Eau Claire Curling featured in the NY Times

Nick Meyer |

With the 2010 Winter Olympics just around the corner, suddenly Eau Claire’s own curling ice is glistening in the spotlight. This week the New York Times ran an article featuring a recent curling event in Eau Claire, and we here at Volume One just announced a partnership with the Eau Claire Curling Club to launch a new starter league at the EC Expo Center.

The article, as seen on NYTimes.com, focuses on Debbie McCormick – the skip, or captain, of the 2010 US Olympic Curling team (who was also a 1998 Olympic teammate of Eau Claire’s Mike Peplinski). McCormick curled for fun in Eau Claire a few weeks ago during a fundraiser for the 2010 team.

From the NY Times article…

  • McCormick clearly reveled in the camaraderie. She needled a neophyte curler who clumsily fell trying to sweep in front of a fast-moving curling stone, cheered on a 4-year-old girl pushing a stone with two hands, and high-fived two curlers from the Lone Star Curling Club who flew in from Austin, Tex.

  • “It’s fun for me,” said McCormick, 35, who will be competing in her third Olympics. “The tournaments we play in are so competitive, and there’s so much pressure to compete well. This is an opportunity for me to have fun with the community and have fun with the game.”

After I was recently exposed to the indoor game by a fellow V1 contributor, Volume One decided we wanted to help give local curling a kick in the pants this winter. After reaching out to the Eau Claire Curling Club, we’ve now partnered with them to help get a Monday-night “starter league” of sorts going in Eau Claire, beginning in January. It all starts with a series of free, open curling lessons and free Fat Tire beer on Monday, January 4. You can get the details here.

The above photo (credit: New York Times) depicts local Dan Brown as he warms up to curl against Olympians at the Eau Claire Curling Club.