Making the transition beyond 5-and-Under

As I was wrapping up my final season of 5-and-Under eligibility a couple of years ago along with the rest of the 2018 Olympic boomers, a common discussion thread popped up during postgame broomstacking.

“So, what are you doing next year with 5U out of the picture?”

For many, it was an uncertainty. For others, it was an opportunity to explore fun bonspiels that maybe hadn’t been in the budget up to that point. And for a few, it came with more of a look at moving into competitive play.

As a newer curler, dipping your toe in the competitive pool can carry a nerve-wracking stigma. Many regions try to put on as competitive an event as possible with timers, officials, pre-event practices, the Draw Shot Challenge, and requirements of World Curling-approved fabric (and foams too, now). This does not mean the event isn’t (or shouldn’t be) friendly to 5-and-Under curlers or those who recently graduated.

Trying your hand at a regional playdown, whether it be club, arenas, or mixed, should not be a scary thing. Will your team lose some games? Probably. But your team is also likely going to learn valuable lessons, gain irreplicable experience, and meet a host of non-5U curlers which brings the benefit of expanding your network in the curling community.

It was reassuring, then, to see the largest turnout I’ve seen for a MACA (Mid-America Curling Association) playdown with 10 men’s and 8 women’s teams earlier this month, and a significant number of players across all teams are either currently in or recently moved on from the 5-and-Under program. This is not unique to MACA. The men’s division of MOPAC and the women’s division of GNCC had large turnouts for their arena playdowns, and surprise, surprise: they each had strong participation from 5U curlers in those events.

A 5U team won the MOPAC men’s playdown (Gilbert, Oval). A team of curlers who all have competed at 5U events in past years won the GNCC women’s playdown, and there were 5-and-Under curlers galore participating at MACA. Aksarben Curling Club sent at least 12 5U curlers among their 7 teams (h/t Lisa Truesdell), and it’s believed that curlers from Lone Star Curling Club set three different records at Four Seasons earlier this month (h/t Jonathan Lee):

1. Most games won by an entire 5U team at any MACA playdown (Team Cavallario)

2. Most games won by a 5U skip at any MACA playdown (Team Holm)

3. First 5U skip to make the playoffs or tiebreaker (Team Anderman)

If your club has a large contingent of newer curlers who are interested in growing as competitors, encourage them to go to playdowns. It’s a great way to grow. Hopefully we continue to see this trend continue as more and more curlers “graduate” from the 5-and-Under system. An influx of team registrations across club, arena, and mixed playdowns would be a welcome sight.

Of note, there is a clinic being put on at the upcoming Members Assembly specifically geared towards newer/intermediate curlers who wish to grow their skills and hold their own in a competitive environment. Check out the Next End clinic in Las Vegas in September on the Assembly Programming page for more information.

Onto the playdowns!

Arena Playdowns

All of the arena playdowns for regional curling associations have been completed with the conclusion of Minnesota’s playdowns this last weekend. There is still one additional team slot on the men’s and women’s sides to be claimed through the Last Chance Qualifier held in La Crosse, WI in September. Once that is complete, we’ll have a full list of all qualified teams.

Thanks to some help from a number of curlers from around the country, I have also been able to get more information on teams whose playdowns occurred earlier in the summer that have not yet been mentioned.

In my last arena update, the Pacific Northwest region did not have a men’s playdown or a team registered, but it sounds like they did designate a team to represent the region in Las Vegas. I look forward to sharing more information about the PNWCA men’s team in a future newsletter as I learn more.

Update as of 8/21/25: Alaska is also sending a men’s team to arena nationals. I will continue working to find more information.

MACA Women’s

Winner: Team Robertson (Dallas/Fort Worth Curling Club)
Runner-Up: Team Segovia (Curling Club of Houston)

The Mid-America Curling Association women’s playdown was a grind. Eight teams from Texas, Nebraska, and Oklahoma competed in a grueling full round robin at Four Seasons Curling Club in Minnesota. The event had a lot of newer curlers participating, but there were plenty of familiar names at the top of the standings when the dust settled.

