April 1 2016 Edition

What happened in the previous two weeks:

• Both USA teams earned silver medals in the 2016 VOIP Defender World Junior Curling Championships in Copenhagen, Denmark, making this the best combined effort ever for the USA in the World Junior Championships. USA’s teams – both within the USCA High Performance Program— were skipped by Cory Christensen and Korey Dropkin.
• The Wisconsin women’s and New York men’s teams won the 2016 USA Curling Club National Championships in Bismarck, N.D.
• USA’s Erika Brown team finished sixth in the 2016 Ford World Women’s Curling Championship, earning 7 points toward 2018 Olympic qualification for our country. The top seven nations in terms of ranking points following the 2017 World Championships will qualify directly for the Olympics, along with host nation Korea. Two other nations can qualify through the Olympic Qualification event in December 2017.
• Two USA games from the women’s Worlds were broadcast on UniHD and NBCSN, as was the gold medal game.
• A pre-sale begins today for the 2017 Continental Cup of Curling in Las Vegas. This pre-sale runs only through Sunday, after which a general public offering begins, with ticket packages discounted through May 17. A limited block of tickets has been set aside in Section 117 for USA Curling fans who are interested in getting seats together. To book in this block, you must enter promo code USACURL. Ticket and hotel packages can also be booked directly with The Orleans, at .
• The World Curling Federation’s 50^th Anniversary Celebration kicks off tonight in Basel, Switzerland. International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach will be the guest of honor at a banquet marking the event, and he will also deliver the celebratory first stone to open the championship on Saturday.
• Mayo Clinic Sports Medicine is preparing a team services agreement draft for our consideration, which would provide health and sports medicine services on a pro bono basis for athletes in the USCA High Performance Program. Mayo Clinic is also taking another look at marketing opportunities offered in conjunction with the Curling Night in America series on NBCSN.
• Conversations held with the Hawaii Tourism Authority regarding the potential for future events there, or partnership with existing events.
• The new USA Curling mobile app was officially launched this week. This app was made possible through our digital marketing agreement with the U.S. Olympic Committee.
• A survey is underway of women’s national championship/playdown competitors from the last several years, with the goal being to gain insights into future participation interests, trends, etc.
• FY17 budget work continues with all staff having provided input as well as projections for year-end FY16.
• NGB Council meeting was held, and proposed new resource allocation tiers were unveiled for the first time to all NGBs. The tiers were developed over the last several months by the NGB Tier Working Group I served on along with several other sport leaders.
• Athletes are being sought for the U.S. Deaf Curling programs, from developmental to world championship events.

What’s up next week:

• Several meetings are scheduled with the WCF Board and others to discuss a proposal for support of the Curling Night in America series for 2017 and 2018, as well as a joint consultant agreement with an event specialist.
• The 2016 Men’s World Curling Championship begins Saturday in Basel, Switzerland, with USA represented by the John Shuster team. Web streams will be available on the WCF YouTube channel, and three games will also be televised in the U.S. on NBCSN and UniHD.
• The 2016 USA Curling Mixed National Championship begins Saturday in Tempe, Ariz. Web streaming is planned.
• USCA wheelchair program staff and athletes assisting with National Disabled Veterans Winter Sports Clinic,  Snowmass, Colo., April 3-8.

What’s coming two weeks from now (April 10-16, 2016):

• U.S. Paralympic Best Practices Summit, Colorado Spring, Colo.
• World Senior Curling Championships begin April 15 in Karlstad, Sweden.
• World Mixed Doubles Curling Championship begins April 16 in Karlstad, Sweden.