Mountain Pacific Curling Association

As the Arizona sun set in late October, MoPac debuted its long-awaited 25 & Under Spiel!  Planned to debut in the fall of 2020, the pandemic forced a shelving of this long-awaited event until our members felt safe enough to begin traveling again. Finally, after two long years of waiting, the first stones started sliding from October 21-23, 2022 in Tempe Arizona.  So what happened?  The spiel saw the return of camaraderie among the teams from seven clubs as they played for a chance to win unique medals inspired by our host, Coyotes Curling Club. 

In addition to the spiel, the 25&U event held a Hot Shots contest allowing teams of two to use their experience to perfect three difficult shots. Winners walked away with a cash prize and a celebratory cactus! Coming out of a two-year pandemic period, many curlers were eager to use the event to reconnect with old friends and mingle with the newer curlers. 25&U committee member and attendee of the event Stefan Brems said, “It was such a blast to see long-lost friends, meet new ones, and finally get back down to Coyote’s beautiful facility. Everyone had a really great time, and our host did the most amazing job helping us make this new event a success!” 
The planning committee hopes to hold the 25 & Under in future years as a traveling spiel where clubs can visit the various club facilities in the region.  What makes the 25 & Under so different from, say the 5 & Under, is the eligibility to play: the team must have 25 years or under in curling experience in total OR a 20+ year veteran can have new curlers that total 5 or less years (20 plus 5 = 25) play as a team (provided the veteran cannot throw skips stones.  The eligibility rules allow for a variety of teams to enter.  Plans are already being made for next year’s 25 & Under event and the planning committee has begun planning for more activities and amenities, including live streaming, for 2023. If you have any feedback on the event, please feel free to reach out to the planning committee at: 25U@mopacca.org

For a glimpse at the 25&Under event, please visit our photo gallery: https://www.facebook.com/MoPac25U/photos

USCA has recently announced the inclusion of stick curlers and wheelchair curlers in 2022 Arena Nationals Championship.

In addition, USCA is set to publish a Rule book which clarifies whether arena club members who curled at dedicated ice facilities can play. Under the Rule, a player may sub at a dedicated facility’s league ten (10) times or less per season (season running from Jan 1 to December 31) and still be eligible to play in the 2022 Arena Nationals Championship.  Membership in a club curling on dedicated ice is not, in itself, a disqualifier.

Given this new information, MoPac is extending the date to register a team for the MoPac Arenas Selection process. The new registration deadline is 5:00pm (PDT) September 6, 2022. Selection of the final four (4) MoPac berths (2 men’s teams/2 women’s teams) will still take place on September 10, 2022.

Registration link to sign up for selection process.

ATTENTION MOPAC ARENA CURLERS!

Selection process for the MoPac berths to the 2022 Arena National Championships Now Open!  MoPac is taking registrations for the opportunity to be considered to represent the region at the 2022 Arena National Championships taking place from November 3 – 6, 2022 in Eveleth, Minnesota at Club Mesabi. 

Interested teams must register no later than September 2, 2022. Selection for the four available berths (2 Mens and 2 Womens) will happen on September 10, 2022!!!

Register today!

SAVE THE DATES! October 21- 23, 2022 REGISTRATION OPENS AUGUST 8th!

Coming this Fall: the inaugural MoPac 25 & Under. You asked for it and it’s coming!

Where: Coyotes Curling Club, Tempe Arizona

What is a 25 & Under? The total number of a team’s curling experience must total 25 years or less.

How do I calculate the time? See the eligibility guidelines under the 25 & Under tab.

Registration is first come, first serve, but please take note of the deadline dates below.

Game play will start on Friday morning with the first draw as early as 8:00am (depends on the amount of teams registered). Sunday events including afternoon finals followed by award ceremonies so be prepared to make travel plans accordingly.

Starting on August 8th, the first 2 teams from each MoPac club who sign up are guaranteed a spot. Club majority is determined when 3 or more members are from the same club. Other teams will be added to a waitlist and will be added as space allows after August 15th. If you are not part of the first 2 teams from your club that is registered, make sure to get on the waitlist because rarely does the committee turn a team away!

Team registration fee is $320 payable to MoPac via PayPal. A link will be sent out once your team registration has been confirmed.

Determining eligibility: 
Questions regarding eligibility can be directed to the 25&U committee (25u@mopacca.org) and the committee will make any and all final determinations.

Read about it here.

For those in the LA area on Saturday, May 21st, the Curling Mexico and the World Curling Federation are bringing their Olympic Celebration Tour to LA! Members of the public can sign up for a FREE 60-minute Learn-To-Curl session at the Southern California Curling Center and learn from their instructors as well as Olympic Curling Gold Medalist Tyler George, and Curling Mexico athlete Adriana Camarena. Also on hand will be staff from Rock Solid Productions Inc. who bring floor curl and street curling to the public. Anyone in the LA area is welcomed to see the event. Now is the time to get more people trying out the sport. If you know of anyone who may be interested, they can sign up at CURLING.LA/OCT

Nominations are now open for the Tim Irish Volunteer Service Awards 2022. Time to nominate those superheroes in your clubs who have lived the Spirit of Curling and made a difference over this past season. The Award recognizes those who have given excellent service to curling. Volunteers can be nominated by their home and will be recognized by MoPac for their hard work. In past years, these nominations were done concurrently with nominations for the International Tankard, however with cancellation of the Tankard for a second year, the Service Award nominations were moved later in the season to allow clubs more time to determine their nominees. The period for nominations will remain open until Saturday, April 30th. To nominate a candidate clubs should submit a nomination here.

The 23 Rocky Mountain Bonspiel is adding a new component this year – Camp and Curl!  The 3-game guarantee spiel takes place April 22nd to the 24th on the scenic Weber State Campus area of Ogden, Utah. This year the Ogden Curling Club has secured a large campground on a nearby 84-acre site. Happy curling campers will enjoy a game and then chow down on BBQ as they enjoy the beauty of the Fort Buenaventura area or indulge in a 18-hole disk golf competition.  As Club members will tell you “having the best arena ice you can have on hockey ice” means teams playing the following weekend at Arena Nationals can play in the Rocky Mountain spiel as a last training opportunity before Nationals event.  Good ice isn’t an exaggeration; the ice magicians at Ogden will have a three-day prep to ensure the ice is not only good, but memorable. And to help share love for the sport anyone who wants to volunteer can also stay and participate in an adaptive Learn-to-Curl event. So register now! 

This past year has been difficult yet a new curling season awaits and brings the promise of bonspiels, championships and other curling events. It also brings opportunities to reconnect with friends and make new ones, even if done with social distancing. With this in mind the Lake Tahoe Epic Curling club (LTEC) plans to kick off their Spiel season with the Thin Air II spiel, October 15th to 17th, in the midst of beautiful Lake Tahoe.

The organizers hope to have participants from as many clubs as possible.  All clubs within MoPac are invited to send a team! Time for clubs to represent! Anyone interested in playing can contact Eric Hazard (775) 600-1972 to learn about registration details.

Note: Despite recent wildfires, the town and rink were untouched and the rink will be ready to welcome curlers.