Oct 28 2016 Edition

    What happened in the previous two weeks:

    Inside the curling world

    •   The regular Town Hall call following the USCA Board of Directors meeting and Members’ Assembly was held Thursday night, with presentations by USCA Chairman Rich Lepping, Director of Junior High Performance Program Dave Jensen, and me.

    •   A communication regarding the recent Board of Directors resolutions passed involving USCA membership was distributed Thursday night. The communication was put together through a collaborative effort with AAC members and the Executive Committee. As you will see in the release, a 30-day delay has been put in place for implementation of the resolution regarding interaction with non-member clubs.

    •   Chairman Rich Lepping and I have been working closely with AAC Chairman Allison Pottinger and the entire Athletes Advisory Council to address any athlete concerns with the resolution, and had a joint call with USOC athlete ombudsmen and legal counsel on Thursday.

    •   The third annual USA Curling Members’ Assembly concluded in Tempe, Ariz., on Sunday with several on-ice courses, including Delivery Analysis by High Performance Director, Derek Brown; Mixed Doubles Strategy taught by Derek Brown and Olympian Allison Pottinger, and a Wheelchair Instructor Certification Course taught by Paralympian Patrick McDonald. We are currently evaluating the results and values of the Assembly and will be discussing this in depth with Board leaders before planning next year’s event.

    •   The 2016-17 Championship Rules Book has been finalized and posted, thanks to the hard work of Jenny Biadasz, Sam Williams, Derek Brown, Herb Kupchik and several others.

    •   Rich Lepping, Chairman of the Board, attended the Volunteer of the Year recognition celebration hosted by the Traverse City Curling Club on Tuesday. He presented Don Piche, the 2016 Volunteer of the Year, with the VOY award, a certificate, and a USA Curling jacket. You will soon hear Don’s voice on USA Curling’s welcome message when calling the national office. If you would like to read more about his work growing the sport in Michigan, check out the Fall edition of the U.S. Curling News.

    •   If your club is seeking brochures for open houses and learn-to-curl classes, these can be requested at no charge for member clubs online at: https://usacurling.wufoo.com/forms/membership-materials-request- form/

      Events/Sport Education

    •   Casey Cascio of the University of Oklahoma is the winner of the 2017 USA Curling College Championship logo contest.

    •   We have signed an agreement with Twelfth End Sports Network to produce the USA Curling web stream of the 2017 National Championships in Everett, Wash. TESN has been a great partner with USA Curling for this production over the last several years.

    •   Weekend ticket packages are now on sale for the 2017 WFG Continental Cup of Curling in Las Vegas.

    •   Continental Cup ticket holders are invited to take part in a pre-sale opportunity for special live concerts being scheduled at The Orleans Showroom in conjunction with this event.

    •   Registration is open for several USCA championship events, including Juniors, Men’s and Women’s, and Club Nationals in some regions. Registration for the new U18 Championships opens Nov. 2.

    •   The Officiating Advisory Group met to plan for the upcoming season. Several officiating courses are currently on the calendar, with more being planned at the present time.

    •   Monthly call held Thursday night with the 2017 Everett Nationals host committee, led by USCA’s Mike Dellemann and Harry Saylor of the host committee.

      Operations

    •   The U.S. Olympic Committee final audit report of the USCA’s 2014-15 and 2015-16 fiscal years has been received and contains just one recommendation for further segregation of financial duties on staff. The audit also commends the USCA for innovative and exceptional practices, particularly in the SafeSport program.

    •   The field work for the annual USCA external audit was completed this

    week.

    Grants/Sponsorships/Revenue Development

    •   National Wheelchair Team contender Matt Thums and I met with new USCA sponsor Ki Mobility Thursday afternoon, doing a tour of their factory and world headquarters in Stevens Point, Wis.

