DaTheily Pebble

Th e official publication of the Olympic Trials for | Sunday, November 12, 2017

OLYMPIC TRIALS CURLING OMAHA, NE NOVEMBER 11-18 2017 Omaha.com PAGE 02 US OLYMPIC 201! CURLING TRIALS ● OMAHA WORLD-HERALD !#$DAY, NOVEMBER 1", 2017

// FUN FACTS

Possibly one of the world’s oldest team sports: a brief history of curling Scotland North America It is generally agreed that curling was devel- Scottish immigrants brought the game with “Curlers play to win but never oped in Scotland in the 16th century. Scottish them to North America, fi rst to Canada around to humble their opponents. farmers curled on the frozen marshes using 1759, then to the United States around 1832. By “channel stones,” which were naturally smoothed 1855, curling clubs fl ourished in New York City, A true curler would prefer to by the water’s action. Th e principles of the game Detroit, Milwaukee and Portage, Wis. Curling in lose rather than win unfairly...” were similar to the modern game, although there the rest of Europe developed in the 20th century. were many differences in rules and equipment. Two developments ensured that the modern Th e Spirit of Curling game would be marked by a high degree of phys- Th e spirit of curling evolved in the early cen- ical skill and mental toughness: turies in Scotland. It is this spirit of honorable competition followed by egalitarian sociality that 1. the standardization of the stone, and made curling a special game in curlers’ minds. 2. indoor, refrigerated ice. An excerpt from “The Spirit of Curling:” “Curlers play to win but never to humble their opponents. Th e modern stone is round, and about 42 A true curler would prefer to lose rather than win pounds. Curling is played, for the most part, on unfairly... while the main object of the game is indoor, refrigerated ice, which helps ensure a fast, to determine the relative skill of the players, the consistent and predictable playing surface. spirit of the game demands good sportsmanship, kindly feeling, and honorable conduct.” (%0&,". 0/#$1)$+ *'. '-*! US OLYMPIC 201! CURLING TRIALS ● OMAHA WORLD-HERALD PAGE 03

WH CARES

Fans enjoyedthe opening roundofcompetition as the2018 U.S. OlympicTeamTrialsfor Curling beganatBaxter Arena. PhotobyRichHarmer, USA Curling CurlingCity, USA IMPROVING LIVES OF By Margaret Silhasek,Daily Pebble Staff Writer wouldbeinOmaha,she bought thetickets andcalled up PATIENTSWORLDWIDE nastate knownfor football SaturdaysatMemorial herfriends.“It’s an Olympicevent so Ithought it’d be funto Stadium, Nebraskans areturningout to Baxter Arena come.” Iforadifferentsport –curling–asthe U.S. Olympic George wasexcited forthe opportunity to experience the Team Trials came to town this weekend. interaction of thecrowd at alive event. “I sawitonTVand Roband LizMazanecofOmaha were sittinginthe just thoughtitwas fascinatingthatitwas asport,” she said. stands on Saturday,excited to experience thesport in per- Dostal andEgner saythe U.S. OlympicTeamTrials son. After afailedattempt to watch thecurlingcompetition peaked their interest so much that thetwo aresigningup when they attended the2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake fora“LearntoCurl” night at Baxter Arena. The group City,Liz said this wasthe “perfect opportunity to seeitlive.” decidedtoget aheadstart on thelearningprocessand tried Rob, whocoaches men’slacrosse,sayshehas always their hand at throwing “stones” on an icelesscurlingmat in been intriguedbythe sportand makesitapoint to watch it thearena’s concourse. Whilethe group sharedanumberof during theWinterOlympics, but beingabletoget afeelfor laughs andjokes at their attempts, Egnerthinks “itisjust howthe athletes play in person is funtodo. Another high- funtoget theexposuretoit, seeitall,and takeadvantage of light forthe duoisthe chance to see“whogets to represent theopportunity even if youdon’t know much.” theU.S.”inKorea, and“beingabletoconnect andknowyou Another group in thestands made thedrive from sawtheminperson” when they areonthe TV. Lincolntowatch theevent,but unlike many of thespecta- Similartothe Mazanecs, MiaEgner,TamiDostal,and tors,the group has apassionfor thesport.MorganRose, THE SCIENCE OF TRUST DeannaGeorge,havetaken an interest in curlingfrom what Continued on page 5 they’veseenonTV. When Egnersaw thecurlingTrials streck.com