Team Robertson won their second consecutive MACA championship going an undefeated 7-0 in the round robin. Only their game against Aksarben’s Team Truesdell went the full 8 ends, and it was a wild finish.

With the game tied in the final end, Truesdell’s final stone left them sitting one and well buried. With hammer, Brigitte Robertson elected to tap her rock, sitting second. After a bold (and excellent) line call and sweep from the team, Robertson managed to split to score not one, but two, points to secure a 7-5 victory.

The reigning national silver medalists, Houston’s Team Segovia, dropped only two games all weekend to secure the all-important second place finish. Based on what I’ve been able to gather, MACA will likely be awarded the “bonus” berth to nationals. That would mean Segovia will once again return to the Arena National Championship where they should be a podium contender.

MACA Men’s

Winner: Team Myers (Dallas/Fort Worth Curling Club)
Runner-Up: Team Knott (Dallas/Fort Worth Curling Club)

The largest playdown in of all arena events this season was the MACA men’s event. Ten teams representing five clubs made the trek up to Blaine, Minnesota to determine who would head to nationals. The field was split and featured a five-team round robin. The top three from each pool made the playoffs.

Team Myers entered as the top overall seed and went undefeated in Pool A while Team Knott, also from DFW Curling Club, went undefeated in Pool B. Both teams won their semifinals for an all-DFW final.

While Nick Myers has traditionally skipped this arena team for the past few seasons, including multiple arena national championships, Laith Sando called the games in Blaine with Myers throwing the brick. The formula worked out well, and while games were not necessarily blowouts, the DFW rink was looked in strong control all week.

In the final, Team Knott just couldn’t quite get anything to go their way, and the Myers rink was able to capitalize on the opportunities. Down 5-2 without hammer going into the 7th end, Knott had to turn up the aggression and play hard to steal while Laith Sando was content to call draws under Knott’s guards. This meant a ton of Myers’ red stones being protected by Knott’s yellow rocks, and Knott needing to throw a Hail Mary on his final stone of the end hoping to somehow sit 1.

And unfortunately, when nothing is going your way, it often is going the opposite direction altogether. Knott’s Hail Mary went unanswered and left Myers sitting 7 before the hammer was thrown. Myers made the draw to score an 8-ender and officially book their return to the Arena National Championships.

This section was updated to reflect the update that MACA would not receive a second berth for a men’s team at nationals due to the entry of an arena team from Alaska.

Midwest Women’s

Winner: Team Allison (St. Louis Curling Club)

Team Allison was the only entry on the women’s side of the Midwest regional playdown, so they are receiving the Midwest’s berth to nationals. The St. Louis-based rink will be making their third consecutive trip to arena nationals and is returning all four curlers from last season. Even though they went without a win last season, they did go 2-3 in Eveleth, and I would not be surprised to see them bounce back with a good showing at nationals this year.

Midwest Men’s

Winner: Team Tesch (Cedar Rapids Curling Club)
Runner-Up: Team Skillman (St. Louis Curling Club)

It’s good see competitive events at Windy City Curling Club after they lost all of last summer and quite a bit of the fall due to the flooding in their facility. The Midwest region put on a best-of-three playdown between their two registered men’s teams to determine the team to represent them in Las Vegas.

Team Tesch of Cedar Rapids Curling Club showed why they have been one of the top teams at arena nationals each of the last two seasons. They routinely put on pressure in throughout each of the two games.

After winning game one 9-1, Tesch forced Team Skillman to one in the first end of game two and then hit the gas once again. Fourth Parker Abbott made a short run to score 4 in the second end, thanks in part to a great sweep to hold the line from the front end. Tesch would go on to steal in each of the next three ends to secure another 9-1 victory and the Midwest playdown title. After two consecutive semifinal finishes at arena nationals, will this be the year Tesch breaks through to the final?

