USA Curling is excited to announce the inaugural USA Curling 5-and-Under National Championship will be hosted by the Southern California Curling Center on May 12-15, 2022.

The 5-and-Under, initially supported by the United States Women’s Curling Association (USWCA) and an ad-hoc Grow the Sport committee, will now be included under USA Curling’s umbrella of sanctioned National Championships. The 5-and-Under Championship fuels one of USA Curling’s key initiatives of strengthening a foundational level of the sport by creating a competitive pathway for curlers with five years of experience of less.

“Although I started my curling journey as a junior, I vividly remember working hard toward making it to what would hopefully be my first national tournament, the Junior National Championships,” said 2018 Olympic Gold Medalist John Shuster. “To me, piloting our 5-and-Under National Championship gives curlers who found our sport later in life something similar to work toward.”

In addition to advancing competitive experiences, the qualification structure for the annual USA Curling 5-and-Under National Championship will provide member clubs from across the country the opportunity for their 5-and-Under bonspiels to serve as qualifying events for the field of 24 teams that will compete for the 5-and-Under National title at the National Championship.

“I’m so proud of where we’ve taken grassroots curling and am excited for the direction it’s going by giving these curlers a true championship experience to fuel their curling journeys,” added Shuster.

Hosting and Competition Eligibility:

To classify a 5-and-Under bonspiel as a 5-and-Under National Championship qualifier, the bonspiel must:

• Be hosted by a USA Curling member club

• Be completed by April 17, 2022

• Be submitted for approval by November 7, 2021

5-and-Under teams can be comprised of any combination of men and women curlers. To be eligible to qualify for the 5-and-Under National Championship, every participant must:

• Have five years of curling experience or less

• Be a dues paying member of a USA Curling member club

• Upon qualifying through a 5-and-Under bonspiel, submit a $500 entry fee (per team) to compete in the National Championship

USA Curling thanks the USWCA for their efforts and continued commitment toward fostering sport engagement and development and looks forward to leveraging the combined knowledge of John Shuster (National Team Athlete), Matt Gamboa (Southern California Curling Center Co-Founder) and Dean Gemmell (Director of Curling Development) to further evolve grassroots curling in the United States.

If you have any questions regarding the 5-and-Under National Championship or the qualification process, please contact Director of Curling Development, Dean Gemmell.

USA Curling is sponsored by Columbia Sportswear, Toyota, Twin Cities Orthopedics, Training HAUS, Brakebush, ISS (Ice, Sports & Solar), and Sitrin, and is partnered with IHG, Rock Solid Productions Inc., Laurie Artiss Ltd. – The Pin People, and United Airlines.