We are continuing to move forward efforts to open a 5-sheet dedicated curling center in the Omaha metro at 7413 Irvington Road. The building is a new-build warehouse that is being constructed and will be available for leasing in August. The building has a 18,577sf space available that will easily accommodate 5 sheets with plenty of space for a warm room with tables and chairs, small bar, and bathrooms. (Read our recent updates from March and April).

Here are some of our latest updates:

We want to share an important update with you about Aksarben Curling’s efforts to build a dedicated curling community center in the Omaha metro.

Property identified and assessed
As you may recall from our March 2026 update, we identified a warehouse that is being constructed and will be online this August. The space is at 7413 Irvington Road not far from the I-680 and Irvington/Blair exit. Our team has conducted preliminary test fits for the 18,577sf space and it will easily accommodate 5 sheets and plenty of space for a warm room with tables and chairs, small bar, and bathrooms. The proposed lease rate is within our budget. The buildout costs are similar to that of the revised costs for The Courts volleyball space that we assessed in the fall and winter, and as such the space on Irvington Road is within our fundraising capacity. Moreover, the owner of the property is supportive of this space being used for curling. [read more]

Join us in celebrating the wedding of Paul Bernady and Linda Arthur! Paul and Linda have selected Aksarben Curling as one of their charitable recipients for wedding registry donations. Their team, The Cult of Cornbread, won their winter league and went on to have a winning record at the Katie Beck Cup Season Championship.

Paul and Linda would like to help fundraise towards Aksarben Curling's mission to build a dedicated curling facility in Omaha. This new facility would give us the opportunity to expand ice availability and programming, provide high quality curling ice, and better serve the community. Having a dedicated curling facility will help fulfill Aksarben Curling's mission to make curling a lifelong sport that can be enjoyed by all ages, skill levels, and physical abilities, and build an inclusive and welcoming community through the spirit of curling.

Donate online with a credit card:

Donate with a check:

Mail a check payable to Aksarben Curling (note 'Bernady/Arthur' in the memo) to:

Aksarben Curling
PO Box 24458
Omaha, NE 68124

If you're looking for a way to beat the heat this summer, then join us for summer curling at Baxter Arena! We're coordinating three Summer Leagues in 2026:

• Monday Doubles at 5:45 PM: 9 weeks starting June 1
• Monday 7:30 PM: 9 weeks starting June 1
• Tuesday 7:00 PM: 8 weeks starting June 2

We will also have an open sheet for practice ice / drop-in curling on Mondays at 7:30 PM and Tuesdays at 7:00 PM. Browse practice ice dates and sign-up online on our Event Registrations page.

We want to share new updates with you about Aksarben Curling’s efforts to build a dedicated curling community center in the Omaha metro.

‘Office Hours’ this weekend with Aksarben Curling President Nic Swiercek
First, I want to share that I’ll be on hand at Baxter Arena this Saturday, March 14 during and between Saturday leagues (2pm-6:45pm) and Sunday leagues on March 15 (11:45am-7pm) to visit with members and share more about our vision for the project and our process thus far. Look for me off ice and around the bleachers. I’m happy to visit with folks, hear your ideas, and answer your questions. Read more:

We're coordinating four Spring Leagues in 2026:

• Mondays at 7 PM:  7 weeks starting March 16
• Tuesdays at 7 PM: 5 weeks starting March 31
• Wednesdays at 7 PM: 6 weeks starting March 18 — new league!
• Fridays at 7 PM: 4 weeks starting March 27

Registration opens on Saturday, February 28 at 10:00 AM.

Registration will be first-come, first-serve. You don't have to have a full team — our league coordinators will help form teams!

We want to share new updates with you about Aksarben Curling’s efforts to build a dedicated curling community center in the Omaha metro.

As you may recall from recent updates, we shifted our focus away from building a new facility to finding a space in the metro to retrofit and lease. We’ve secured updated ice making equipment costs, refined our projected operating budget for a lease model, and have been evaluating prospective properties and the total associated costs (equipment, buildout, labor and fees, reserve funds, etc). Read more:

The new 2025-2026 curling season kicks off this September! Here's our blog previewing the upcoming season! [read more]

The next Aksarben Curling member feature is none other than Erin Palmer! 

Erin was born and raised in Tallahassee, Florida where she grew up playing many sports like basketball, softball, and cross country. She got her undergraduate degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Florida (GO GATORS!) and currently works from home as a civil engineer for a firm out of Charlotte, North Carolina. Erin moved to Charlotte, where she married her now-husband, shortly after graduating from their separate universities. They moved to Lincoln, Nebraska two years ago so her husband could begin his law school education (and finally be an in-person Husker fan!). They currently reside in Lincoln with their Siberian husky, Ghost, and orange cat, Boba Fett. 

