We facilitated six leagues in the winter of 2024: three 9-week Sunday Leagues, a 10-week Tuesday League, an 8-week Friday League, and a 5-week Saturday Doubles League.

Let’s have a round of applause for all of our 2024 Winter League champs! Each of the champions (outside of the Doubles league) qualified for our 2023-2024 Season Championship on April 12-14, 2024.

2024 Winter Sunday 2:15pm League champ
BuffNStuff
Chris Becher, Steve Jaixen, Scott Jordan, Jenn Becher, Buffy Linke (not pictured)

2024 Winter Sunday 4:30pm League champ
Hollaback Curls
Matt Manderfeld, Aaron Adams, Doug Michel, Lois Imig

2024 Winter Sunday 6:45pm League champ
Naughty or Ice
Alex Wilson, Amanda Wilson, Meredith Daniels, Nic Ridder

2024 Winter Tuesday 8pm League champ
Taken for Granite
Nicholas Bjornson, Jeff Friesen, Matt Suder, Doug Johnson

2024 Winter Friday 7pm League champ
The Ice Is Right
Blake Anderson (sub), Michael Feit, Greg Tunink, Ray Koza, Randy Brodner (not pictured)

2024 Winter Saturday Doubles 4:15pm League champ
McCright? More Like McWrong!
Jay Dykes and Joe McCright

Knowing where to stand Part 2—Skip's Edition

In our last tips newsletter, we shared information about where to stand during a curling match. This time, we want to focus on some best practices for skips during the game.

WHEN YOUR TEAM IS THROWING
The skip should be the only person in the house when their team is throwing. Skips typically call line from the tee-line of the house, though on some sheets you may have to move forward so as not to move into a neighboring house or to better see the broom.

As the rock approaches the house, the opposing skip may move forward to sweep a heavy rock out, or to sweep one of their own rocks if it gets bumped towards the house.

Be mindful of where your opponent skip is and try not to be in the way of their sweeping. As soon as the rocks come to rest, step out of the house and give control of the house to the other team.

WHEN YOUR TEAM IS WAITING
When the opposing team is throwing, the skip should stand behind the house. Typically, you’ll stand behind the throwing team’s skip so that you can view the line the opposing team’s rock is released on.Stand still so that you don’t distract the person throwing the rock. Be sure to hold your broom off the ice.

The opposing skip may sweep an opponent’s stone when it crosses the tee line, so you may move into the house as the rock comes into it. If the opposing team’s skip is communicating with their team or concentrating on the rock, they may not realize you’re there. It can be helpful to give them a heads up that you’re moving into their space to sweep (e.g., “on your left!” or “right behind you!”).

PLEASE BE MINDFUL OF PLAYERS ON OTHER SHEETS
As some of our sheets fall considerably in one direction (i.e., “negative ice”), it may be necessary to call a line outside of your house. This is common on sheet 2 this season.

Rather than set your broom in a neighboring house, please place your broom no farther than halfway between the two houses and then walk forward to call a wider line (e.g., just in front of the house).

A NOTE FOR SWEEPERS
If you’re playing on sheet 2 or sheet 4 where most of the rocks are being thrown towards sheet 3, please stand and walk on the opposite side of the sheet (i.e., the “low side” of the sheet).

This helps you stay out of the line of sight between the opposing team’s skip and the person throwing the rock.

We've received some good feedback from members this season requesting helpful tips around etiquette, pace of play, shot calling, and more.

We recommend two standing resources you can always check out on our website:

1. Our handy Member Handbook, which has lots of great info about our organization, rules of curling, ice prep guidelines, etiquette tips, and more! (this is a living document that we're continuing to update)
2. Video tips with Jamie Sinclair. On our website you can find nearly two dozen short videos (2-5 minutes each) about curling covering delivery, strategy and shot calling, alignment, timing, and a lot more.

This week's tip: Knowing where to stand

When 40 people are on five sheets at a league game, it's important to be aware of where you are on the ice.

It's easy to accidentally be in the way of sweepers on another sheet, or in someone's line of sight between the hack and their skip. In addition, we want to make sure that the team throwing a rock can do so without the distraction of a lot of movement on their sheet.

