We want to share new updates with you about Aksarben Curling’s efforts to build a dedicated curling community center in the Omaha metro.

‘Office Hours’ this weekend with Aksarben Curling President Nic Swiercek
First, I want to share that I’ll be on hand at Baxter Arena this Saturday, March 14 during and between Saturday leagues (2pm-6:45pm) and Sunday leagues on March 15 (11:45am-7pm) to visit with members and share more about our vision for the project and our process thus far. Look for me off ice and around the bleachers. I’m happy to visit with folks, hear your ideas, and answer your questions. Read more:

We want to share new updates with you about Aksarben Curling’s efforts to build a dedicated curling community center in the Omaha metro.

As you may recall from recent updates, we shifted our focus away from building a new facility to finding a space in the metro to retrofit and lease. We’ve secured updated ice making equipment costs, refined our projected operating budget for a lease model, and have been evaluating prospective properties and the total associated costs (equipment, buildout, labor and fees, reserve funds, etc). Read more:

The next Aksarben Curling member feature is none other than Erin Palmer! 

Erin was born and raised in Tallahassee, Florida where she grew up playing many sports like basketball, softball, and cross country. She got her undergraduate degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Florida (GO GATORS!) and currently works from home as a civil engineer for a firm out of Charlotte, North Carolina. Erin moved to Charlotte, where she married her now-husband, shortly after graduating from their separate universities. They moved to Lincoln, Nebraska two years ago so her husband could begin his law school education (and finally be an in-person Husker fan!). They currently reside in Lincoln with their Siberian husky, Ghost, and orange cat, Boba Fett. 

This spring, we're offering practice ice and drop-in curling for Aksarben Curling members who have a 2024-2025 season membership. One sheet will be open alongside the Friday 7pm league for 2 hours. Members may practice, run drills, scrimmage, or play pick-up games with other members (full games, doubles, etc.). Remaining dates include:

• Friday, July 25 at 7 PM
• Friday, August 1 at 7 PM

We will also have a drop-in practice for Aksarben Curling members on Tuesday, August 5 from 7pm-9pm. Members will pay at the Holland Ice concession stand ($10 for one hour, $20 for two hours).

Please plan to help with cleaning your sheet and putting away equipment once you are finished.

Note: We cannot guarantee that you will have enough people on hand to play with full teams.

Also members: Don't forget to sign up for our Substitute Curler list this summer (must be logged in to access). All members whose membership is current for the 2024-2025 season (good through August) can sub for free in our three Summer Leagues: Monday 5:45 PM doubles, Tuesday 7 PM, and Friday 7 PM.

This September, we're offering practice ice and drop-in curling for Aksarben Curling members who have a 2025-2026 season membership. Two sheets will be open alongside the Sunday 2:15pm league for 2 hours. Members may practice, run drills, scrimmage, or play pick-up games with other members (full games, doubles, etc.). Remaining dates include:

• Sunday, September 28 at 2:15 PM

Please plan to help with cleaning your sheet and putting away equipment once you are finished.

Note: We cannot guarantee that you will have enough people on hand to play with full teams.

Aksarben Curling is excited to feature Kali Odd!

Kali is originally from Loveland, CO, but has been in Nebraska for a while now. She is the oldest of four kids (shoutout to Kadia, Cleveland, and Abbey!) and considers her undergrad roommate’s family her own too (another shoutout to Zaidya, Caylan, Kitra, and Janea!). Kali earned her doctorate in gerontology from the University of Nebraska - Omaha in May 2024. Currently, she works for a nonprofit called The Collective of Hope which provides free grief support to the community. She is also an adjunct instructor for the Department of Gerontology at UNO. 

While Kali does miss the mountains and her family back in Colorado, she chose to stay in Omaha because of the amazing curling community! Kali began curling in January 2022. Later that year, she helped start the UNO

Throughout the history of Aksarben Curling, Sigrid Festersen led, served, and provided continuity from one generation to the next. She saw our organization through successes, setbacks, building moves, and explosive growth. Our Sigrid Festersen Volunteer of the Year Award provides a way for us to honor Aksarben Curling members who go above and beyond in the same spirit as she did.

