[EAGAN, MN, April 18, 2023]  — The 2023 Five-And-Under Nationals are set to begin this week, as the Hibbing Curling Club in Hibbing, MN, welcomes an enthusiastic 24-team field of curlers from April 19-23.

The Hibbing Curling Club has a long history of curling excellence. Founded in 1913, the seven-sheet venue has hosted multiple national championships and is the home of multiple Olympians and World Champions. The club also holds the Last Chance Bonspiel, a famous end-of-season event that regularly has over 100 team entries. This year’s edition of the Last Chance ended this past Sunday, setting the stage for another competitive week of curling.

“It’s a pleasure to bring the Five-And-Under National Championship to Hibbing,” said USA Curling Interim CEO Dean Gemmell. “The Hibbing Curling Club has a rich history in our sport, and bringing this championship there will just continue that. I’m excited to see the Hibbing community embrace this event like it has so many others.”

A relatively new addition to the calendar, the Five-And-Under Nationals has quickly become one of the highlights of the curling season. Launched by the USWCA and a volunteer committee prior to COVID, this grassroots event became part of the official USA Curling championship calendar in 2022 and provides an opportunity for players with five years of curling experience or less to compete for a national title. 

Throughout the 2022-2023 curling season, teams earned berths into the Five-And-Under Nationals through qualification bonspiels held across the country. The 23 teams who qualified from these events, along with an entry from the host club, will be placed into four pools of six. The top two teams in each pool will advance to a single-elimination playoff round, with the champion being deemed the top Five-and-Under team in the country. 

Rosters:

Team Anderson - Zach Anderson, Jared Swanberg, Seth Morken, Alex Iverson, Brandon Breckheimer

Team Atkins-Brantley - Sabrina Atkins/Brantley, Emma Ragauskas, Sarah Genzer, Robin Cornel

Team Bliven - Dan Bliven, Ben Jurenec, Justin Kreuser, Austin Zdroik

Team Brown - Elizabeth Brown, Heather Proefrock, Kate Sherry, Amy Bonaparte Smith

Team Canfield - Justin Canfield, Matt Apesos, Tom Straub

Team DeJongh - Nick DeJongh, Will Piatt, Ken Mullikin, Greg Silver, Matt Raine

Team Delarmente - Benjo Delarmente, Kevin King, Jackie Sharp, Josh Dei

Team Dickinson - David Dickinson, Erich Inglin, Austin Binish, Jon Mueller, Charles Zingsheim

Team Ellison - Brandon Ellison, Kimber Maroney, Woody Wu, Jeff Hanson

Team Gargano - Greg Gargano, Ryan Stevenson, Jeff Perunovich, Joe Kanipes

Team Haynes - Carl Haynes, Eoin Gorman, Tyler Melso, Geoffrey Rickaby, Daniel Teuscher

Team Hejna - David Hejna, Sancho Ponza, Stevie Martin, Pete Condon

Team Hoppe - Ben Hoppe, Ryan Vanderlip, Colin Koppen, Jay Putnam

Team Kenlan - Joseph Moore, Adam Friedman, James Rezucha, Matthew Kenlan

Team Mellin - Matt Mellin, Joe Daly, Jackson Purdy, Mike Stingle

Team Mewers - Queena Mewers, Alex Eaton-Salners, David Hernandez, Marty Blomgren

Team Meyer - Will Meyer, Dylan Bland, Adam Price, Antoinette Serna, James-Grant Robertson

Team Newborn - Josh Newborn, David Tutwiler, Bryan Peek, Tracy Dabbs

Team O’Reilly - Nate O’Reilly, Mike Horowitz, Jim Bilodeau, Stefan Benkowski

Team Parks - Alyssa Parks, Mayre Brouse, Sean Cassidy, Max Van Inwegen

Team Sanders - Erik Sanders, Neal Digre, Karen Dunkerley, Will Dimmit

Team Swoboda - Austin Swoboda, Gary Solum, Kori Richter, Kiel Schock

Team Townsend - Tyler Townsend, Adam Schultz, Josh Chojnacki, Tim Larsen, Jason Tree

Team Williams - Mike Williams, Scott Laidlaw, Rodd Kiliany, Alex Chow