    •   Thanks to the Darwin Curtis Fund, which the USCA administers on behalf of The Chicago Community Trust, the USCA will be able to assist 10 member clubs with a variety of projects while enhancing membership- wide initiatives to further grow the sport of curling in the U.S. Award letters went out to all clubs receiving grants from the Darwin Curtis Fund for the upcoming grant cycle. These clubs include Aksarben CC, Albany CC, Bowling Green CC, Coastal Carolina CC, Duluth CC, Fort Wayne CC, La Crosse CC, Mankato CC, San Francisco Bay Area CC, and Stevens Point CC.

    •   I had a call last week with Experience to Lead to discuss options for partnering on the Corporate Executive Development program Warren Hansen and I have been working on as a corporate fundraising program.

    •   I also had a call last week with multi-year sponsor CryoMAX to discuss additional marketing activation ideas, and a follow-up call has been scheduled for Nov. 7.

    •   Mike Dellemann is researching a donation campaign idea with GoodWorld.

    •   The USOC marketing department has now confirmed its intent to partner with the USCA to include an “amateur curling championship” using Street Curling equipment in the USOC’s Road to PyeongChang traveling pep rally in the lead up to the 2018 Olympics and Paralympics.

      Communications/PR

    •   To mark the traditional start of the season, the inaugural USA Curling Club Calendar (October 2016-September 2017) was produced to celebrate members of the USCA. Each month features photos submitted by curlers from various member clubs. A printed copy of the calendar to hang in each club along with a copy of the 2016-17 Media Guide & Directory were mailed to all club presidents this week.

    •   USA Curling pins and welcome letters were mailed this week to the 250 individual curlers that are registered with the USCA at new clubs that were voted into membership at the 2016 Members’ Assembly. New member clubs include Aberdeen CC (Dakota Territory), Bend CC (MOPAC), Brooklyn Lakeside CC (GNCC), Curl Troy (GLCA), Orlando CC (GNCC), Peachtree CC (At-Large) , Telluride CC (MACA), and Utah Olympic Oval CC (MOPAC).

    The first print edition of the U.S. Curling News for the 2016-17 season should be arriving in mailboxes now, and the digital edition is available here. The digital edition includes six bonus pages of content plus the catalog insert from USA Curling sponsor Brooms Up Curling Supplies.

    Competitive Programs

    •   One of the highlights of last week’s competitive program results was the playoff qualification of three Junior High Performance Program teams in the U21 Imperial Slam in Ontario. Teams led by Madison Bear and Andrew Stopera both won the consolation finals in that event, while the team led by Hunter Clawson reached the quarterfinals.

    •   Dean Gemmell has been elected as the next USCA AAC representative to the U.S. Olympic Committee, and Joe Polo has been elected as the alternate for this position. Gemmell will transition into his four-year term in January when current representative Doug Pottinger completes his term.

    •   Two-time Paralympian Patrick McDonald has been elected to the WCF Athletes Commission.

    •   Team USA advanced to the Round of 16 in the 2016 World Mixed Championship in Kazan, Russia, but ended its medal chase with a loss to Scotland.

    •   Reigning U.S. national champion Brady Clark’s team reached the semifinals of the Hub International Crown of Curling in Kamloops, B.C., and the HPP team led by Jamie Sinclair reached the quarterfinals of the Atkins Curling Supplies Classic in Winnipeg, Ont.

    •   Changes have been made to the curling competition schedule for the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics, with later draw times now scheduled for mixed doubles, and the women’s gold medal game moved to the final day of the Games, just before the Closing Ceremonies.

      What’s up next week:

    o The first quarter high performance program report is due to the USOC on Nov. 2.

    o Site visit in Omaha, Neb., Nov. 3-4 with USOC and NBC partners and the local organizing committee for the 2018 U.S. Olympic Team Trials for curling.

    What’s coming two weeks from now (Nov. 6 - 12, 2016):

    o USCA staff session with Team 8 on Nov. 8 for follow-up on 360 degree observer feedback overview. 


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