GROWTH & DEVELOPMENT // REPORTS FROM THE WARM ROOM
Eight new clubs welcomed into USCA membership
By Kim Nawyn, Director of Growth & Development,
kim.nawyn@
usacurl.org
Members’ Assembly Recap
grams, the third annual Members’ Assembly. Te event, which was held in Tempe, Ariz., (Moun- tain Pacific Region) this October provides curlers with information that can enhance their curling experience through club development seminars, skill improvement sessions, and networking with curlers from throughout the country. Seminars are offered at no cost to curlers from member clubs. Tis season seminars ranged from how to use video to promote clubs, to growing youth curling programs, to constructing a four-sheet dedicated ice facility on just over half a million dollars. More information and examples of elec- tronic presentations from the program can be found on the USA Curling website, http://www.
teamusa.org/USA-Curling/Clubs/Member-Pro- grams/Member-Assembly. Eight new and returning clubs were officially welcomed into the organization by a vote of
T
he traditional start of the curling sea- son was marked by one of USA Curl- ing’s most ambitious member pro-
the members during this event. Tese clubs in- clude: Aberdeen CC (Dakota Territory), Bend CC (Mountain Pacific), Brooklyn Lakeside CC (Grand National Curling Club), Curl Troy (Great Lakes), Orlando CC (GNCC), Peachtree CC (At-Large), Telluride CC (Mid-America Curl- ing Association), and Utah Olympic Oval CC (MOPAC). Representatives from three of these clubs were on-hand to receive their membership banners and certificates. Don Piche, the presi- dent of the Traverse City Curling Club, which was voted in as a new member during the 2015 Assembly, was also in attendance. Piche was rec- ognized as the 2016 Volunteer of the Year. His achievements were highlighted in the Fall 2016 edition of the U.S. Curling News. Darwin Curtis Fund Grant Awards
Te recipients of the 2016-17 Darwin Curtis
Fund grant awards were also announced at the 2016 Members’ Assembly. Te grant program, which is administered by USA Curling on behalf of Te Chicago Community Trust, has provided financial assistance for growth efforts in 28 curl- ing organizations throughout the nation during the past four seasons. Due to an increase in the amount of funds allocated to the competitive application program this year, grant funds will help to make a variety of programs possible in 10 clubs during the 2016-17 season. Aksarben Curling Club (Omaha, Neb.) will
Winners of the second annual Mini ‘Spiel at the 2016 USA Curling Members’ Assembly were Derek Brown (USA Curling), Kate Garfinkel (San Fran- cisco Bay Area), Tracy Heuermann (Coyotes), and Matthew Urbaniak (Curl Troy). Urbaniak has been a member of the winning team for this bon- spiel both years the event has been held.
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usacurl.org
use grant funds to establish curling program- ming for youth, specifically local high school and middle school students. Te two-sheet Al- bany Curling Club (Albany, N.Y.) will apply grant funds toward replacement of compressors, which will allow the club to continue operating with high quality ice. As part of their efforts to open a new four-sheet curling dedicated facility this season, the Bowling Green Curling Club (Bowling Green, Ohio) will use grant funding to construct a wheelchair accessible restroom. Te arena-based Coastal Carolina Curling Club (Wilmington, N.C.) will purchase used stones to replace rented equipment. Duluth Curling Club (Duluth, Minn.), with eight-sheets of dedicated ice, will apply this funding toward the cost of
replacing its curling floor. Fort Wayne Curling Club (Fort Wayne, Ind.) will replace carpeting in the warm room to reduce the current trip- ping hazards in the club’s three-sheet facility. La Crosse Curling Club (La Crosse, Wis.) will focus on youth outreach efforts and purchase new equipment to use at events to promote the sport to community members. Mankato Curling Club (Mankato, Minn.), which has been without ice for the past two years, will apply funds to- ward repairing leaking brine pipes as part of a larger renovation project designed to get the club back on the ice this season. Funds awarded to the San Francisco Bay Area Curling Club (San Francisco, Calif.) will go toward the purchase of audio/visual equipment to use with training pro- grams for novice to intermediate curlers. Finally, the two-sheet Stevens Point Curling Club (Ste- vens Point, Wis.) will use the funds to purchase an automated external defibrillator (AED) and train members how to effectively respond to life- threatening cardiac arrhythmias. Youth Programming
Tis season, USA Curling is piloting a new
program to introduce kids to the sport in 10 curling clubs. Te program, which is made pos- sible through a grant from the P&G/Team USA Youth Sports Fund, provides the framework needed for experienced curlers to lead a safe, fun, and age appropriate program in their club. Te program features a six-week lesson plan (instructor’s manual) and accompanying work- book for participants. Selected clubs will receive curling equipment sized for 6- to 9-year-olds. Equipment packages include grippers, sliders, stabilizers, and custom kid-size curling brooms, all from Brooms Up Curling Supplies. A banner showing an illustration of the house, an atten- dance tracker chart, stickers, patches, and pins are also included in program materials. Patches can be earned through attendance/participation. Applications from clubs were due late in October.
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