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THE UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA AT OMAHA AND BAXTER ARENA WELCOME THE U.S. OLYMPIC TEAM TRIALS TO OUR CAMPUS! GO TEAM USA! LEARN MORE ABOUT UNO AND BAXTER ARENA AT unomaha.edu OR baxterarena.com

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THE OMAHA SPORTS COMMISSION WOULD LIKE TO RECOGNIZE AND THANK OUR 2017 CONTRIBUTORS

•AccessBank •AIT WorldwideLogistics,Inc.

•Burlington Capital Foundation MembersofTeamChristensen signed autographsSaturdayafternoonatWinterFestatStinson Park. PhotobyRichHarmer, USA Curling •CFO Systems, LLC •Colliers International WinterFestDraws OlympicFans By AmyNielsen, DailyPebbleStaffWriter since we were little,” Ashley Strzeleckisaid. “Laurentoldme •Cox Communications it wasgoing to be here andsowejustwantedtohaveafun eamUSA WinterFest, locatedinStinson Park in weekendand come down here andcheer on some future •Cquence Health Group Aksarben Village, welcomedvisitorsfrom all over Olympians.” Tthecountry aheadofthe startofyesterday’s 2018 Lauren Strzeleckisaidtheyhaveeventried curlingfor U.S. OlympicTeamTrialsfor CurlingatBaxter Arena. an activity andsaidshe thoughtitwas adifficultsport to •Dana &Danielle Bradford Hostedbythe United States OlympicCommittee, play,but funtowatch. WinterFesttravels to 12 cities acrossthe countrythathost The sisters said they heardabout WinterFestand de- •First Bank of Omaha pre-Olympic events from Nov. 1toFeb.24. The free event cidedtovisit theevent before headingtothe trials. While offered unique opportunities to interactwithaspiring there, they gave thecurlingchallenge atry. •Fraser Stryker athletes andparticipate in mock versions of some of the “Wedid thecurlingchallenge andthatwas kind of Olympicevents. hard,” Lauren Strzeleckisaid. “You have to push it alot hard Omaha’sWinterFesteventsincludedvarious photoop- than Ithought.” •Gallup portunities, acurlingchallenge,TeamUSA Social Truck The sisters also posed, alongwiththeir friend, Allen andavirtual realityskeleton race experience. Osborne, forthe BobsledBoomerang andsaidtheyenjoyed •JetLinx Vanessaand Jonathan Williams travelledfrom Nashville, free smoresfrom Hershey’sSmoresmobileset up by the Tenn., to watch theOlympic Trials in person andvisited park. •Kiewit Building Group WinterFestbefore headingtoBaxter forthe day’sfirst draw. Many Omaharesidents also came to WinterFestonSat- “We’ve followedcurlingfor about eight years,” Vanessa urday. Frances Hall came with herfriendNatalie Strait after Williams said.“We love theOlympics. We knew we couldn’t they said they read about theevent in theOmaha World- •Leonard Management, Inc. afford to go to theOlympics, but we couldcomehere.” Herald. Sisters Lauren andAshleyStrzeleckialsofollowthe Hall said they wanted to attend thetrialsand read in the •The Lerner Company Olympics closely. When Lauren, wholivesinOmaha, newspaperthatWinterFestofferedfreetickets to theopen- heardthatBaxter Arenawould host theOlympic Trials,she ingceremonyheldat5p.m. Hall andStraitreceivedtheir •The Lund Company immediately contactedher sistertomakeplans to attend. free tickets andenjoyed theWinterfestenvironment. Ashley Strzeleckidrove from DesMoines, Iowa, to attend “We’re goingtowalk around andenjoy it,” Hall said theTrials. about WinterFest. “It’sreally festive. It’s agreat thingyou •MECA “Our family has been reallybig fans of theOlympics Continued on nextpage

