Curling season is in full gear and we have LOTS of exciting news!
Welcome to our house: 2022 National Curling Championships
We are excited to announce that Cedar Rapids will host the 2022 National Curling Championships Jan. 2-9 on the RoughRiders side of ImOn Ice Arena. This will be an amazing chance to see the best curlers in the country right in our home arena--and to showcase our sport to the wider community.
There will be lots more information coming out about this in the next couple months, but there will be plenty of volunteer opportunities on and off the ice (likely also in the week running up to the event), so mark your calendar! We can't wait to show the country what we already know: that we have the best members of any curling club in the U.S.!
Need a new shirt? Of course you do
We have a special treat for our members this year: New Cedar Rapids Curling shirts! We'll start handing them out during league Tuesday, Oct. 19. If you won't be at league for a couple weeks, contact Emily Nelson (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) to find a way to get yours.
We won't be selling these shirts to the public. These are only for members. We hope that you'll wear them when volunteering for Learn to Curls or other CRC events to identify yourself as a member--as well as anywhere and anytime other than that!
We have a few of the old gray member shirts left if you are interested in buying one for $10. We'll have them around when handing out the new shirts.
Deadline to sign up for November pick-up games
There will be a two-week break in our Fall League Nov. 16 and 23 for members to attend the Olympic Trials in Omaha and Thanksgiving week. We will offer pick-up games if enough members sign up.
Must be logged in to register: https://cedarrapidscurling.com/index.php/calendar/event-listings
Deadlines are Nov. 2 for the Nov. 16 pick-up game and Nov. 9 for the Nov. 23 game.
Get to know your CRC board members
The Cedar Rapids Curling Board wants to be as accessible to its members as possible. Don't know who your board members are? Find short bios and photos of board members on the Cedar Rapids Curling website.
Updated member handbook now online
(Almost) everything you want to know about Cedar Rapids Curling can be found in the member handbook. Our mission statement, board member, office positions, policies, etiquette, league rules--it's all there.
Been curling 6 years or less? This FREE bonspiel is for you
The Midwest Curling Association hosts several bonspiels throughout the year that are FREE for Cedar Rapids Curling members. These are great opportunities to play on dedicated ice.
The Five Year & Under Bonspiel will be Jan. 15-16, 2022, at Waltham Curling Club. This is open to any curler who started curling in fall 2016 or later. (The 2020-21 season doesn't count due to COVID-19.) Registration will open in November. Find more information.
If you're looking for team members for either spiel, throw a thread on the Cedar Rapids CC Virtual Warm Room Facebook group page or chat with people at league!
Take a trip down I-80 for Olympic Trials
The Olympic Curling Trials will be Nov. 12-21 in Omaha, Neb. A few CRC members are thinking of heading over Nov. 13-16. If you are interested, contact Kari Kozak (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) ASAP as tickets need to be bought as a block to sit together and housing figured out.
New edition of Curling News out now
If you haven't already read the latest edition of U.S. Curling News, what are you waiting for?
Curling tip of the month
This month, let's talk a bit about sweeping.
- Be ready to sweep your teammate’s rock as soon as it is released.
- After sweeping, immediately return to the side of the sheet. Do not walk back in the middle of the sheet.
- Sweepers should stand on the sidelines between the hog lines when not sweeping.
- If your skip is throwing the next stone, prepare the stone for him or her.
- Do not clean your broom over the sheet. Go well behind the hack or off the ice entirely.
CRC on the road
Multiple Cedar Rapids teams competed in last month's CedarSpiel.
Congrats to all the teams, but especially Phil Engen for winning the championship for the second CedarSpiel in a row with his teammates out of North Dakota. And kudos to Greg Schmitt, Jacob Sprengeler, Brianne Arends, and Dan Falco, our grand championship runners-up.
You can find all the teams' photos on the CedarSpiel site.
Reminder about COVID-19 protocol
Cedar Rapids Curling continues to take direction regarding COVID-19 policies from the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Linn County Public Health (LCPH) professionals. With the delta variant taking off around the country, the CDC recommends indoor masking in counties with “substantial” or “high” coronavirus transmission. Because Linn County currently has a high level of transmission, we will require masks during play for our upcoming CedarSpiel, fall league, instructional league, and Learn to Curl events until CDC and LCPH guidance changes. Normal curling rules will apply other than current masking requirements.
We will continue to monitor the situation and will make adjustments to our policies as necessary. We appreciate your understanding and willingness to keep our curling and wider community safe and healthy.