This year, the Aksarben Curling Board of Directors voted to honor Nate Wendel with this award.

As an arena club, we totally lucked out when Baxter’s Ice Manager got hooked on curling. While much of what Nate does for us does fall under his official job duties, he has continuously gone above and beyond to bring us the best ice possible.

He’s dug into best practices for ice at arena clubs and educated his zamboni drivers on what we need for a good ice surface. And when it comes time to set up the ice for a league or event, Nate is always out on the ice to help.

During our ice’s most negative times, he was doing what he could to counteract the heaving beneath the floor. Nate’s research and outreach to other arenas ultimately led to a solution to the problem and brought our ice back to what it has been in the past – one of the best surfaces for curling in a non-dedicated facility. Better ice contributes to the overall health and continued growth of Aksarben Curling, and we appreciate all that Nate has done to give us the best curling experience possible.

About Sigrid Festersen
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. While we lost Sigrid in 2022, Sigrid’s spirit lives on within our organization.

Read more about Sigrid Festersen and her legacy with Aksarben Curling.

Say hello to Austin Rose, the next featured member of Aksarben Curling!

Austin grew up in Broken Bow, NE (also home to Kinkaider!). He graduated from the University of Nebraska - Lincoln in 2018 with a degree in Actuarial Sciences and currently works as a data science transportation planner at WSP. Shortly after graduation, he moved to Omaha where he lives with his wife in the Hanscom Park area. They are expecting their first child in May!

You’ll most likely recognize Austin from our Tuesday night league where he typically vices despite being a natural born second and from our Board of Directors (fun fact: his grandpa was the Aksarben Curling President in 1970!). However, he started his freshman year of college in 2014 at UNL. During his time in college curling, his team was the national runners-up two years in a row at college nationals. Both trips were awesome and inspired him to continue his curling journey!

Outside of Nebraska, Austin has predominantly curled in Wisconsin (Centerville, Stevens Point, Eau Claire, Rice Lake, Wauwatosa, Kettle Moraine), Brainerd, MN, Fargo/Moorhead, ND, and Bismarck, ND. Notably, he got to curl in Rochester, NY and another Aksarben curler, Nancy Myers’, home club, the Schenectady Curling Club! Austin’s favorite place to curl has to be in Rice Lake, WI because of the great people and nice warmroom.

When asked about his favorite curling memory, he looked fondly upon his college nationals experiences as well as a Colorado bonspiel he attended with friends in 2018. They ended up winning the bonspiel, raffle prizes, AND the draw to the button contest! To quote Austin, “We felt like freaking conquerors.”

Austin’s advice for new curlers is that a stone in play is a good stone and that you really only need one good stone to save a bad end. If you’re looking for broomstacking recommendations, he recommended Kinkaider’s tumbler Tuesday deals as they cannot be beat!

Besides curling, you’ll usually find Austin spending time outdoors, especially camping or running. He also enjoys watching movies. The next time you see Austin, make sure to ask him about his 2025 goal he has with his wife: to watch every movie that Matt Damon has a credited role in!

If you're looking for a way to beat the heat this summer, then join us for summer curling at Baxter Arena! We're coordinating two Summer Leagues in 2025:

• Monday Doubles at 5:45pm: 9 weeks starting June 2 — SOLD OUT
• Tuesday 7pm: 9 weeks starting June 3 — SOLD OUT
• Friday 7pm: 6 weeks starting June 6

Registration opens on Saturday, April 19 at 10:00 AM.

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

Say hello to one of Aksarben’s newest curlers, Julia Castle! 