2062737-01 About The USCA The United States Curling Association (USCA) is the National Governing Body of the through competitive excellence. The USCA is a member of the sport of curling in the United States and has its national office in Stevens Point, Wis. and the U.S. Olympic Committee. The official national training center for U.S. curling athletes is located at Fogerty Arena USA Curling is proud to have sponsors Brooms Up Curling Supplies, AtomOS, RAM in Blaine, Minn., home of the Four Seasons Curling Club. The arena became an Olympic Restaurant and Brewery, Nike, Sitrin, Skills.com, Brakebush, and BalancePlus as official Training Site for curling in 2015. sponsors. In addition, USA Curling is proud to partner with Hilton Hotels, United Airlines, As the NGB for the sport of curling, the USCA is committed to sustained growth of the sport CurlingZone, Laurie Artiss Ltd. – The Pin People, and RJM Licensing. 2063107-02 (%0&,". 0/#$1)$+ *'. '-*! US OLYMPIC 201! CURLING TRIALS ● OMAHA WORLD-HERALD PAGE 05

// standings

Men’s Standings HeathMcCormick2-0 John Shuster1-0 THE OMAHA Craig Brown1-1 Todd Birr 0-1 SPORTS COMMISSION BradyClark 0-2 Women’s Standings WOULD LIKE TO RECOGNIZE AND THANK 1-0 0-0 OUR 2017 CONTRIBUTORS 0-1 •MethodistHospital // results •Metropolitan Community College Draw 2scores: HeathMcCormick andhis team had aperfect daywithtwo wins Saturday. Sinclair 9, Roth 8 •Mutual of Omaha Bank PhotobyRichHarmer, USA Curling Brown8,Birr4 McCormick8,Clark 5 Draw 1scores: •Nebraska Medicine McCormick8,Brown 3 Shuster7,Clark 6 s •Northern Natural Gas e t •Omaha Convention & C From Page 3: Curling City,USA Isaac Fuhrman, andTim Adams curled on theUniversityof Visitors Bureau Nebraska-Lincoln CurlingClubTeam. Rose says hisgreat- grandfather curled as part of theAksarbenCurlingClub, •Omaha Public Power District but Rose hadnever tried to curl himself.Thefirst time any of them threwastone wasincollege, anditdid nottake •Omaha Storm Chasers long forthemtofall in love with curling. The group nowcurls in an Omahaleague,and Rose says having theU.S. CurlingOlympic Trials in Omahaisaway •Omaha World-Herald The opening stoneceremonyfeaturedOmaha CityCouncilmanPeteFes- forthemtowitness adifferentstrategylevel than what they tersen (back), Olympian , Aksarben Curling Club’s Kelly areusedto. “Justtosee thedifference betweencurlinginan •Pinnacle Bank Company Stephens, and2018 ParalympianJustinMarshall(in thehouse). Omahaleague versethese guys whocurlall over theworld, PhotobyRichHarmer, USA Curling andseeingthe slightestmistakes that happen canbecostly,” From Page 4: WinterFestfans she said. •Stephanie &RobbPantano, The difference in strategy wasn’t theonlythingFuhrman canbring your kids to.” Renaissance Financial Hall said that although she livesinOmaha now, coming wasinterestedinseeing. Fuhrmanusuallycurls on hockey to thecurlingtrial remindedher of growingupinWiscon- rink ice,whichheequates to “putting on gravel,” so he sin. wanted to seehow they prepped theice forthe competition. •RSM US LLP “I livedinnorthernWisconsin,”Hall said.“Curlingisre- “Seeinggood ice here in Omahaisreally fun,”hesaid. allybig thereand in , so Ilovetowatch curling.” Whethersomeone is an avid curler,orjustwatches it •Tenaska Strait,anOmaha native,saidshe likedthatthe Trials everyfouryears when it is on TV during theOlympics, the were heldinher hometown. group agrees having theU.S. OlympicTrialsinOmaha is “It’ssocoolthatOmaha keeps gettingeventslikethis,” greatfor growingthe sportinthispartofthe country. Rose •Tony andCarissa Schrager Strait said.“It reallyspeaksalot about Omaha.” encouragespeoplewho normally watch to give it atry and Hall said she didn’t have aspecific team she wouldroot getout on theice.“It is reallyfun to throwstonesaround, •Union Pacific foratthe Trials,but that she wouldrootfor all of Team andit’sone of thosethings that it’s hard to be reallygood at, USA. “GoUSA!” n but anyone candoatsomelevel.” n •Werner Enterprises

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Special Curling Trials coverage November 11-18

CURLING | NOVEMBER 11-18, 2017 Baxter Arena, Omaha, NE

Pick up a copy of The World-Herald and follow the action, or go to Omaha.com.

