Oct 2 2015 Edition

What happened this week:

• The third annual Hawaii Charity Curling Classic was held on Thursday, sponsored by America Savings Bank. Twenty teams of six people each helping raise $100,000 for Ka Pa’alana Homeless Family Program and $25,000 for USA Curling. Olympians Jessica Schultz and Shawn Rojeski represented USA Curling as did Terry and I. The event included a school visit by the athletes, an on-ice experience for approximately 60 high school kids, and extensive media coverage. You can see what this is all about by viewing coverage of the 2014 event here.
• While in Honolulu I met with Chris Dey—the individual who was the catalyst for starting the Hawaii Charity Curling Classic—to discuss other fundraising and business development opportunities for USA Curling.
• The hiring process for the position of Deputy Manager began on Tuesday, and numerous applications have already been received this week.
• Sept. 30 was the deadline for all athletes, coaches/team leaders and other support staff to complete advance registration for participation in the 2016 Youth Olympic Games.
• The sixth ESPN “Cheesehead Curling Classic” was held on Saturday with the Monday Night Football crew. This event is a collaborative effort with the Green Bay Curling Club, with Terry Davis leading the way for USA Curling.
• USA’s Brady Clark team ended its 2015 World Mixed Championships run in Berne, Switzerland, with a loss in the quarterfinals to eventual champion Norway.
• Erika Brown and teammates Allison Pottinger, Nicole Joraanstad and Natalie Nicholson finished second in the KW Fall Classic in Kitchener, Ont.
• John Shuster and teammates Tyler George, Jared Zezel and Matt Hamilton (High Performance Program athletes) reached the quarterfinals of the Point Optical Curling Classic in Saskatoon, SK, and have now risen to 14^th in the World Curling Tour Order of Merit.
• Discussions are being held with the USOC and Denver Curling Club organizers of the USA Curling Mixed Doubles National Championships to potentially web stream those championships.
• Solutions have been found to overcome the production setup challenges for web streaming the 2016 USA Curling Nationals from Jacksonville.
• Agendas for the USCA Members’ Assembly and October Board of Directors meeting have been finalized and distributed.
• USOC AAC representative Doug Pottinger and I attended the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Assembly in Colorado Springs Sept. 24-26. The Assembly includes many separate and joint NGB Council and Athletes Advisory Council meetings, along with numerous other seminars.
• While at the Assembly I continued conversations with the broadcast/web streaming representatives regarding ongoing and future opportunities; spoke with the chiefs of sport performance and marketing regarding the proposed project with Dow, and discussed fundraising projects and ideas with the USOC’s fundraising staff.
• A sponsor pitch I presented recently looks as if it will pay off with a multi-year escalating cash agreement, as well as significant promotional exposure for USA Curling and the potential for athletes to also engage with this sponsor. More details to come.
• A grant application I submitted to support the Curling Night in America 2016 production has received verbal approval. This will most likely provide $30,000 or more in support of the overall production expenses.
• We have been working with Twelfth End Sports Network and the host committee of the 2016 USA Curling Nationals in Jacksonville on web stream logistics. The significant floor to ceiling height in the arena has presented camera positioning challenges that may require trusses to overcome. A solution is being worked out.

What’s up next week:

• Site visit for the staging of Curling Night in America 2016 will take place Monday-Tuesday with representatives from the World Curling Federation, NBC, and the host location. (Details will be announced in a media release very soon.)
• ACES (Association for Chief Executives in Sport) monthly teleconference, Wednesday, Oct. 7.

What’s coming two weeks from now (Oct. 11 – 17)

• Second annual USCA Members’ Assembly and also the fall USCA Board of Directors meeting, Oct. 15-18, Fort Wayne, Ind. Registration for the Assembly has now surpassed 90 individuals.