So now that my move to the USA is done, I've been trying to fit into the US Curling community. I've always looked at sports in the US as being very college based. It doesn't mater the sport, if it has a college footprint it gets some publicity. For the growth of this sport to happen in the US, I feel it is necessary to grow the base through the college system.
The college system is in transition this year. Essentially less than 2 seasons away from the 2014 Olympics. The growth of the sport is at a serious crossroads. The students and few coaches involved are being left to create a bonspiel network to qualify teams to a National Championship. That in itself is a noble effort and will be a tough task. To make it easier, I've been looking for clusters of schools who could organize into a conference. There are so many issues/excuses as to why College Curling Clubs fail; travel, players, coaches, facilities. It all comes down to money. All sport is based around money. I'll address that issue in later posts. For now, I'd like to identify a few clusters of active schools who should be able to be successful and draw some other less active schools into the system.
Upstate New York - (Rocester, Utica, Schenectady) These three cities all have dedicated curling facilities. The extremes of travel would be about 210 miles. Rensselar Polytechnic Institute, Hamilton College, Colgate University and Rochester Institute of Technology all have established curling programs, great relationships with the local facilities and are hosting events this season. Other nearby schools that have shown interest include Binghamton University, Utica College and SUNY-IT. Other Division I schools include Syracuse, Cornell, Albany and Siena.
Midwest - (Columbus, Bowling Green, Detroit) Again these cities all have dedicated facilities with travel with about 200 miles. Bowling Green's curling club is on campus. Columbus' curling club is less than 5 miles away from Ohio States campus. The University of Tennessee was so driven to get ice time and competition, it booked ice to host an event in Columbus, over 360 miles away. Oakland University and Michigan University use the Detroit facility. If these schools can continue to improve relationships with their local facilities, this cluster of schools could thrive. Other Division I schools include Toledo, Detroit and Eastern Michigan. Michigan in general is ready to grow. New facilities have opened in Midland, Lansing and Kalamazoo, giving access to many more schools.
WI-MN - (Wisconsin & Minnesota) These two states have in the past been the key to curling in the USA. Hands down they have boasted the greatest concentration of dedicated facilities. According to the current listings on College Curling USA, the number of active colleges are not as diverse in geography. Between the Division I schools of Marquette, Wisconsin, Green Bay, Milwaukee and Minnesota; there should be ample events, players and rivalry. There are a few groups of active programs like in Duluth and Green Bay. There are very few excuses for any school in these states. The facilities are close, the coaches and most national calibre players are based here also. The potential to make the learning curve steep is great.
UT - (Salt Lake City) Quite possibly one of the biggest misses of the 2010 Salt Lake City Olympics is the lack of a dedicated curling facility left behind as a legacy. With a distance of 124 miles between Logan in the north and Provo in the south five of the six Division I schools in the state are covered. Being an Olympic training site, winning breeds winning. Access to conditioning programs and training facilities has to help player development.
WA-OR - (Seattle, Portland) Another potential for growth and player development in conjunction with the veteran status of Seattle and the young upstarts in Portland. Portland's Evergreen club has only been active since 2002 but have been driven to build themselves a dedicated facility. Seattle has been winning National Championships since 1961. This combination of knowledge and enthusiasm could prove to be a winning combination. With Division I schools like Seattle, Washington, Portland and Portland State there would be a good base of students.
Sunday, October 7, 2012
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Sunday, May 20, 2007
1st Time
WOW, look at me, making a blog. Truth is, I've been thinking about it for some time know. Somethings in the world bug me.....this is my "soap box". I'm thinking this will become very environmental. The issues on the tip of my brain are, garbage volume, grocery bags and global warming. I just watched "An Incovenient Truth" this morning. It amazes me how politics can get in the way. I hope for the sake of manking that the projections are wrong. Being a chemical engineer, I understand they will be very close. Time to act.
Here is my own severe weather pics from 2007. Snow on the 16-Apr and spring on the 22-Apr!
Very Bizarre.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)