By Ben Hoppe
Curling is woven into the fabric of the Iron Range communities of northern Minnesota. Many of the best curlers in the history of the United States have come from these communities, and it’s not often they get to play in front of the home crowd. This week, Team Peterson and Team Shuster have the rare opportunity to play in an international event with a hometown crowd in Virginia, Minn.
While these Pan Continental Curling Championships will be the swan song for the event, with World Curling announcing changes earlier this month, fans have been taking advantage to see some of the best teams make the trek to northern Minnesota. Attendance for the afternoon and evening draws has been solid through the first half of the event, and it’s providing a somewhat new experience for American teams who are used to playing international events outside of their home country.
In a women’s field with Canada's Rachel Homan, Japan's Satsuki Fujisawa, and South Korea's Eun-ji Gim, the most vocal supporters are there to support Team Peterson.
"Every time there’s a cheer, it’s actually for you because they’re all U.S. fans,” said second Tara Peterson. "That never happens for us."
Cory Thiesse, who grew up an hour away in Duluth, wishes the team had more opportunities like this in the United States.
"We’re not used to playing in an arena very often to begin with, but to have lots of fans in the stands and friends and family coming to watch, it’s been really, really fun," said Thiesse, who throws third for Team Peterson.
For Team Shuster, the opportunity to play in the Pan Continental Curling Championships was great for family and friends, but it had other benefits.
"It made our season schedule way better," said Team Shuster third Chris Plys, also from nearby Duluth. "Way less travel as we get into the Olympic Trials final push."
With the Olympic Trials coming up in just a few weeks, U.S. teams are getting their final weeks of preparation, and the event in Virginia is giving them an opportunity to simulate what they can expect in Sioux Falls, S.D.
Should they win the Olympic Trials, it’ll also be good preparation for the Olympic Qualifying Event in Kelowna, B.C. All events feature good quality ice conditions, people in the arena stands, and 10-end games.
"It’s our first time this season playing 10 ends," skip Tabitha Peterson noted. "We’re trying to get everything we can out of each game because it will trickle down to those future events for us."
Both U.S. teams appear to be locked in early on. Team Peterson got off to a strong start, winning each of their first four games, including wins over Gim and Fujisawa, to sit at the top of the table through four draws.
John Shuster, whose hometown of Chisholm is just over 20 minutes from Virginia, also came out of the gates hot, entering their Thursday draw against New Zealand with a perfect 4-0 record.
Peterson and Shuster will not face their Canadian counterparts, Homan and Brad Jacobs, until the final draw of round-robin play on Friday. The event organizers have been promoting those final matchups since the event was announced. The U.S. teams have enjoyed the hometown crowds so far, and they’ll have to embrace the energy of what should be a big crowd when they face the Canadians.
Peterson and Shuster will face some of their toughest competition of the season on Friday, but iron sharpens iron, and the Border Battle couldn’t come at a better place than on the Iron Range.
