Olympic Open Houses in February!

You've seen it on TV, now is your chance to give curling a try! Come to the Schenectady Curling Club and experience the Olympic sport of curling.

• Dates: Saturday & Sunday, February 20 & 21
• Time: 10 AM to 4 PM both days
• Cost: Donation of $5 for adults, kids are free
• Who: Ages 6 and up, any fitness level

Bring clean sneakers with you, and wear loose, layered clothing (our ice house is about 38 degrees). You will get to go on the ice for about 20-30 minutes, where you will learn to throw a curling stone and sweep!

Ten men's and ten women's teams will compete in the Olympics in Vancouver, starting on February 16. Check out Sports Illustrated's Olympic curling preview.

Watch curling during the Olympics on MSNBC, CNBC, and USA. Here is the television schedule. Channel 13's (WNYT) own Andrew Catalon will be the play-by-play announcer for each curling match.

The Simpsons Set to Curl

Marge and Homer are set to curl in the Sunday, February 14 episode of The Simpsons on FOX. They will play on a team with Principal Skinner and his mother to try mixed curling as a demonstration sport in the 2010 Olympics.

Read the Associated Press article.

Team Lancaster Wins the Colton, and Team Cashmere Wins the C.R.U.E.!

2010 Colton winners (L-R): Nicole Ladopoulos, Amy Corey, Laura Knussman, and Paula Lancaster

Two important in-house events for our women were held in January; The Colton Bonspiel, and The C.R.U.E. Bonspiel. The Colton is for experienced skips, and is considered the Women’s Club Championships. This annual event is held in honor of Charlotte Colton, Ruth Kerr, Dorothy Szymaszek, and in memory of Ursula Hilborn. The C.R.U.E. is intended for novice skips, and was established by Claire Brunkhorst, Ruth Kerr, Undine Fiedler, and Evelyn Homblad, who comprised the first team of women from Schenectady to win the Empire Bonspiel. These ladies wanted to foster the development of curling among women in the club, and encourage newer curlers to step into the house.

This year’s Colton was held on January 30th and 31st with Paula Lancaster’s rink taking the top prize, The Colton. Paula’s team was rounded out by Laura Knussman at Vice, Amy Corey at 2nd, and Nicole Ladopoulos at Lead. After a very close match (won by only one rock!), Team Lancaster defeated Team Fitzgerald made up of Charlene Fitzgerald, Carol Munro, Linda Falcon, and Tess Stoklosa.

The Kerr pin was won by last year’s Colton winner, Liz Lansing with a rink of Sue Adair, Peggy O'Connor, and Jackie Donegan. They bested Jill Grandusky’s team of Lori Millet, Meghan Campbell, Cathy Faulkner, and Natalie McDonough. MJ Miller’s team of Dotty Sheehan, Denise Cashmere, and Kelly McCart won the Szymaszek pin over Eleanor Lisuzzo’s team of Lisa Filkins, April Katz, and Nancy Gaines. Finally, Fay Navratil’s rink of Kathy Brown, Barb Kimmey, and Sara Marchand took home the Hillborn prize over Betty Sovik’s team of Eileen Kelliher, Joan Pearson, and Roberta Feiden.

2010 C.R.U.E Winners (L-R): Joan Pearson, MJ Miller, Lisa Filkins, and Denise Cashmere with Claire Brunkhorst and Evelyn Homblad

On January 16th, the C.R.U.E. bonspiel was held. This one-day event consists of two 6-end games. The winning team is determined by points. This year's brave novice skips included Jill Grandusky, Denise Cashmere, Laura Knussman, April Katz, Meghan Campbell, and Sara Marchand. The runner-up team, skipped by Sara Marchand, included Stephanie Magee at Vice, Nancy Gaines at 2nd, and Jackie Donegan at Lead. This year's winner, with nearly 23 points, was skipped by Denise Cashmere, and included Lisa Filkins at Vice, MJ Miller at 2nd, and Joan Pearson at Lead.

Congratulations to all the winners in these great events!

Schenectady's Team Brown Wins GNCC Men's Club Nationals Playdowns

The team of Charlie Brown (skip), Mike Stefanik (vice), Rich Gonyeau (2nd), and Scott Brennan (lead) won their final round-robin game against SCC's Brian Damon in an extra end, 8 to 7, to capture the GNCC Men's Club Championship. They will represent the GNCC at Men's Club Nationals in Madison, Wisconsin from February 20 to 27. The field will consist of 10 men's teams from the different regions in the country.

The playdowns took place at the Schenectady Curling Club from Thursday, January 21, to Saturday, January 23. There were 8 teams competing, representing 4 clubs: Schenectady, Potomac, Nutmeg, and Plainfield.

Schenectady Team Competes at the Women's Club Nationals Playdowns

The Schenectady rink of Andrea Warr (skip), Amy Howansky (vice), Linda Austin (second), and Paula Lancaster (lead) participated in the annual regional playdowns for Club Nationals which were held at the Albany Curling Club from January 14th to 17th. Ardsley, Cape Cod, Philadelphia, and Nutmeg (Connecticut) Curling Clubs also sent teams to compete for a regional title, and for the chance to be one of the final ten teams at Club Nationals.

The Warr rink was seeded last, and met the top-seeded Cape Cod team for the first draw. The two teams had met each other on the ice last year at the same event, which was won by Cape Cod. Since Cape Cod had gone on to place second overall at Club Nationals, Team Warr knew they were up for a tough match. Warr fought hard to take 4 ends, but Cape Cod won 9 – 4.

SCC Team A Event Finalists at USWCA 5 & Under

The USWCA 5 & Under Open Bonspiel was held December 11-13 at the Plainfield Curling Club. Schenectady sent one team to compete with teams from Plainfield, Philadelphia, and Nutmeg curling clubs. The team, consisting of Yuko Kashiwado (lead), Pete Drechsler (second), Lisa Filkins (vice), and Ted Kreutz (skip), was trying to return the championship to Schenectady after Charlie Brown's rink won the previous year. They ran into an on-form Nutmeg rink in the first game, and were placed into a second-chance A event bracket. They then went on a marathon run to defeat 5 teams in about 24 hours to make it to the A event finals. The final was a back-and-forth affair that went into the 8th end tied, but when Kreutz couldn't steal, Philadelphia Blankenstein won the A event.