The illustrations below share some common etiquette guidelines for where to stand and what to watch out for during games.

(You can find these figures and more in our Member Handbook's Appendix B: Curling Etiquette & Pace of Play Tips!)

We're coordinating three Spring Leagues this season:

• Spring Mondays at 7:00 PM: 8 weeks starting March 11
• Spring Tuesdays at 7:00 PM: 6 weeks starting March 26
• Spring Fridays at 7:00 PM: 4 weeks starting March 22

Registration opens on Saturday, February 10 at 11:00 AM.

Registration will be first-come, first-serve. You don't have to have a full team — our league coordinators will help form teams!

By Maliik Jones, UNL Journalism & Mass Communications

With the 2023-24 College Curling season coming to a close, let’s take a look at the Emerging region’s championship results. Coming into the Cornhusker College Bonspiel, ten different universities participated at the John Breslow Ice Hockey Center on January 19-21. Even though this was an Emerging region event, some teams participated from the Midwest region. The top Emerging region team received a place in the USA Curling College National Championship on March 8-10, 2024.

Participating universities and their position within their respective region (as of 1/10/2024):

Emerging
#2 Nebraska-Lincoln – 17 Points
#4 Arizona State – 5 Points
#5 Bowling Green – 5 Points
#6 Nebraska-Omaha – 4 Points
#7 Creighton – 1 Point
#8 Denver – 0 Points

Midwest
#1 Wisconsin-Madison – 36 Points
#2 Wisconsin-Stevens Point – 33 Points
#3 Minnesota – 29 Points
#6 Michigan Tech – 16 Points

Each team played four matches in the first two days. Then, the results from those matches placed the top 8 teams into Sunday's finals matches: the 1st Event, Emerging Region Qualifier, which granted the winning team a chance to compete in the national championship, the 2nd Event, and the 3rd Event.

Each team’s final record was the following:

Arizona State University competed against Denver 2 for the Emerging Qualifier, and ASU came out on top to earn their spot in the National Championship. This will be ASU’s first ever USA Curling College National Championship!

The rest of the Emerging region’s positions at nationals will be decided by the top regular season points finishers. Due to the region's size, the Emerging region will only have two other teams qualify through points. The current top two points leaders are the University of Toledo with 21 points and local team the University of Nebraska-Lincoln with 17 points.

There are two more regional championships to be held for the Northeast on February 9th and the Midwest on February 10th. These regions will have the top two teams qualify for nationals through their respective events. For the remaining national championship positions, the top two points leaders from the Midwest and the top seven points leaders from the Northeast will qualify. The USA Curling College National Championship will be held on March 8th in Rice Lake, Wisconsin.

If you are interested in learning more about curling or how to start college curling at your school, please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.!

We facilitated five leagues in the fall of 2023: an 11-week Tuesday League, three 11-week Sunday Leagues, and a 9-week Friday League.

Let’s have a round of applause for all of our 2023 Fall League champs! Each of the champions qualified for our 2023-2024 Season Championship on April 12-14, 2024.

2023 Fall Sunday 2:15pm League champ
BuffNStuff
Scott Jordan, Buffy Linke, Jenn Becher, Chris Becher, Steve Jaixen

2023 Fall Sunday 4:30pm League champ
Rock Steady
CaSandra Johnson, Doug Johnson, Rob Marcuzzo, Steve Kraft

2023 Fall Sunday 6:45pm League champ
Moore Trash
David Steinhauser, Doug Moore, Matt English, Randy Kruger

2023 Fall Tuesday 8pm League champ
Taken for Granite
Harry Suder, Matt Suder, Doug Johnson, Jeff Friesen

2023 Fall Friday 7pm League champ
Sixteen Stones
Matt Mickeliunas, Nic Swiercek, Dusty McIver, Eric Rodawig, and Tonya Carroll (not pictured)

Let's also give a round of applause to our 2023 Fall League runner-ups!