Omaha.com/subscribe

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Omahafansare readyfor curling

By CassandraJahn, DailyPebbleStaffWriter

sthe 2018 OlympicTeamTrialsfor CurlingtakeoverOmaha at theUniversityofNebraskaatOmaha’s Baxter Arena, fami- Alies andfans from acrossthe countryare comingtocheer on their favorite teams or checkout curlingfor thefirst time. SandyBerry andher husband, SamBerry,camefrom Fort Smith, Colin Hufman of Team Clarkkeeps hisfocus on thebroom as he delivers a Ark., to celebrateSandy’s birthday.Asfirst-timefans,the Berry’sare stoneduring Saturday’s action at the2018 U.S. OlympicTeamTrials. excitedtolearn more andtosee whomakes it all theway. PhotobyRichHarmer, USA Curling “Wedrove up forthis,”Sandy Berrysaid. “We’re lookingforward to George,motherofTyler George of Team Shuster, said sittingnext to watchingitand seeingwhichteamgoestoKorea.” someonewill reallyhelp. JennyWollack came from Chicagotospend time with herson and “Sit near somebodywho knowswhat’sgoing on,” George said. watch theTrials. “Myson goes to school at Creighton andwesaw it “There’salot of strategy involvedand you’re notgoing to be interestedif onlinesowethought it’s be funtovisit forthe weekend,”she said.“We’re youdon’t know what’s goingon.” comingbacktonight forthe openingceremonies, that’s what we’remost ChrisGeorge’s husband, Tom, echoed that advice saying curlingisa excitedfor.” difficultgametoexplain if you’re notlooking at what’s happeningorwith As this is thefirst time Trials arebeingheldinOmaha,manypeople someonethatknows. attendingare first-timefans.For thosepeople, Team USA WinterFestat The biggestthingtokeepinmindabout curlingisthe strategy,but StinsonParkisagreat waytolearn theropes andmeetsomeathletes. if youunderstandshuffleboardortarget shooting, TomGeorge said it “I thinkit’ssoimportant to takethe opportunity to supportour shouldn’t be toohardtopickup. George said it’s all about gettingyour •LEARN TO CURL Olympicteams andlearn about them,”AnneColvin-DudekofPlatts- stone to themiddle –the closer youare to themiddle thebetterand mouth, Neb.,said. more points you’ll get. If you’re lookingfor agood fight,curlingisn’t go- Originallyfrom Minnesota, Colvin-Dudeksaidshe grew up know- ingtobethe sportfor you. ingwhatcurlingwas,but said theTrialsare an opportunity forher son •BEGINNER LEAGUES “Thebestpartabout curling, of all sports, it is themostsocial, it is andhis friends to learnmore about thesport.While she might thinkit’s thefriendliest,”Tom said.“It is an extremelysocialsport.” alearningopportunity,Colvin-Dudek’sson andfriends areheretosee In addition to it beinganincredibly friendlygame, ChrisGeorge what it’s all about. addedthatitisvery“gentlemanly.” •EXPERIENCED LEAGUES “I thoughtitjustsounded fun,”Quinn Dudeksaid. “It’sthe most gentlemanly sport, there’salwaysahandshake before Quinn andhis group of friends agreed that curlingsounded like a andaftereachdraw,”George said.“Theysit with each otherafterthe good time andthe WinterFestdid agreat jobofmaking it accessibleto game andtalk about thegame, you’ll very rarely seeafight.” everyone.WinterFestactivities includedavirtual realitybooth,s’mores, •YOUTH PROGRAMS Beingabletowatch family memberscompete at oneofthe highest autographs from athletes andstreetcurling. levels is always andamazingopportunity.For oneofTeamMcCormick’s Street curlingwas apopularattraction as it gave people an ideaof biggestfans this will be thethirdtimehe’ll be abletowatch hisbig what it wasliketodothe real thing. Participantsgrabbed astone with brothercompete at this stage. JonahPlyscametoOmaha