CHAMPIONSHIPS
U18 National Championships to be added to USCA events next season
Changes also finalized for several other events
petitive and developmental programs, these are exciting times in curling in the United States. Our country’s curlers won bronze medals at the World Men’s and World Mixed Doubles champi- onships, silver medals in the women’s and men’s Junior Worlds, and a silver medal in the Youth Olympic Winter Games. Te number of people curling around the nation is at a record level, and nowhere in the world are there more new clubs being developed than in the United States. As promising as all of this is, we must continue
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to work ever harder to achieve sustained interna- tional competitive success. Decisions have now been made on proposed additions and changes to the competitive and developmental programs following an extensive and collaborative re- view and feedback process including the USCA Board of Directors, the USCA Athletes’ Advisory Council (AAC), and the USA Curling communi- ty. Te proposals were introduced by the USCA High Performance Program staff, aſter initial consultation with the USCA Executive Commit- tee and AAC. Approximately 50 individuals gave their input during the public comment period. Tese changes are in keeping with the USCA Board of Directors’ mandate that the selection process for world championship and Olympic teams be 2-track*, open to all, and decided on the ice. (*Team selection qualifying tracks/paths for athletes within the USCA High Performance Program and those not in the program.) All of the additions/changes summarized be- low are slated to take effect beginning with the
2016-17 season: t A new U-18 national championship will be launched, with up to 12 women’s and 12 men’s teams qualifying via USCA member region competitions.
t Te USCA Junior National Champi- onships field will be reduced to eight women’s and eight men’s teams, with two national qualifiers open to all teams (no longer regionally based).
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s noted earlier this season with the announcement of proposed changes to U.S. Curling Association com-
t Te USCA Junior Development Program will feature four teams (2 women’s, 2 men’s) in a program to be overseen by a National Junior Program Coach.
t Tere will be an open Mixed Doubles Challenge Round, followed by an 8-team Mixed Doubles National Championship to determine USA’s entry for the Mixed Doubles World Championship.
t Te USCA Men’s National Champion- ship will continue to feature 10 teams, with some changes to how teams qualify.
t Te USCA Women’s National Champi- onship will feature 10 teams if 14 or more teams register for playdowns; otherwise it will drop to eight teams. U-18 National Championships
Te addition of the U-18 National Champion-
ship is designed to help continue to develop the pipeline of younger athletes. Tere was strong support for this event throughout the review and input process, especially given the proposal to keep it regionally based. Te original proposal put forth called for eight women’s and eight men’s teams in the championship, but the HPP staff increased the field based upon feedback re- ceived.
Rationale for this addition includes: t Younger competitors are better served by playing against and enjoying success in an age group which more closely mir- rors their abilities (as compared with only having the opportunity to compete in the Junior Nationals, which are open to competitors age 21 and under). Tis is certainly no different than as seen in many other sports with similar develop- ment models.
t Keeping this event regionally based forces junior competitors to team up with players in their regions, and thus expands the pipeline by keeping more youth engaged in the sport.
t Te U-18 program will help feed the Ju- nior National Championship talent pool.
t Te World Curling Federation has al- ready begun discussions for starting a U-18 World Championship.
Details are still being worked out, but the pro- posal is to have one team each (*except where
noted) qualify from the following regions: Alaska, At-Large/Colorado; *Grand National
Curling Club (GNCC) – 2 teams (geographi- cal division to be discussed with GNCC); Great Lakes Curling Association (GLCA); Illinois; Mid-America Curling Association; Minnesota; Mountain Pacific Curling Association (MOPAC); North Dakota; Washington; and Wisconsin. It is proposed that this championship be held
in March (tentatively March 9-12 for 2017). Each region would determine its own qualification system and dates, although it will be requested that any playdown dates not clash with those set aside for the Junior National Championships qualifiers (see below). For age determination, this event would be open to any U.S. eligible player who is less than 18 years of age at any time during the 30th
day of June of the year immediately pre-
ceding the year the competition is taking place. USA Curling Junior National Championships Tere will be eight women’s and eight men’s
teams in the Junior National Championships. Two national qualifiers will be held – currently dubbed East and West—with four women’s and four men’s teams advancing from each event. Teams will be asked to indicate their regional site preference when registering, but may be assigned to the other region depending upon the number of entries in each region and other factors such as the geographical location of teams and the qualifier sites. Te USCA junior HPP teams will most likely be divided between the two regions (so both teams of each gender are not playing in the same qualifier). It is proposed that these two qualifiers be
held during the Dec. 26 – Jan. 1 time period. All other eligibility rules as currently specified in the USCA Championship Rules would apply (for in- stance, for age determination, citizenship, etc.). Te proposal for changes to the Junior Na-
tional Championship drew a lot of feedback, with some concerned that changing the event at all would result in a significant decline in partici- pation, while others were fully in favor of moving to an open qualification system.
Rationale for these changes includes: t
Elite teams need to be developed at the junior level.
t Te Junior National Championships serve Continued on Next Page
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