Sept 16, 2016 Edition

Inside the curling world

• Six Level I Instructor certification and training courses have already been scheduled for the upcoming, season, and several Level II Instructor courses and other Sport Education programs are in the planning process. If you are interested in hosting a Level I Instructor course at your club, please complete our online request form.
• New sweeping equipment regulations were approved at the General Assembly of the 4^th annual World Federation Congress on Saturday in Stockholm, Sweden. Attending the Congress on behalf of the USCA were WCF representatives Mark Swandby, Leland Rich, Beau Welling and Jennifer Stannard, as well as myself as USCA Secretary General. Other discussions/projects I pursued while at the Congress included:
  •  Discussed the idea of beginning an Americas Zone Club Championship, something that I have previously been talking about with Curling Canada leaders. There are now six countries in the Americas Zone, with Guyana and Mexico both accepted as Conditional Members at the recent Assembly. They join Brazil, Canada, Puerto Rico and USA.
  • Met with InFront marketing executives to talk about sponsorship opportunities at the 2018 Men’s World Curling Championships in Las Vegas.
  • Planning meetings for Curling Night in America both for this year and next.
  • Met with Rock Solid Production’s Chad McMullan to continue planning for a Street Curling component as part of the U.S. Olympic Committee’s Road to PyeongChang series for 2017-18.
• Final touches are being put on the new USA Curling Club Calendar, which will be distributed to all member clubs in early October. The calendar features photos submitted by member clubs throughout the past season.

Events & Television

• I had a good conversation with NBC executives regarding 2017 World Championship coverage as well as potentially moving up the programming time for the Curling Night in America series for the 2017-18 season, so that it leads into Olympic Trials and Olympic coverage. The tentative schedule for the 2016-17 Curling Night in America series is for the first episodes to air on Jan. 19, with programs weekly thereafter through March 2. On some nights, two episodes would air back to back.
• Curl Mesabi in Eveleth, Minn., has been selected as the host site for the 2017 USA Curling Mixed Doubles Qualifying event, set for Jan. 25-28.
• Regional playdown information has been slow to come in, and must be submitted by Sept. 22 in order to be included in the fall edition of the U.S. Curling News. For more information, contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., 888-287-5377.
• Likewise, the deadline is imminent for submitting curling club officer information for the 2016-17 Directory/Media Guide.
• A host site is still being sought for the 2017 USA Curling Mixed National Championship.
• Registration has begun for those interested in volunteering at the 2017 World Financial Group Continental Cup presented by Boyd Gaming, in Las Vegas.

Competitive Programs

• The 2018 U.S. Paralympic Team Selection Procedures have been amended and re-posted on the USCA web site. The extent of the amendment is to recognize that there were 10 members in all who could be considered as part of the 2015-16 National Team as compared to eight as originally stated.
• Several representatives of the USCA wheelchair curling program participated in a webinar introducing the Stress Resiliency Training System (SRTS) as a way to assist Olympians and disabled Veterans training and competing in Olympic and Paralympic sports. The USOC U.S. has conducted a trial study using the SRTS with a group of Olympians. The SRTS has been funded by the U.S. Department of Defense.
• Team USA member Steve Emt has been named a Paralympic spokesperson for The Hartford.
• The USCA High Performance Program teams led by John Shuster, Craig Brown and Jamie Sinclair are all participating in the WCT Shorty Jenkins Classic this week in Ontario. Several U.S. teams made playoff appearances in WCT events last week.

Grants/Sponsorships/Revenue Development

• Our application has been approved for a 2017 Adaptive Sports Program for Disabled Veterans and Disabled Members of the Armed Forces in the amount of $45,000. Outreach & Development Director Marc DePerno was largely the developer of the application. The approved projects include a 3-day national wheelchair curling camp in Denver; at least three, one-day outreach clinics elsewhere during the grant year, and forming a disabled Veterans wheelchair curling team to enter into elite-level competitions to help these athletes better understand the game and strategy process.
• I took part in a webinar with Foundation Search and will be reviewing a proposal with the USCA Revenue Development Committee to sign up with this organization for assistance with identifying and applying for potential new grants for the USCA.
• Director Hawley MacLean and I had another teleconference with DOW leaders on Wednesday as we continue to push for a partnership for customized water treatment solutions for the USCA ice tech crew (for national events) as well as for interested curling clubs.

What’s up next week:                                                                             

• USCA Operations Group teleconference, Tuesday.
• USCA Revenue Development Committee teleconference, Tuesday.
• U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Assembly, Colorado Springs, Colo., Wednesday – Saturday.
• U.S. Curling News deadline, Friday (first print edition of the 2016-17 season).

What’s coming two weeks from now (Sept. 24 – Oct. 1, 2016):

TEAMS Conference, Atlantic City, NJ, Sept 26-29