from Duluth, wheels attached andtried to getitasclosetothe centeraspossible. Many Minn., to watch hisbrother,Chris Plys, competetomakehis second people were surprisedathow hard youhad to push thestone to getit OlympicTeam. whereyou wanted.Othersweremore concernedabout it stayingstraight. “I’m here to watch my brotherchasehis dreams andfollowhis heart,” BAXTER Having funwas themaingoal at theWinterFest. Families came out said JonahPlys. becausetheyheard about thegames andactivities forkidsand to maybe Jonahisexcited to seehis brothercompete at thesport he lovesand trytheir ownhandatcurling. Eric Price of Omaha, Neb.,brought the is excitedtosee howhis team does this week. wholefamilytosee what WinterFestwas all about. “I’m lookingforward to goingtoSouthKoreafor theOlympics,” “They have alot forthe kids andtobeabletocheck out theOlympi- JonahPlyssaid. There’s somethingfor everyone in Aksarben this week. ans they have here,” Price said.“We wanted to tryitout andmeetsome ARENA Whetheryou’reafirst-timefan or family member of an athlete, you’ll of thepeople.” be abletofind somethingbetween WinterFestand thetournaments at ThoughWinterFestmight be some fans first time gettingataste of Baxter arena. mTofind out more about theteams competingthisweek, curling, others have been curlingfor years.Omaha native Eric Nelson checkout USA Curlingatwww.usacurl.org. n said he grew up curlinghere. Hiswife, on theother hand,isgetting a taste of it forthe first time saying she hasalwaysbeencurious about it. “I grew up in Omahaand we used to have curlingatAksarbenwhen // competition schedule Check us out at it washeresome37years ago,” Price said.“To seeitcometoOmaha Today againisgreat.” 1p.m. SheetB:McCormickv.Shuster After having their fill of WinterFest, families took theopportunity CURLAKSARBEN.COM to getataste of what this week is goingtobelikewiththe first drawof Sheet C: Birr v. Clark action.Thefirst drawstarted at 1p.m. with four teams competing. SheetD:Rothv.Christensen “It’sfun, it’s ourfirst time here so we’rejustherefor thefun of it,” 7p.m. SheetB:Sinclairv.Christensen or call 402-915-CURL Kaitlin TschetterofLincoln, Neb.,said. “Watchinghas been very interest- SheetC:Shusterv.Brown ing, andwe’re starting to pick up on therules.” Forthose that aren’t abletopickupthe rules so quickly, Chris SheetD:McCormickv.Birr

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Equipment

Clothing: Loose fi tting, several layers, sweaters, pants, kilts, caps. Matching uniforms for many follow through. Some“sliders” are built into shoes, while others are strapped on over the sole. competitions. Broom/Brush: Commercially manufactured for curling. The straw brooms, synthetic brushes, and Shoes: Special curling shoes are common but not mandatory. Shoes should grip the ice well for short bristled brushes are all effective. walking. Smooth soles are easy to clean to minimize dirt on the ice. For the delivery, extremely Stones: Made of a rare, close and evenly grained granite quarried primarily on Scotland’s Ailsa slippery surfaces such as Tefl on are used on the sliding foot to generate a long, smooth-sliding Craig,withhandlesattached.Standardized,weighing42pounds,andprovidedby thecurlingclubs. 2063107-02 PAGE 08 US OLYMPIC 201! CURLING TRIALS ● OMAHA WORLD-HERALD (%0&,". 0/#$1)$+ *'. '-*! mobile apps 2great benefits

D Watch live webstreams D Get push notifications D Find a club or D Get the news first

Download the USA Curling mobile app & U.S. Curling News magazine app. Search“USA Curling” in your mobile or tablet device’s store for a FREE download.