Great Lakes Women’s

Winner: Team Mercer (Cleveland Skating Club)

The Great Lakes region had only one women’s entry this year for their regional playdowns, and so Team Mercer will return to arena nationals for the 4th consecutive year. Mercer had a strong showing last season, making the playoffs and finishing fourth overall. They’ll be a tough game for any team in Las Vegas.

Great Lakes Men’s

Winner: Team Galsworthy (Grand Rapids Curling Club)
Runner-Up: Team Wagner (Cleveland Skating Club)

The Great Lakes region playdown took place back in May, and a big thank you to the folks who helped me get connected with some curlers there to track down some results! Two teams played down in the men’s event: 2023 Arena National Championships attendees, Team Galsworthy, and the 2024 Arena National Championships attendees, Team Wagner.

The best of three series, held at the Cleveland Skating Club, provided two tight games. Team Galsworthy, playing three-handed, managed to win each game by one point to secure their right to take the ice in Nevada in October. They’ll return their full four-person team from 2023 in Eveleth for this year’s championship.

Minnesota Women’s

Winner: Team Ackerman/Schuder (Curling Club of Rochester)

As with the Midwest and Great Lakes regions, the Rochester, Minnesota rink was the lone entry on the women’s side of the Minnesota playdowns. This is another playoff team from last year’s national championship in Wausau. At that event, they were entered as Team Ackerman, but I’ve also seen them listed as Team Schuder, so I’ll continue to be confused for the time being on how to name the team (petition for curling to adopt team names not based on the skip, please and thank you).

Minnesota Men’s

Winner: Team Russell (Curling Club of Rochester)
Runner-Up: Team Barthel (Glacial Ridge Curling Club)

The drive time to Chaska Curling Center from Willmar, Minnesota and Rochester, Minnesota is nearly identical at about 1 hour and 45 minutes, so it worked out well that Chaska hosted the Minnesota Arena Club Championships. Two teams from Rochester and one from Glacial Ridge Curling Club in Willmar made the trek for a three-team round robin.

Last year’s Minnesota state champions, Team Russell, got off to a strong 3-0 start, which meant Team Barthel would have to win their Sunday morning draw to create a tiebreaker game. It was an absolute barnburner. Russell would start hot with a 5-ender in the first, only for Barthel to respond with a 5 of their own in the second on a drag-assisted runback.

Even though Russell got another big end with a score of 4 in the third end, the Willmar-based rink would not give in. Down three in the 7th end without hammer, Team Barthel stole two in the 7th, one in the 8th, and then another in the extra end to take the win and force a tiebreaker game.

Russell, however, would get revenge in the tiebreaker game. They put up 4 points in each the third and fifth ends, followed by stealing in ends six and seven to secure an 11-4 victory and their trip to nationals. Here’s hoping we see some more of those big scores in Las Vegas!

Other Notes

It’s been making the rounds on social media, but many of you have likely already seen that the Milwaukee area received a massive amount of flooding. The recently renovated Wauwatosa Curling Club was pretty severely impacted, in particular their changing rooms and club room, though it sounds like the flooding had minor impacts on the icehouse itself. Wauwatosa was slated to host the second iteration of the World 5-and-Under this season. Time will tell what the full impact of the flooding was on the curling club and 2025-2026 operations will be as they assess the damage and what options lie ahead. If you wish to support the club, they are raising funds through GoFundMe.

And finally, a quick note regarding the recent message from USA Curling (I’d also recommend watching the August Club Council recording for additional context and Q&A with USCA leadership). I think it’s fair to say I am extremely passionate about the sport of curling, but the pull of the sport is not necessarily the sport insomuch as it is the community.

As curlers, we have such an incredibly unique dynamic that brings together a group of people who might otherwise never cross paths. We are stronger together as a diverse community, and I implore everyone to continue fostering and advocating for a welcoming, inclusive environment at their clubs. We are better together, and our sport is healthier when everyone has a community to welcome them at their local curling club.

Please help to make sure your club is a place where everyone belongs and everyone has a place.

Good curling.