This spring, we're offering practice ice and drop-in curling for Aksarben Curling members who have a 2024-2025 season membership. One sheet will be open alongside the Friday 7pm league for 2 hours. Members may practice, run drills, scrimmage, or play pick-up games with other members (full games, doubles, etc.). Remaining dates include:

• Friday, July 25 at 7 PM
• Friday, August 1 at 7 PM

We will also have a drop-in practice for Aksarben Curling members on Tuesday, August 5 from 7pm-9pm. Members will pay at the Holland Ice concession stand ($10 for one hour, $20 for two hours).

Please plan to help with cleaning your sheet and putting away equipment once you are finished.

Note: We cannot guarantee that you will have enough people on hand to play with full teams.

Also members: Don't forget to sign up for our Substitute Curler list this summer (must be logged in to access). All members whose membership is current for the 2024-2025 season (good through August) can sub for free in our three Summer Leagues: Monday 5:45 PM doubles, Tuesday 7 PM, and Friday 7 PM.

This September, we're offering practice ice and drop-in curling for Aksarben Curling members who have a 2025-2026 season membership. Two sheets will be open alongside the Sunday 2:15pm league for 2 hours. Members may practice, run drills, scrimmage, or play pick-up games with other members (full games, doubles, etc.). Remaining dates include:

• Sunday, September 28 at 2:15 PM

Please plan to help with cleaning your sheet and putting away equipment once you are finished.

Note: We cannot guarantee that you will have enough people on hand to play with full teams.

Aksarben Curling is excited to feature Kali Odd!

Kali is originally from Loveland, CO, but has been in Nebraska for a while now. She is the oldest of four kids (shoutout to Kadia, Cleveland, and Abbey!) and considers her undergrad roommate’s family her own too (another shoutout to Zaidya, Caylan, Kitra, and Janea!). Kali earned her doctorate in gerontology from the University of Nebraska - Omaha in May 2024. Currently, she works for a nonprofit called The Collective of Hope which provides free grief support to the community. She is also an adjunct instructor for the Department of Gerontology at UNO. 

While Kali does miss the mountains and her family back in Colorado, she chose to stay in Omaha because of the amazing curling community! Kali began curling in January 2022. Later that year, she helped start the UNO

Throughout the history of Aksarben Curling, Sigrid Festersen led, served, and provided continuity from one generation to the next. She saw our organization through successes, setbacks, building moves, and explosive growth. Our Sigrid Festersen Volunteer of the Year Award provides a way for us to honor Aksarben Curling members who go above and beyond in the same spirit as she did.

This year, the Aksarben Curling Board of Directors voted to honor Nate Wendel with this award.

As an arena club, we totally lucked out when Baxter’s Ice Manager got hooked on curling. While much of what Nate does for us does fall under his official job duties, he has continuously gone above and beyond to bring us the best ice possible.

He’s dug into best practices for ice at arena clubs and educated his zamboni drivers on what we need for a good ice surface. And when it comes time to set up the ice for a league or event, Nate is always out on the ice to help.

During our ice’s most negative times, he was doing what he could to counteract the heaving beneath the floor. Nate’s research and outreach to other arenas ultimately led to a solution to the problem and brought our ice back to what it has been in the past – one of the best surfaces for curling in a non-dedicated facility. Better ice contributes to the overall health and continued growth of Aksarben Curling, and we appreciate all that Nate has done to give us the best curling experience possible.

About Sigrid Festersen
Throughout the history of Aksarben Curling, Sigrid Festersen led, served, and provided continuity from one generation to the next. She was a terrific curler and an advocate for women's curling everywhere. She saw our organization through successes, setbacks, building moves, and explosive growth.

All future success of curling in Omaha can be traced back to a foundation Sigrid was so deeply involved with. While we lost Sigrid in 2022, Sigrid’s spirit lives on within our organization.

Read more about Sigrid Festersen and her legacy with Aksarben Curling.

On April 11-13, 2025, Aksarben Curling hosted its Season Championship bonspiel at Baxter Arena. The event featured sixteen teams including the champions of our 12 fall and winter leagues, our top college league team, the 2023-2024 defending champs, and two wild card lottery teams.

Teams competed for the Katie Beck Championship Cup, our annual trophy honoring the legacy of Katie Beck, one of Aksarben Curling's most accomplished curlers. Read more about Katie Beck's legacy and curlers' memories of Katie Beck.

