Current News
Congratulations to our newly elected BCC board:
President - Pete Harrison
Vice President - Terry Matson
Treasurer - Kirby Bahr
Secretary - Eric Johannsen
Lanny Cyr
Mackenzie Ritchie
Eileen Campbell
Steve Johnson
David Chandler
The Bemidji Curling Club will be hosting Men's State Senior Championships in January, 2019. Steve Pemble will be chair of the planning committee. If you would like to help out with planning efforts, contact Steve at steve.pemble@wsn.us.com.
We are also scheduled to host Men's and Women's State Club Championships for the 2021-2022 season. If anyone is interested in chairing this event, please let the club board know.
The Bemidji Curling Club will be volunteering at the Lakeland Public Television Pledge Drive on Sunday, June 3 from 7:00-9:00 pm. If you would like to help with this contact Kenzie Ritchie at mackenziemarieritchie@gmail.com.
We are looking for someone from the club who can volunteer as an MCA representative. You will receive communications from MCA and be invited to the 2019 Spring Membership meeting. Anyone who is interested should contact someone from the BCC board.
The MN Historical Society wishes to improve their reference library on curling to include a broad mention of MN curling history. Their current offerings are limited to the St. Paul Curling Club. Anyone who has historical knowledge of the Bemidji Curling Club that they would like to share is asked to contact Kathy Busch, MCA President at mcaprezbiz@gmail.com.
The annual meeting of the Bemidji Curling Club will be held on Tuesday, May 15 at 6:00 p.m. at the Bemidji Curling Club. We look forward to seeing you there!
Thanks to 96 folks who cast their vote for new board members this year. They elected Steve Johnson, Eric Johannsen and Dave Chandler. Their term will begin in May.
Also, a big thank you to the folks who are now leaving the board. Jaime Quello, Hope Baird, Jon Chandler and Eric Fenson.
The board positions are a three-year term. If you have a desire to immerse yourself more into your curling club, please nominate yourself next year by simply signing up on one of the posters that will be at the club. We will get you on the ballot!!
A note we received from USA Curling...
CAN-AM CUP OF CURLING
Many of you are familiar with the Men's Scotts Tour. The U.S. Curling Association and Curling Canada are working together to explore a similar exchange of teams from the United States to tour and compete against Canadian teams in their local clubs. We are looking for input for consideration in the design of the tour, which will be called the Can-Am Cup of Curling. Specifically, we are seeking to gauge interest in and understand perceptions about acceptable costs of participation.
The Can-Am Cup of Curling's mission is to grow and strengthen relationships between two great curling nations, while recognizing and rewarding American curlers who are actively involved in growing, promoting and developing our game in their local clubs and in regional or national associations. Similar to the Scotts Tour, a total of 20 people selected from all applications received would participate in the event. Participants would be expected to travel to a central location. The team would then board a bus for the trip through Canada. All curlers would be expected to be able to curl 1-3 games a day for the duration of the tour.
The costs for the tour would be the responsibility of the participants, with each curler expected to fund his participation. The planning committee would put together the schedule and negotiate group rates for hotel, transportation, and the like. The quality of accommodations and meals is dependent upon the amount of funds participants would be willing to pay for this type of experience.
Please answer the questions below to help us finalize planning for the Can-Am Cup of Curling.
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/Can-AmTour
Participation in this survey is limited to male curlers living and curling in the United States.
Questions can be emailed to info@usacurl.org. Thank you for your input.
Regards,
Dean Gemmell and Steve McKee
Can-Am Cup Planning Committee Members
Men's Curling Exchange with Canada in Development Survey
Web survey powered by SurveyMonkey.com. Create your own online survey now with SurveyMonkey's expert certified FREE templates.
Message from the President
Greetings from the 2017‐18 Bemidji Curling Club Newsletter! I am Pete Harrison, your new club president and I just wanted to send out a quick note to all the members. For those who don’t know me, I joined Bemidji Curling Club in 2010 and have been curling since 2007. I mainly curl on Thursday afternoon and evening and, starting last year, helped out with the “novice league” on Wednesday nights. The novice league was a great way to get new curlers some time on the ice with others of the same experience and abilities. With membership waning in recent years, one of the greatest challenges our club faces is getting new members. It is up to all of us to recruit and spread the word about becoming a member. Take on the challenge by simply telling your friends, neighbors and new acquaintances about the Community Ed class, novice league or form a new league team and fill spots with these less‐experienced players. By all of us doing these little things, it will make a big difference for the club. Here’s to another great year!
Message from the General Manager, Eric Fenson
Another curling season is almost here! Make sure to get your team signed up for league. All league chairs and their phone numbers are listed on the club’s website. If you are interested in joining a league, you can also email me at the club, at curlbem@paulbunyan.net. Remember that the club is available 12 months out of the year to rent for any type of gathering, party, fundraiser, wedding, etc. We are looking forward to another exciting year with a lot of great events going on. Hope everyone has a great season, and GOOD CURLING!
U18 Nationals Coming to Bemidji
The Bemidji Curling Club is hosting the U18 National Championships February 20 – 25, 2018! We are very excited to be chosen to host this new (only second time) event and the planning committee has already been hard at work getting many of the details organized. Hosting an event of this caliber will add to the lengthy tradition of Bemidji as a curling championship host site and it should be a good way to raise some funds for the club as well. Volunteers will be needed during the event as timekeepers, host families, kitchen help and in many other areas. If you would like to volunteer for the event or are interested in being part of the planning committee, contact Pete Harrison, Terry Matson or Jaime Quello.
Club Team Needed
We need enthusiastic members to take on the challenge of representing Bemidji at the Club Nationals in 2018! The only requirement is that all competitors on the team need to be dues paying, league‐playing members of the Bemidji Curling Club. They must also be available to participate in state playdowns (most likely sometime in January, location TBD) and Club Nationals, February 10‐17 in Brainerd, MN. With both championships being right here in the state, we can’t let this opportunity pass us by. Championships are available for both men’s and women’s teams. Bemidji has had Club National Champions in the past and it is time to bring this illustrious honor back where it belongs!
Need a Team? Need a Player?
Our newly formed Membership Committee will be glad to help you out! If you have any questions regarding membership they will be happy to answer them for you or get you in contact with somebody who can. The committee members are: Doug Fuller (218‐556‐2472), Pete Harrison (218‐239‐0027), Steve Johnson (218‐751‐0140) or Eileen Campbell (218‐760‐2605). You may also send questions to their email address at membership@bemidjicurling.org.
Proposed Dues Structure Changes for 2018-2019 Season
The Board of Directors will be changing the dues structure for the 2018‐2019 season. The change will incorporate a small membership fee, which would include membership to the club, practice ice, popcorn, soda and beer discounts. Then each draw slot would have a team fee. Each draw a player would enter they would need to pay a fee for that draw. We are looking for input and feedback from members or would be happy to answer any questions. Please direct questions to Jon Chandler at 218‐444‐4033 or email Jon@detailplusbemidji.com.