2023 Fall Sunday 2:15pm League runner-up
Leave No Stone Unturned
Ashley Hoover, Nick Allmaker, Molly O'Brien, Skyler Barton (not pictured)

2023 Fall Sunday 4:30pm League runner-up
Always Pick Red
Hanna Frekot, Paul Bernady, Jeff Tiemann, Kathy Weber

2023 Fall Sunday 6:45pm League runner-up
Naughty or Ice
Alex Wilson, Amanda Wilson, Meredith Daniels, Nic Ridder

2023 Fall Tuesday 8pm League runner-up
Little Raise of Sunshine
Matthew Truesdell, Lisa Truesdell, Kaeli Samson, Nic Swiercek

2023 Fall Friday 7pm League runner-up
The Ice Is Right
Ray Koza, Michael Feit, Bruce Nelson

The 2023-2024 curling season is here! We will have six recreational leagues plus our youth/juniors program:

Winter Leagues — Priority registration runs Monday, November 13 through Sunday, November 26; general registration opens Saturday, December 2 at 10 AM.

• Winter Sundays at 2:15 PM: 9 weeks starting Jan 7 — FULL
• Winter Sundays at 4:30 PM: 9 weeks starting Jan 7 —FULL
• Winter Sundays at 6:45 PM: 9 weeks starting Jan 7 —FULL
• Winter Tuesdays at 8 PM: 10 games over 10-12 weeks starting Jan 2 — FULL
• Winter Fridays at 7 PM: 9 weeks starting Jan 5 — FULL
• Youth/Juniors Curling Saturdays at 2 PM: 8 weeks starting Jan 13
• Winter Saturdays DOUBLES at 4:15 PM: 5 weeks starting Jan 13
• Winter Newcomers Instructional League Saturdays at 4:15 PM: 3 weeks starting February 17

The 2023-2024 curling season is here! We invite you to sign up for our first set of leagues:

September Leagues — Registration opens Saturday, August 12 at 10am

• September Tuesday 7pm: 4 weeks starting Sept 5 -- 73% full

Fall Leagues — Registration opens Saturday, August 26 at 10am

• Fall Sundays at 2:15pm: 11 weeks starting Oct 1 -- 100% full
• Fall Sundays at 4:30pm: 11 weeks starting Oct 1 -- 98% full - 1 free agent spot remains
• Fall Sundays at 6:45pm: 11 weeks starting Oct 1 -- 100% full
• Fall Tuesdays at 8pm: 11 weeks starting Oct 3 -- 100% full
• Fall Fridays at 7pm: 9 weeks starting Oct 6 -- 100% full

We're so excited for the the upcoming 2023-2024 curling season kicking off in September! Here's a preview of our upcoming season:

On April 15-16, 2023, Aksarben Curling hosted its inaugural Season Championship bonspiel at Baxter Arena. The event featured the top performing team from each Fall and Winter League plus a wild card lottery team and a wild card college team.

Teams competed for the inaugural Katie Beck Championship Cup, our new annual trophy honoring the legacy of Katie Beck, one of Aksarben Curling's most accomplished curlers.Read more about Katie Beck's legacy and curlers' memories of Katie Beck.

Teams played in a 3-team pools that broke into semi-finals and finals. Participating teams included:

Little Raise of Sunshine: Fall Tuesday 8pm champs
Sweeping Swine: Fall Friday 7pm champs
Sweep Dreams: Fall Sunday 2:15pm champs
Eh Team: Fall Sunday 4:30pm champs
Silver Snakes: Fall Sunday 6:45pm champs
Stone Cold: Winter Tuesday 8pm champs
Curl Power: wild card lottery
Rolling Stones: Winter Saturday 4:15pm champs
Stop, Drop & Curl: Winter Sunday 2:15pm champs
Stone Cold: Winter Sunday 4:30pm champs
Sheets & Giggles: Winter Sunday 6:45pm champs
University of Nebraska-Lincoln Curling Club: college league wild card

Congratulations to our season champions!

2022-2023 Season Champions
Stone Cold
Paul Foley (lead), Ralph Roza (second), Jeff Lueders (vice), Nick Allmaker (skip)

2022-2023 Season Championship Runners-Up
Silver Snakes
Alex Wilson (lead), Amanda Wilson (skip), Meredith Daniels (vice), Randy Brodner (second)

2022-2023 Season Championship Third Place
Sweep Dreams
David Hill (Skip), Nic Ridder (fourth), Doug Michel (vice), Adam Leong (lead)

Did you know that you can earn a gold, sliver, or bronze medal in curling in Nebraska?

