The 2013 United States Olympic Curling Trials was held from November 10 to 17, 2013 at the Scheels Arena in Fargo, North Dakota. The trials were held to determine the women's team that would represent the United States at the curling tournament at the 2014 Winter Olympics and the men's team that would represent the United States at the qualification event for the same Olympics.
Road to the Trials Teams on the men's and women's sides qualified for the Olympic Trials either directly – by finishing in first or second place at the 2012 and 2013 National Curling Championships – or through selection by the United States Curling Association's High Performance Program (HPP) Selection Committee. The committee's selections were based on prior performance at World and National Championships, Order of Merit rankings, and performance in World Curling Tour events in the three years preceding the Trials (2011–2013).
For the men's tournament, a maximum of five teams competed for the right to represent the United States at the qualification event for the Winter Olympics. The first and second placed teams from the 2012 National Championships and from the 2013 National Championships qualified directly for the Trials. If both of the directly qualifying teams from the 2013 National Championships already qualified via the 2012 National Championships, giving a total of two directly qualified teams, the HPP Selection Committee would select two additional teams to compete in the Trials, making a total of four teams. If one of the directly qualifying teams from the 2013 National Championships already qualified via the 2012 National Championships, giving a total of three directly qualified teams, the selection committee would select one additional team to compete in the Trials, making a total of four teams. However, if two or more American teams had placed within the top twenty of the Order of Merit, and if at least one of those two teams had not earned a qualification spot in the Trials, the selection committee would choose two additional teams, bringing the total to five teams. If none of the aforementioned scenarios applies, which would imply a total of four directly qualifying teams, the selection committee would choose one additional team to compete in the Trials, bringing the total to five teams.
For the women's tournament, a total of four teams competed for the right to represent the United States at the Winter Olympics. The first and second placed teams from the 2012 National Championships qualified directly for the Trials, along with the first placed team from the 2013 National Championships. If the first placed team from the 2013 National Championships had already qualified for the Trials via the 2012 National Championships, the second placed team would qualify for the Trials. If the second place team from the 2013 National Championships had also already qualified for the Trials via the 2012 National Championships, the selection committee would select two additional teams to compete in the Trials. Otherwise, if there was a directly qualifying team from the 2013 National Championships, the selection committee would select one additional team to compete in the Trials.
Men
Teams The teams were as follows: Skip Third Second Lead Alternate Locale Qualification method Heath McCormick Bill Stopera Martin Sather Dean Gemmell New York, New York 2012 National Championships, First place Pete Fenson Shawn Rojeski Joe Polo Ryan Brunt Bemidji, Minnesota 2012 National Championships, Second place Brady Clark Sean Beighton Darren Lehto Philip Tilker Greg Persinger Seattle, Washington 2013 National Championships, First place Chris Plys (fourth) Tyler George (skip) Richard Ruohonen Colin Hufman Craig Brown Duluth, Minnesota 2013 National Championships, Second place John Shuster Jeff Isaacson Jared Zezel John Landsteiner Duluth, Minnesota High Performance Program committee selection
Round Robin Standings Final Round Robin Standings KeyTeams to Final SkipWLPFPAEnds WonEnds LostBlank EndsStolen EndsShot Pct. John Shuster 6 2 54 40 32 28 12 9 86% Pete Fenson 5 3 51 46 33 30 15 7 85% Heath McCormick 4 4 55 49 37 32 8 10 80% Tyler George 4 4 52 48 31 34 9 4 84% Brady Clark 1 7 34 58 26 34 8 2 80%
Round Robin Results All draw times are listed in Central Standard Time (UTC−6).
Draw 1 Sunday, November 10, 1:00 pm
Draw 2 Sunday, November 10, 7:00 pm
Draw 3 Monday, November 11, 12:00 pm
Draw 4 Monday, November 11, 7:00 pm
Draw 5 Tuesday, November 12, 12:00 pm
Draw 6 Tuesday, November 12, 7:00 pm
Draw 7 Wednesday, November 13, 12:00 pm
Draw 8 Wednesday, November 13, 7:00 pm
Draw 9 Thursday, November 14, 9:00 am
Draw 10 Thursday, November 14, 3:30 pm
Final The final round will be between the top two teams at the end of the round robin. The teams will play a best-of-three series.
Game 1 Friday, November 15, 2:30 pm
Game 2 Saturday, November 16, 2:30pm
Game 3 Sunday, November 17, 11:00 am
Women
Teams The teams are listed as follows: SkipThirdSecondLeadAlternateLocaleQualification method Allison Pottinger Nicole Joraanstad Natalie Nicholson Tabitha Peterson St. Paul, Minnesota 2012 National Championships, First place Cassandra Potter Jamie Haskell Jaclyn Lemke Stephanie Sambor St. Paul, Minnesota 2012 National Championships, Second place Erika Brown Debbie McCormick Jessica Schultz Ann Swisshelm Madison, Wisconsin 2013 National Championships, First place Courtney George Aileen Sormunen Amanda McLean Monica Walker Jordan Moulton Duluth, Minnesota High Performance Program committee selection
Round Robin Standings Final Round Robin Standings KeyTeams to Final SkipWLPFPAEnds WonEnds LostBlank EndsStolen EndsShot Pct. Erika Brown 4 2 45 33 28 23 6 9 84% Allison Pottinger 4 2 40 36 28 21 11 9 83% Courtney George 2 4 36 45 22 31 3 3 75% Cassandra Potter 2 4 40 46 26 29 4 6 79%
Round Robin Results All draw times are listed in Central Standard Time (UTC−6).
Draw 1 Monday, November 11, 7:00 pm
Draw 2 Tuesday, November 12, 12:00 pm
Draw 3 Tuesday, November 12, 7:00 pm
Draw 4 Wednesday, November 13, 12:00 pm
Draw 5 Wednesday, November 13, 7:00 pm
Draw 6 Thursday, November 14, 9:00 am
Final The final round was between the top two teams at the end of the round robin. The teams played a best-of-three series.
Game 1 Friday, November 15, 2:30 pm
Game 2 Saturday, November 16, 7:00 pm
References
External links
at USA Curling