Fargo to host 2018 USA Curling National Championships

USA Curling’s National Championships will make a return to the Fargo-Moorhead area in 2018 as Scheels Arena hosts the premier national event.

On the heels of the 2018 Olympic Winter Games, the 2018 National Championships will take place March 3-10, 2018, in Fargo, N.D.

“Scheels Arena is very excited to have the Curling Nationals return to Fargo in 2018,” said Jon Kram, president and general manager of Scheels Arena. “It will have been seven years since Scheels Arena last hosted this event. Having experience hosting the 2011 USA Curling Nationals and the 2014 Olympic Curling Trials, the arena looks to make this event even better. Scheels Arena welcomes the curling community and all the athletes that will be competing in this event.”

Fargo, which hosted the 2011 National Championships and 2014 U.S. Olympic Team Trials for Curling, was selected over Kalamazoo, Mich. (which hosted the Nationals in 2010 and 2015); Omaha, Neb. (which will host the upcoming U.S. Olympic Team Trials); Provo, Utah; Ogden, Utah; and Downers Grove, Ill.  

“Bringing the USA Curling Nationals back to the Fargo-Moorhead area is a treat for everyone involved, from the competitors who love playing in Scheels Arena to the families, fans, officials and staff who get to be part of this first-class championship experience and all that the area has to offer,” said Rick Patzke, USA Curling’s chief executive officer. “The great people at the Fargo-Moorhead Convention and Visitors Bureau, Athletic Commission and curling club have outdone themselves with each subsequent event we have had there, and no doubt the same thing will happen again. With the 2018 Olympics serving as a springboard to concentrate curling fever back in the land that prides itself on being ‘North of Normal,’ this will be a can’t-miss event.”

Scheels Arena is a 5,000-seat hockey arena located in southwest Fargo and is home to the USHL hockey team the Fargo Force, Fargo high school hockey and many other special events. USA Curling and Scheels Arena will partner with the Fargo-Moorhead Curling Club and Fargo-Moorhead Convention and Visitors Bureau in hosting the event.

“The Fargo Moorhead Curling Club and our members are very excited to be working with Scheels Arena and the City of Fargo to bring the Men’s and Women’s Nationals event back to Fargo in 2018,” said Steve Scheels, president of the Fargo-Moorhead Curling Club. “With this event happening shortly after the 2018 Olympics, this will be a great opportunity for not only our curling club members, but for people from around our region and across the country to come to Fargo and experience the great game of curling being played at the top level in our country.”

The weeklong national event features the top men’s and women’s teams in the country and helps determine Team USA for the subsequent World Championships. The 2018 World Men’s Championship will take place in Las Vegas, Nev., while the 2018 World Women’s Championship will be staged in Canada.

USA Curling is sponsored by AtomOS, Nike, Brooms Up Curling Supplies, CryoMAX 8-Hour Cold Pack, Sitrin, The RAM Restaurant & Brewery, BalancePlus, Brakebush, and Skills.com, and is partnered with Laurie Artiss Ltd. – The Pin People, Hilton HHonors, United Airlines, RJM Licensing Inc., and CurlingZone.

For more information: Terry Davis, Director of Communications, terry.davis@usacurl.org, 608-338-9900 (mobile) or 715-344-1199, Ext. 202 (office).