This summer, you can compete for gold in the Cornhusker State Games on July 29-30 at Baxter Arena in Omaha!

There will be two divisions: Novice 5&U (5 years or fewer experience) and Open (any combination of experience).

Non-Nebraskans eligible to participate provided that their state of residence does not provide a State Games Curling event.

Register for the 2023 Cornhusker State Games!

Registration will take you to the Cornhusker State Games registration page. If planning to register as a team, please email team info to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Pre-Tournament Instructions: 11:30 a.m.
Competition Begins: 12 p.m.

Registration Fees
$105 per participant until Feb. 21 (includes free shirt)
$110 per participant until April 21 (includes free shirt)
$115 per participant until June 21 (includes free shirt)
$115 per participant until July 11

While Aksarben Curling helps facilitate this event, please note that this is not a traditional Aksarben Curling bonspiel. The event is run by the Nebraska Sports Council.

Aksarben Curling is, and always has been, a volunteer led organization – we literally couldn’t do what we do without people stepping up to keep things going. Our new Sigrid Festersen Volunteer of the Year award provides a way for us to honor Aksarben Curling members who go above and beyond.

Throughout the history of Aksarben Curling, Sigrid Festersen led, served, and provided continuity from one generation to the next. She was a terrific curler and an advocate for women's curling everywhere. She saw our organization through successes, setbacks, building moves, and explosive growth.

All future success of curling in Omaha can be traced back to a foundation Sigrid was so deeply involved with.

Sean Morrison, past Aksarben Curling President, shared that at the time he first proposed this award, the vision was that Sigrid would be able to present it to the first winner. Sadly, we lost Sigrid in 2022 and couldn’t make that happen. But, Sigrid’s spirit lives on within our organization.

When the Aksarben Curling Board of Directors met to nominate a volunteer to receive this award, it was unanimous – we wanted to honor Nancy Myers. Nancy exemplifies all the best of what Aksarben Curling is. She's always willing to share her knowledge, and her love for the sport is evident in everything she does.

We couldn't be more honored to be able to present Nancy with our first Sigid Festersen Volunteer of the Year award. 

We asked those that have worked alongside Nancy to share a bit more about her, and what she has done for our community. If you’d like to add to this, please email your quote This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Looking for a way to beat the heat? Come curl with us in our 6-week Summer Tuesday 7pm Curling League!

This will be a fun, casual league and great for newer curlers. It’s a nice way to beat the heat, keep up your curling form, and get to know other curlers at post-game broomstacking on the patio at Kinkaider Brewing Co.

Play will take place on the following dates:

• June 13
• June 20
• June 27
• July 11
• July 18
• July 25

Registration opens on Saturday, May 6 at 10am.

Register online!

Katie Beck, an Aksarben Curling member, was a three-time World Junior Curling Champion medalist, earning gold, silver, and bronze medals. Beck was one of Aksarben Curling's most accomplished curlers. In 2005, she was diagnosed with Ewing's sarcoma and died in 2006 at the age of 24.

To help honor the memory of Katie Beck and her many accomplishments, the Aksarben Curling Board of Directors decided to name our new season championship cup after her: the Katie Beck Championship Cup.

Beck is remembered fondly by many curlers, both among Aksarben Curling and across the country. USA Curling created the Katie Beck Memorial Award, which has been given to junior curlers who exemplify Beck’s characteristics, including coachability, good sportsmanship, positive attitude, and commitment to competitive junior curling.

We invited curlers to share their memories of Katie Beck so we could share them with our curling community.Read on to learn more about Katie Beck.

If you have memories of Katie Beck that you would like to share please send them to us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Our inaugural Season Championship is just days away, and we wanted to take this opportunity to introduce you to the teams that will be playing for the Katie Beck Championship Cup!

Stop by Baxter Arena this weekend to come cheer them all on! We’ll be on the ice 12:30pm-8pm on Saturday, April 15th and from 9:30am to 2pm on Sunday.

