Dakota Curling Club

Dakota Curling Club
Arena	Burnsville Ice Center 251 Civic Center Parkway Burnsville, Minnesota 55337
Information
Established	2006
Club type	Arena
USCA region	Minnesota
Website	http://www.dakotacurlingclub.org/

The Dakota Curling Club is a not for profit corporation serving the cities of Saint Paul and Minneapolis, Minnesota and the surrounding suburbs. It is based in Burnsville in Dakota County.

History

The club was founded in February 2006 to help meet the growing demand for curling in the Twin Cities. After curling was featured in the 2002 Winter Olympics, popularity of the sport in the United States grew sharply, and in many cases new curlers were disappointed to find existing curling clubs already full. In response, curling husband-and-wife team Paul and Darcy Ellarby founded a new club to play in Burnsville. After two complete seasons, membership has grown to more than 150 members, making the Dakota Curling Club the fourth largest club in the state of Minnesota.

The Dakota Curling Club is a registered not for profit corporation in the state of Minnesota and is run by a Board of Directors consisting of 11 club members. The Dakota Curling Club is a member of the Minnesota Curling Association and also of the US Curling Association (USCA)

Playing facility and season

Installation of Curling Markings

The Dakota Curling Club currently plays at the Burnsville Ice Center, a skating arena owned by the City of Burnsville, Minnesota. Ice is rented by the hour, and league play is restricted to spring and fall dates due to the lack of available ice time during the prime winter months. (Hockey is King in Minnesota)

Markings for curling are permanently installed in the ice, using a system of vinyl mesh rings.

The lack of winter ice and the expense of hourly ice rental are constraining the ability of the Dakota Curling Club to grow beyond its current size. In response, the club is actively making plans to build its own facility within a 10 mile radius of its current location.

Notable events

The Dakota Curling Club was a featured presenter at the 2007 Summer Conference of the US Curling Association, speaking on the topic of building new curling clubs on arena ice. Following the presentation, conference goers attended an on-site visit to the club to meet with club leadership and arena staff. As a result, the Dakota Curling club has become known as a leading example of how to build new curling clubs in arena facilities and has consulted with new and prospective arena clubs all over the United States. DCC founder Paul Ellarby has also authored several articles published in the US Curling News concerning the operation of arena clubs.

The presence of the Dakota Curling Club at the Burnsville Ice Center has brought attention to curling as an opportunity for new revenue streams in traditional ice arena facilities. The 2007 conference of the Ice Skating Institute featured an event in which more than 400 ice arena professionals from all over the United States visited the Dakota Curling Club to learn about curling as a new revenue stream and to give the game a try.

Deaf curling

The Dakota Curling Club is notable for its extensive support of curling in the deaf community, championed by deaf club member Herman Fuechtmann. In its first two years of operation, DCC has hosted two Learn To Curl events strictly for deaf curlers and as a result has introduced the sport to more than 40 deaf curlers in the region. (Flyer)

Two Olympic-quality competitive teams have emerged from the Dakota Curling Club deaf curling program, making 2007 the first time the United States has been represented at the Deaflympics in the sport of curling. Both Men's and Women's deaf curling teams achieved Silver medals at the 2007 Deaflympics, second only to Canada.

External links

• Dakota Curling Club Web Site
• Minnesota Curling Association
• United States Curling Association