Julia is a Nebraska native, born and raised in Lincoln, NE. She still lives in Lincoln today and attends the University of Nebraska - Lincoln. She is looking forward to finishing her senior year off strong and graduating in May with a degree in Advertising and Public Relations. As part of her studies, Julia works as a digital marketing intern for Sandhills Global. One of her goals post graduation is to start her own photography and videography business! Currently, she enjoys photographing just about anything, but loves couples and families especially. Her other hobbies include cooking and occasionally playing pickleball and golf.  

When Julia isn’t busy with school and work, you’ll catch her curling all weekend long. Her main leagues are Friday night and Saturday Doubles, but she subs at most Sunday leagues too! If you play against Julia’s team, you’ll probably see her throw second or vice, but more commonly vice. Vicing is her favorite position at the moment since she gets to do all the things - throwing, sweeping stones, and calling lines. When asked what her favorite shots are, she would tell you that a good takeout is really satisfying when done right! 

In her short 11 months of curling, Julia has taken advantage of everything curling has to offer. When she’s able, she enjoys broomstacking at Backlot Taphouse after leagues and getting to talk with other curlers in her league. She recommended everyone to try their crab rangoon pizza when it’s available! In addition to broomstacking, she’s come to love the traveling aspect of curling. She’s only been able to go down to Kansas City Curling Club’s dedicated facility a few times, but looks forward to traveling to other facilities in the future. 

One of her favorite memories since starting her curling career was getting to go to her first bonspiel in Kansas City with Isaiah Jacobsen, Molly O’Brien, and Nic Ridder. At that bonspiel, her team did so well and ended up winning the whole thing! Dedicated ice was fun for her to curl on for the first time, and she’s looking forward to when Aksarben gets their own. Another favorite part of curling for her is the great community it provides. The immediate connection and camaraderie over a shared interest is really special. Plus, being able to say she’s a curler is a unique fun fact to share with others! Not only is the community amazing, but it’s also a good way to stay active without stepping foot in the gym. Julia loves that she can leave the stress of school and life on the bleachers and have fun when she gets on the ice! 

Despite being a novice curler, Julia has some great advice for brand new curlers. She’d encourage everyone to take advantage of practice ice times and sign up to sub for as many leagues as possible. Also, she would tell new folks to make sure to not be too hard on themselves and show themselves grace when a shot is missed!

We're coordinating three Spring Leagues in 2025:

• Fridays at 7 PM: 5 weeks starting March 21
• Mondays at 7 PM: 6 weeks starting March 24
• Tuesdays at 7 PM: 5 weeks starting April 1

Registration opens on Saturday, March 1 at 10:00 AM.

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

This winter, we're offering practice ice and drop-in curling for Aksarben Curling members who have a 2024-2025 season membership. One sheet will be open alongside the Saturday 4:15pm doubles league for 90 minutes and one sheet open alongside the Sunday 6:45pm league for 2 hours. Members may practice, run drills, scrimmage, or play pick-up games with other members (full games, doubles, etc.). Remaining dates include:

• Sunday, March 9 at 12 PM (skills clinic)
• Sunday, March 9 at 6:45 PM (practice/drop-in curling)

Please plan to help with cleaning your sheet and putting away equipment once you are finished.

Note: We cannot guarantee that you will have enough people on hand to play with full teams.

This year's Irish Open Bonspiel is sold out! Contact us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to be added to the waitlist.

Join us for for Aksarben Curling's annual bonspiel, the Irish Open Bonspiel!

• Games: 3-game guarantee, 8-end games
• Teams: 24 teams / 96 players (individuals are encouraged to sign up — we'll pair you with a team!)
• First Draws: Friday 6pm, Friday 8:30pm, Saturday 9am
• Mini-games w/prizes: every Friday and Saturday draw
• Awesome raffle prizes and 50/50
• Broomstacking: Kinkaider Brewing (3 drinks included)
  Cost: Just $90/person or $360/team
• Location: Baxter Arena’s Holland Ice, 2425 S 67th St, Omaha, NE (lots of nearby hotels and great local restaurants in Aksarben Village!)
• Hotel group rate: Stay tuned for information!

