ICE MAKING SUMMIT TRAVELS TO OAKLAND
Photo by Bob Weder
On Sept. 20-22, 2022, USA Curling’s Ice Making Summit will be hosted at the beautiful, brand-new San Francisco Bay Area Curling Club in Oakland, California.
The Summit will offer a great mix of practical, hands-on ice making and off-ice educational sessions with USA Curling Head Ice Technician Shawn Olesen.
Beginning with a discussion, dinner, and flood on Tuesday evening, the training will lead participants through post-flood scraping and pebbling, as well as hands-on instruction to share best practices to prepare the ice surface for the club’s grand opening bonspiel.
"We're thrilled to bring this event to our new facility, and provide ice technicians an opportunity to learn, network, and get hands-on experience," said Kate Garfinkel, President of the San Francisco Bay Area Curling Club. "The timing is perfect, as it will also help us deliver a great playing surface for our grand opening bonspiel that gets underway on September 23rd."
This will mark USA Curling’s second Ice Making Summit since the inaugural event was hosted by Tee Line of Nashville in June 2022.
“The first Summit illuminated the importance of pulling together people of every level to exchange experiences and we hope to continue to build on that,” said USA Curling Head Ice Technician Shawn Olesen. “I look forward to bringing this opportunity to a new place and sharing it with even more people.”
Whether it be on or off-ice, USA Curling’s top ice tech will be covering the following for all who are looking to learn or enhance their ice-making abilities and bring their knowledge back to their local clubs or championship events:
The San Francisco Bay Area Curling Club is a beautiful five-sheet facility in Oakland and the first dedicated curling club in the Bay Area.
Installation. The keys to getting it right.
Flooding. Review of the work done and the specific challenges of different facilities.
Pebbling/Scraping. Elements, techniques, etc.
Stone Maintenance. Texturing, record-keeping, and proper care.
Equipment Maintenance. Keeping the tools of the trade at peak efficiency.
Building Systems and Controls. Optimal setups, and how to work with the situation you have at your home club.
Championship ice. The challenges and the rewards.
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.
