MEMBER CLUBS FACING ADVERSITY
Photo by: C. Kerns Photography
[EDEN PRAIRIE, MN, September 3, 2025] — With the Labor Day weekend behind us, we’re all looking forward to the start of the traditional curling season. And if you belong to an arena club that is seeing its league season draw to a close, you’re probably looking forward to hitting the bonspiel circuit this winter.
Unfortunately, there are Member Clubs heading into the new season with some daunting obstacles. In recent weeks, a number have been dealt difficult news. We are sharing this information because we know how important community is to our sport. Since solutions often come from unusual places, we want everyone to know about the challenges some of our Member Clubs are facing.
Since 2015, many have enjoyed bonspiels at the Kalamazoo Curling Club in Kalamazoo, MI. In addition to being a welcoming spot for recreational curlers, the club has hosted several Men’s & Women’s Nationals and stepped in on short notice to be the site of the 2023 Mixed Doubles Nationals. If you ever competed there, you know they used a hockey arena setting to make curling-specific ice, renting the facility for most of the season. Apparently, the ownership of their facility had ice issues at others, and decided they needed to relocate hockey leagues to the space that the Kalamazoo club had been using. The leadership, already pursuing their own standalone facility, was hoping to use this Olympic season to grow its membership, but this news obviously makes those efforts more difficult.
The Itasca Curling Association, located in Grand Rapids, MN, has an aging compressor that was recently declared inoperable. Fortunately, they have found a temporary replacement to keep activity happening at the club this year, but they will need to install new equipment soon. If you read more about this northern Minnesota club’s history, you’ll learn they have faced no shortage of challenges over the years and found solutions before. They have leadership that is working hard to find the way forward again.
The Wauwatosa Curling Club in Wauwatosa, WI, was full speed ahead as the season approached, but Mother Nature had other plans. The club experienced severe damage to its basement warm room and locker area, after historic flooding of the Menomonee River in mid-August. Recent updates indicate that the ice shed and upper levels may have been spared, but there are still questions as the members complete cleanup efforts and work to restore power throughout the building. What is dispiriting for the membership is that they recently completed an extensive renovation, and will now have to rebuild parts of the club again.
Among arena clubs, Dallas-Fort Worth and Orange County continue to pursue locations they can call home. They had been hoping to be in their own buildings before the Olympics in February, but progress in these efforts is never easy. Anyone who has been a part of that journey knows the process can be daunting, but both clubs have engaged memberships and active leadership. USA Curling is working with them to offer as much guidance and assistance as possible.
All of this news illustrates why part of our strategic planning at USA Curling includes establishing a reserve fund that can help clubs in need. The organization faced financial struggles coming out of COVID, but there has been positive progress in recent months. We continue to be aggressive in our pursuit of sponsorships, and the membership model introduced two years ago has been well-received. While we consult regularly with clubs seeking to move to dedicated ice or those struggling to finance repairs, we realize how important it is to increase revenue so we can assist in more meaningful ways. We hope to build off this important Olympic year and continue to move forward on that initiative.
About USA Curling
Founded in 1958 and headquartered in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, USA Curling is the National Governing body for the Olympic sport of curling and the Paralympic sport of wheelchair curling in the United States. The mission of USA Curling is to grow, strengthen, and advocate for the Olympic and Paralympic sport of curling in the United States by prioritizing accessibility and programmatic development from grassroots to podium. USA Curling is sponsored by Columbia Sportswear, the Dale’s family of beers, Twin Cities Orthopedics, Training HAUS, Ice, Sports & Solar (ISS), Rock Solid Productions, Jet Ice, and Laurie Artiss. USA Curling is a proud member of World Curling and the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee. To learn more, visit usacurling.org.
