 2010, enclosing the ice in hockey boards and eliminat- ing one sheet of ice. There is no longer a safe place to step off the ice or to sit down while waiting to throw or sweep. During hockey season, we have no weekend ice for bonspiels or a convenient time for a youth curling program. Worst of all, the ice conditions range from poor to atrocious. Sheet 3 has a fall from right to left from the
Zamboni that requires every shot to be played with 4 to 6 feet of negative ice, and that is our most consistent sheet from week to week. The troughs and ridges on the other sheets change every week. Curling is less a game of skill and more of a race between skips to discover what shots might be possible on a given night. Newer curlers are perplexed and frustrated by the lack of relationship between skill (hitting the broom, throwing the right weight) and results. When we travel to bonspiels, skips have to relearn how to call basic take-outs, and new curlers discover very quickly that skills matter a lot. The club is at a crucial moment. Our expenses
are growing and are projected to increase even more. We have lost many curlers who have grown tired of the frustration of playing on poor
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usacurl.org ))
rad Whitlock’s article, from the Win- ter 2015 edition of this magazine, on arena ice is a perfect read. As a mem-
ice. Without weekend ice time, we cannot host bonspiels or benefit from the revenue from cor- porate events. It has been the dream of the club to return to dedicated ice for the past five years. And this season, we are working to do it. Now a nonprofit entity, the Bowling Green Curling Club is raising funds to convert a leased building into a quality four-sheet club again. We will have a warming room with a kitchen and a bar, locker rooms, and access to I-75. We met our phase 2 goal of $80,000, thanks to donation from current and past members and our friends in the curling community. But we still are seeking donations to make the ultimate goal of $175,000. The club has set up a fundraising website at
www.IceIceBG.com. You can donate directly through the website. There are various giving levels for individuals, and corporate donations and in-kind donations are welcome. There is also a detailed business plan for the dedicated ice project that might serve as a template for other arena clubs considering a similar move. This is an exciting time for curling in the Unit-
ed States. The growth of arena clubs has been wonderful for our sport, but ultimately, we need more dedicated ice. The Bowling Green Curling Club is energized by this opportunity to have our own facility again. This new facility will allow the club to add youth curling, hold more bonspiels, and regain our position as a fixture in the curling community. We hope you will consider becom- ing a part of our efforts! n
Competition schedule, Team USA 2016 Winter Youth Olympic Games:
Round robin, Group A (all times local, +6 ET): • Friday, Feb. 12: 9 a.m., USA v. Turkey • Saturday, Feb. 13: 9 a.m., USA v. Switzer- land; 4 p.m., USA v. Italy
• Sunday, Feb. 14: 9 a.m., USA v. Russia; 4 p.m., USA v. New Zealand
• Monday, Feb. 15: 9 a.m., USA v. China; 4 p.m., USA v. Japan
• Tuesday, Feb. 16: Tiebreaker games, 9 a.m.; quarterfinals, 1:30 p.m.; p.m., semifinals
• Wednesday, Feb. 17: 9 a.m., bronze- and gold-medal games
Group B features teams from Brazil, Canada,
Czech Republic, Estonia, Great Britain, Republic of Korea, Norway, and Sweden. Mixed doubles
(teams and matchups to be announced)
• Round robin begins at 9 a.m. on Feb. 18 and continues through Feb. 20
• Quarterfinals: 5 p.m., Feb. 20 • Semifinals: 9 a.m., Feb. 21 • Medal games: 1 p.m., Feb. 21
Host sites sought for 2018 Olympic Team Trials, Nationals
USA Curling is currently accepting bid ap-
plications for hosts for the 2018 U.S. Olym- pic Team Trials for Curling Nov. 12-19, 2017, as well as the 2018 National Championships, March 3-10, 2018. If interested, more infor- mation can be obtained from USA Curling’s Mike Dellemann at
michael.dellemann@us-
acurl.org.
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