Sign-up online today!

We have several curling leagues with openings that start this January:

• Winter Sundays at 12 PM: 9 weeks starting Jan 5
• Winter Sundays at 2:15 PM: 9 weeks starting Jan 5
• Winter Sundays at 4:30 PM: 9 weeks starting Jan 5
• Winter Sundays at 6:45 PM: 9 weeks starting Jan 5
• Winter Tuesdays at 8 PM: 10 games over 10-12 weeks starting Jan 7
• Winter Fridays at 7 PM: 9 weeks starting Jan 3
• Youth/Juniors Curling Saturdays at 2 PM: 8 weeks starting Jan 11
• Winter Saturdays DOUBLES at 4:15 PM: 6 weeks starting Jan 11
• Winter Newcomers Instructional League Saturdays at 4:15 PM: 3 weeks starting Feb 22

We have several curling leagues with openings that start in January 2026:

We will offer the following Winter Leagues:

• Sundays at 12pm: 10 weeks starting Jan 4
• Sundays at 2:15pm: 10 weeks starting Jan 4
• Sundays at 4:30pm: 10 weeks starting Jan 4
• Sundays at 6:45pm: 10 weeks starting Jan 4
• Tuesdays at 8pm: 10 weeks across 12 weeks (2 byes) starting Jan 6
• Fridays at 7pm: 9 weeks starting Jan 9
• Saturdays at 2:15pm (youth/juniors): 7 weeks starting January 17
• Saturdays at 4:30pm (novice-focused): 10-week option starting January 10 and 6-week option starting February 7.
  • We're prioritizing this league for newer curlers and giving priority registration to recent participants of our Newcomers Instructional Leagues and members who are not currently in a Fall League. Email us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for priority registration information if you fall in either category.
• Saturday Newcomers Instructional League at 4:30pm: 4 weeks starting January 10

Registration will open in three phases:

• Priority registration for Fall 2025 league participants: Saturday, November 22 through Wednesday, December 3
  
  • Note: Recent Newcomers League members and members not currently in a league will have first priority in the new Saturday 4:30pm league
• Open registration (lottery): Saturday, December 6
• Open registration (first-come, first-serve): Saturday, December 13 at 10am

In October 2024, Aksarben Curling's Team Ridder competed at the 2024 USA Curling Arena National Championship at the Wausau Curling Center in Wasau, WI.

After going 2-3 in pool play, Team Ridder earned a spot in the quarterfinals qualification game based on head-to-head tiebreakers. In the qualification game, they defeated Wine Country Curling's Team Betts to earn a spot in the semi-finals. There, Team Ridder won a pool play rematch against Cedar Rapids Curling's Team Tesch to advance to the finals. Team Ridder then played Wine Country Curling's Team Spangler in the gold/silver game. Team Spangler ultimately prevailed and Team Ridder won the silver medal!

Congratulations to Team Ridder's Nic Ridder, David Hill, Doug Michel, Sean Morrison, and Nic Swiercek!

Special thank you to all of the Aksarben Curling members who cheered on Team Ridder remotely from Omaha at home and at our livestream watch parties! We truly had the gold medalists of cheering back home!

Congratulation to all of the 2024 USA Curling Arena National Champions:

Men's division
Gold: Team Spangler (Wine Country Curling, Mountain Pacific Curling Association)
Silver: Team Ridder (Aksarben Curling, Mid-America Curling Association)
Bronze: Team Curtis (Rocket City Curling, Grand National Curling Club)

Women's Division
Gold: Team Asis (Silicon Valley Curling, Mountain Pacific Curling Association)
Silver: Team Segovia (Houston Curling, Mid-America Curling Association)
Bronze: Team Feldman (Wine Country Curling, Mountain Pacific Curling Association)

Thank you to all of the amazing hosts at the Wausau Curling Club, all of the ice technicians who made the ice amazing all week, and all of the staff and officials at USA Curling for running such a great event!