Teams qualified for this Championship by winning their fall or winter leagues, or by opting into a lottery for open spots. In order to participate, the team needed to have at least two of its original members available to play in the spiel. We’re looking forward to seeing how the first year goes, and are hoping to be able to expand the field in coming years!

This weekend's Schedule

Learn more below about the teams participating this weekend. (And check out the playlist we compiled of hype songs submitted by Aksarben Curling members!)

One thing that makes Aksarben Curling great is our members! We're going to periodically feature our members so folks get to know the friendly faces throughout our organization. This week: Adam Leong!

Adam has been a longtime volunteer at our Learn to Curls. You'll often see him at our Sunday 2:15pm leagues (where his team won the recent fall league and a spot in our season championship in April!)

How long have you been curling?
I did my first Learn to Curl in Kansas City in 2008. It was a 2 hour drive from where I was living in Columbia, MO but totally worth it. I didn’t start curling regularly until 2018, when my family and I moved to Omaha.

How did you first get involved with the Aksarben Curling?
As soon as my wife and I decided to move to Omaha, I looked up where the nearest curling club was. I joined a league that winter with 3 others who had just done a L2C the Friday before. Doug and I have been curling together ever since.

What is your favorite curling moment?
Watching wise, it was definitely watching Team Shuster win the US Olympic Curling Trials. That was some amazing curling. I don’t have a specific moment in mind but I love to throw lead and sweep; there’s nothing like that feeling when you sweep a stone to the perfect spot.

What do you like most about the Aksarben Curling?
I love how much everyone gets along with each other. Teams are always joking out on the ice and willing to help new members. There’s a great sense of camaraderie.

Other interesting facts about yourself that you'd like to share?
Usually, the interesting fact I like to share is that I love curling but that doesn’t seem to fit here. =0). My other interesting fact is that I don’t have any (or very little) cartilage in my nose. Ask me when we’re on the ice and I’ll show you.

Aksarben Curling’s Board of Directors recently voted to create two new policies: a head injury policy and a new code of conduct policy. We want to share more details about these policies, which can be found on our website’s Policy Center page.

Head Injury Policy

Following national trends, our Board of Directors recently voted to adopt a new Head Injury Policy.

The health and safety of our members is of utmost importance. Head strikes can be deceptive. What feels like a minor hit could have more of an impact than realized, and remaining on the ice could lead to further injury.

If a curler falls and hits her or his head while curling, she or he will be asked to leave the ice for the day. We ask that individuals remain at Baxter Arena for 30 minutes to make sure that you're safe to drive and that you fill out an incident report.

Injury incident reports can be found on our website’s Policy Center, at this direct link, or on site in Holland Ice in Aksarben Curling's supply cabinet near the freezers.

Code of Conduct Policy & Reporting Process

In the fall of 2022, our Board of Directors revisited our organization’s code of conduct and reporting policies to ensure that our policies and practice matched our values of kindness, respect, and a goal of building a welcoming and inclusive community through the spirit of curling.

We undertook this in light of the lack of transparency last year from USA Curling regarding their investigation into CEO Jeff Plush’s role in the reports of systemic abuse against athletes under his prior leadership of the National Women’s Soccer League.

Aksarben Curling joined many curling clubs calling for greater transparency and accountability from Jeff Plush, who ultimately resigned in October of 2022. We also recognized that we are responsible for ensuring a safe environment for everyone within our own organization and curling community.

To that end, our board explored model policies and adopted a new Code of Conduct and Reporting policy based on that of the Silicon Valley Curling Club, which they kindly allowed us to adapt for our organization.

Registration will open for our 2023 Winter Curling Leagues on Saturday, February 18 at 10am for the following leagues:

• Mondays at 7 pm: 7 weeks starting March 13
• Tuesdays at 7 pm: 7 weeks starting March 14 —FULL
• Friday Doubles at 6:00 pm: 5 weeks starting March 24 (new league!) —FULL
• Fridays at 7:45 pm: 5 weeks starting March 24

Register online on our Event Registrations webpage.

Curlers must renew their membership for the 2022-2023 season in order to participate. Register for adult, military, or youth memberships.