GROWTH & DEVELOPMENT // REPORTS FROM THE WARM ROOM
Darwin Curtis Fund Grant Award winners announced
By Kim Nawyn, Director of Growth & Development,
kim.nawyn@
usacurl.org
Members’ Assembly For the second year in a row, the start of the
traditional curling season was marked by the USA Curling Members’ Assembly, which took place in Fort Wayne, Ind. Te Members’ Assembly is de- signed to increase communication between mem- ber clubs, states and regions, and the U.S. Curling Association (USCA). Te assembly provides curlers with information that can enhance their curling experience through on-ice training sessions, club development seminars, and networking with curl- ers from throughout the country. Eight new and returning clubs were officially
welcomed into the organization by a vote of the members: Des Moines CC (Iowa/ICA), Hallock CC (Minn./MCA), Hartford CC (Conn./ GNCC), Jersey Pinelands CC (N.J./GNCC), Panthers CC (Fla./ GNCC) Pine Tree CC (Maine/GNCC), Pou- dre Valley CC (Colo./MACA), and Traverse City CC (Mich./GLCA). As part of a new initiative, these clubs were presented with banners to hang in their facilities, as well as framed membership certificates. For clubs curling in multi-use ice arenas, the ban- ners will help let members of the public know curl- ing is available at the facility. New to the Members’ Assembly this year was a
16-team mini ‘spiel held at the Fort Wayne Curling Club. Each team was selected primarily by chance with at least one curler from the host state and one USA Curling board, committee or staff member. Te idea was to encourage curlers from different ar- eas of the country to get to know each other both on and off the ice. Te winners of what was termed the “shortest ’spiel with the tallest trophy” were Grego- ry Eigner, Fort Wayne Curling Club (Ind.); Sandra McMakin, Dakota Curling Club (Minn.)/USCA chairwoman of Training & Instruction; Matthew Urbaniak, Curl Troy (Ohio); and Jeff Greenfield, Cincinnati Curling Club (Ohio). Tey defeated the team of Ben Levy, Detroit CC (Mich.); Shawn Wall, Fort Wayne CC (Ind.), Anthony Cover, Oval CC (Utah); and myself, Stevens Point CC/USA Curling (Wis.), in a hard fought match. A summary of seminars and accompanying re-
sources are available on the USA Curling website,
http://www.teamusa.org/USA-Curling/Clubs/
6 ))
usacurl.org
Winners of the Mini ’Spiel at the 2015 Members' Assembly were (l-r) Greg Eigner, Sandra McMa- kin, Matthew Urbaniak, and Jeff Greenfield.
Member-Programs/Member-Assembly/2015-As- sembly.
Darwin Curtis Fund Grant Awards Te recipients of the 2015-16 Darwin Curtis
Fund grants were also officially announced at the Members’ Assembly. Te program, which is admin- istered by USA Curling on behalf of Te Chicago Community Trust, was established to “support and encourage participation by the general public in the sport of curling…” Curling clubs with 501(c)(3) not- for-profit status, as well as other 501(c)(3) organiza- tions making efforts to grow the sport, are eligible to apply. During the upcoming season, grant funds will be used to help seven organizations complete the programs summarized below: Arlington Curling Club (Wis.): Approximately
seven years ago, the Arlington club made a major investment in its aging infrastructure, which result- ed in membership doubling. Arlington is continu- ing efforts to keep the facility viable and attractive to new curlers by improving the quality of ice and other conditions. Grant funds will go toward an in- sulation project. Copper County Curling Club (Mich.): Te club
is working with the Michigan Economic Develop- ment Corporation on a project to make the facility ADA (Americans With Disabilities Act) compliant
and improve the general conditions. Te Darwin Curtis Fund grant will go toward projects focused on lighting and under-ice concrete painting. Hollywood Curling Club (Calif.): Te organi-
zation is seeking to expand youth participation in the sport. Grant funds will support programming efforts at local schools and subsequent affordable on-ice offerings for youth. St. Louis Curling Club (Mo.): St. Louis will be-
gin a strategic outreach plan to introduce curling to community youth. Both off-ice and on-ice pro- gramming will round out this curriculum. Grant funds will be applied to the purchase of equipment to help make this outreach possible. Wausau Curling Club (Wis.): To enhance the
club’s efforts to make the building one of the most wheelchair-accessible curling facilities in the world, this grant will support the installation of automatic door openers. Windy City Curling Club (Ill.): Grant funds will
support the installation of a walk-in cooler for stor- age of stones. Tis will improve the quality of the curling experience for all participants as well as re- duce the time needed to set up each week. Other items of note include: Pin discount: As the official exclusive lapel pin
supplier/licensee to USA Curling, member clubs can utilize a 10 percent discount off listed wholesale pricing plus a five percent pre-payment option on all club pins, medals, lanyards, crests, key chains or re- lated products produced by Laurie Artiss Ltd. Visit
http://www.thepinpeople.ca/. Club Insurance Program: USA Curling’s club
insurance program provides access to general li- ability insurance and medical accident coverage tailored to the needs of the sport. USA Curling is pleased to offer this coverage at the same rate as last season. While renewal forms are due on Dec. 1, clubs not currently in the program can join any time of the year. Membership materials: Brochures, 2015-16 di-
rectories, and in-ice logos are all available to mem- ber clubs for free. Clubs can request these items as needed anytime of the year by accessing the USCA Membership Materials Request Form (https://us-
acurling.wufoo.com/forms/membership-materials- request-form/). More information about these and other pro- grams can be found on the USA Curling website. Q
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