If you read last week’s edition of our series on “Unique Things To Do In Denver This Weekend,” you know that the 2023 USA Curling Men’s & Women’s National Championships are underway at the Denver Coliseum and run through February 11.
How the Championships Work
The men’s and women’s championships are round-robin style tournaments that bring together eight teams of four for each gender represented. The top four teams of each championship advance to the playoffs this weekend. From there, the winning men’s and women’s teams will go on to represent the USA in the world championships in March.
Meet The Teams Here
The Full Schedule Can Be Found Here
View Current Standings here
Official Rule Set Here
Other than watching the Nuggets embarrass most teams, opportunities for Denverites to watch the highest-performing athletes of a sport do not come around often. Denver has not hosted an event of this magnitude in curling since 2009 when it was held in Broomfield, and the championships themselves were canceled last year due to Covid-19. Seeing the finals back, and in Denver is a special thing.
It’s not brute strength that wins matches in this sport, but rather the precision, finesse and teamwork of the athletes. This has led to major upsets like former NFL star Jared Allen and Team Smith beating 2018 Olympic champion John Shuster and his team. “We made it a goal at the start of the week to communicate well. That has been the key to our start this week, along with making shots at important times in each end,” Jason Smith from Team Smith told usacurling.org after they won their next game.
The standings for the women’s tournament have not gone any smoother than the men’s. At the end of day two, Team Anderson, Team Peterson and Team Strouse are all tied and battling for the top position, but no one is out just yet as these next games will be crucial for success. Understanding the physics of the ice and stones and being able to read what they will do are extremely important tools for professional curlers. If you misjudge it, it can cost your team the game.
Tara Peterson talked about this with USAcurling.org after they became (2-0). “We had a really tough game to get started and were happy to come away with a win. In our second game, we had more understanding of the ice and managed to control play from start to finish,” said Peterson.
Tickets can be purchased here for either individual events, or day passes. Prices vary based on events and days but expect to pay anywhere from $24 – $39. You can also purchase the Playoff Pass here for $69 Children under five are always free. If you can’t make it in person, you can watch official live streams on YouTube here.