CHAMPIONSHIPS Penn is 2016 college champion
By Gordon Maclean, College Curling Chairman
Quakers defeated the Minnesota Golden Gophers in this year’s championship title game at the Chaska Curling Center, in Chaska, Minn. Te game was close and filled with drama as the
T
Quakers managed to tie the score in the fourth and sixth ends, only to have Minnesota pull back in front each time. Te hometown fans watching the game behind
the glass were exuberant when Minnesota went into the extra end with the hammer. Te game tipped in Penn’s favor when a missed takeout allowed Penn to guard its shot stone at the back of the four-foot circle
From Page 22: Championship Updates
as the selection event for the World Junior Championships, which are a critical aspect of the overall competitive success goals for USA, and factor directly into success at the Men’s and Women’s World Championship level and the Olympics.
t Te best teams in the nation need to be playing in the event that selects USA’s team for the World Junior Championships.
t Te championship duration can be short- ened by one to two days, which can also re- duce costs for host sites. More clubs could also host, with only four sheets required.
t Tree-draw days will reduce the demands on the host site, icemakers, officials, staff, coaches and other volunteers.
USA Curling Junior Development Program Te USCA will move forward with this ini-
tiative, with the intent to hire a National Ju- nior Program Coach to oversee and manage the program. Two women’s and two men’s teams (age 21 and under, as eligible to compete in the Junior National Championships) will be in- vited into the program, with selections based in part on the athletes who have applied for and are participating in the Athlete Combine. Te National Coach will work directly with these athletes and their team coaches. U.S. Olympic Committee resources will be used to help support the National Coach position. Te USCA will need to identify and/or raise new revenue to support the athletes and team coaches in the program. Mixed Doubles National Championship
An eight-team Mixed Doubles National
Championship will be held (tentatively March 1-5 for 2017) to determine USA’s representatives for the World Mixed Doubles Championship (the winner of the Nationals will be the World team). A single, open (to all who register) quali- fying event will be held (tentatively Jan. 26-29 for 2017), with six teams advancing to the Nation- als from this event. Te other National qualifiers will be the 2016 World Mixed Doubles Champi- onship Team, and one High Performance Pro- gram discretionary selection. (Should the 2016 World Mixed Doubles team decline or be other- wise unable to compete, there will be a second HPP discretionary selection.) As additional information, the 2018 U.S.
Olympic Team Mixed Doubles Selection Proce- dures (still being finalized) propose that the top five (5) finishers in the 2017 Mixed Doubles Na- tional Championship will qualify directly for the 2018 U.S. Olympic Team Mixed Doubles Trials. Te proposal also calls for the Trials to be held sometime in the period of Dec. 14-30, 2017, and to feature eight teams: the five qualifying from the 2017 National Championships and three dis- cretionary selections to be made by the Mixed Doubles Olympic Team Selection Committee (as will be specified in the team selection proce- dures).
USA Curling Women’s and Men’s National Championships
For the women: t Te field will be reduced to eight teams un-
less 14 or more teams register for the na- tional championship playdowns by the final entry deadline, in which case the national championship field would be 10 teams.
t If the field is eight teams, four teams will qualify through the Order of Merit, three teams will qualify via the Challenge Round, and one team will be a High Performance Program discretionary selection.
t If the field is 10 teams, five teams will qual- ify through the Order of Merit, four teams will qualify via the Challenge Round, and one team will be a High Performance Pro- gram discretionary selection.
For the men: Te field will remain at 10 teams, with five
qualifying through the Order of Merit, four via the Challenge Round, and one team will be a High Performance Program discretionary selec- tion. Rationale includes: Feedback received regarding the number of
teams competing indicates that there is still a desire to have the National Championships provide this competitive experience for what might be considered “developmental” teams even though the event is a significant part of the qualification process for USA’s world champion- ship teams. Still, a minimum standard should be maintained, hence the 14-team-entry minimum on the women’s side for a 10-team field. Should the men’s entries ever drop to less than 14 teams, the same standard would apply. Q
USA Curling (( 23
he University of Pennsylvania captured the 2016 USA Curling College National Championship title in March aſter the
while at the same time close down much of the area available for Minnesota to draw into. Minnesota’s hammer shot in the extra end came
up short, giving Penn the 2016 college national title. Minnesota earned silver honors for their effort. Te Penn team of Elana Chapman, David Ferguson and Carly Meyer was skipped by Cody Clouser. “Penn Curling is excited about winning the
championship,” Meyer said. “Minnesota gave us a really fun final game. We appreciate all the effort that goes into making college curling happen. And we would like to thank Penn Athletics and the Phil- adelphia Curling Club on their support of us. We look forward to competing again next year.” Penn is no stranger to the College Championship finals, earning the silver medal in last year’s cha- Continued on Page 24
2016 College National Champions Penn, (l-r) Cody Clouser, Carly Meyer, Elana Chapman and David Ferguson.
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