Teams played in 4-team groups that broke into semi-finals and finals. Participating teams included:

Group A
Freeze Agents (Fall Sunday 12pm champ)
Stone Cold FA (Winter Tuesday 8pm champ)
The Long Shots (Fall Sunday 2:15pm champ)
Dinosaur Means Stop (Wild Card)

Group B
Spice Curls (Winter Sunday 4:30pm champ)
One WorldRocks (Wild Card)
Stone Cold (Winter Sunday 2:15pm champ)
The Rajects (Winter Sunday 12pm champ)

Group C
Little Raise of Sunshine (Fall Tuesday 8pm champ)
Sweeping Death (Winter Sunday 6:45pm champ)
Buff N Stuff (Team Aksarben - Defending Champ)
The Ice Is Right (Winter Friday 7pm champ)

Group D
Sheets & Giggles (Fall Sunday 6:45pm champ)
Leave No Stone Unturned (Fall Sunday 4:30pm champ)
Love Hack—Sheet 52s (Fall Friday 7pm champ)
UNO Curling Club (College League champ)

Team Freeze Agents advanced out of Group A to play Spice Curls from Group B in the semi-finals, with Spice Curls defeating Freeze Agents to advance to the finals. Little Raise of Sunshine advanced from Group C to face Sheets & Giggles from Group D, with Little Raise of Sunshine besting Sheets & Giggles to reach the finals. In the Bronze match, Sheets & Giggles defeated Freeze Agents. In the Championship match, Spice Curls defeated Little Raise of Sunshine to secure the championship and Katie Beck Cup!

Congratulations to our season champions!

2024-2025 Season Champion
Spice Curls
John Cherek (skip), Elise Cherek (lead), Katie Ward (second), Jeff Cherek (vice)

2024-2025 Season Championship Runner-Up
Little Raise of Sunshine
Nic Swiercek (lead), Kaeli Samson (vice), Lisa Truesdell (skip), Matthew Truesdell (second)

2024-2025 Season Championship Third Place
Sheets & Giggles
Bill Cleary (vice), Brian Cotner (skip), Glenn Prince (third), Jay Johnson (lead)

2023-2024 Season Championship Fourth Place
Freeze Agents
Eric Newhouse (vice), Stacy Bliss (second), Tiffany Buge (lead), Erin Palmer (skip)

Say hello to Austin Rose, the next featured member of Aksarben Curling!

Austin grew up in Broken Bow, NE (also home to Kinkaider!). He graduated from the University of Nebraska - Lincoln in 2018 with a degree in Actuarial Sciences and currently works as a data science transportation planner at WSP. Shortly after graduation, he moved to Omaha where he lives with his wife in the Hanscom Park area. They are expecting their first child in May!

You’ll most likely recognize Austin from our Tuesday night league where he typically vices despite being a natural born second and from our Board of Directors (fun fact: his grandpa was the Aksarben Curling President in 1970!). However, he started his freshman year of college in 2014 at UNL. During his time in college curling, his team was the national runners-up two years in a row at college nationals. Both trips were awesome and inspired him to continue his curling journey!

Outside of Nebraska, Austin has predominantly curled in Wisconsin (Centerville, Stevens Point, Eau Claire, Rice Lake, Wauwatosa, Kettle Moraine), Brainerd, MN, Fargo/Moorhead, ND, and Bismarck, ND. Notably, he got to curl in Rochester, NY and another Aksarben curler, Nancy Myers’, home club, the Schenectady Curling Club! Austin’s favorite place to curl has to be in Rice Lake, WI because of the great people and nice warmroom.

When asked about his favorite curling memory, he looked fondly upon his college nationals experiences as well as a Colorado bonspiel he attended with friends in 2018. They ended up winning the bonspiel, raffle prizes, AND the draw to the button contest! To quote Austin, “We felt like freaking conquerors.”

Austin’s advice for new curlers is that a stone in play is a good stone and that you really only need one good stone to save a bad end. If you’re looking for broomstacking recommendations, he recommended Kinkaider’s tumbler Tuesday deals as they cannot be beat!

Besides curling, you’ll usually find Austin spending time outdoors, especially camping or running. He also enjoys watching movies. The next time you see Austin, make sure to ask him about his 2025 goal he has with his wife: to watch every movie that Matt Damon has a credited role in!

If you're looking for a way to beat the heat this summer, then join us for summer curling at Baxter Arena! We're coordinating two Summer Leagues in 2025:

• Monday Doubles at 5:45pm: 9 weeks starting June 2 — SOLD OUT
• Tuesday 7pm: 9 weeks starting June 3 — SOLD OUT
• Friday 7pm: 6 weeks starting June 6

Registration opens on Saturday, April 19 at 10:00 AM.

Registration will be first-come, first-serve. You don't have to have a full team — our league coordinators will help form teams!

Say hello to one of Aksarben’s newest curlers, Julia Castle! 

Julia is a Nebraska native, born and raised in Lincoln, NE. She still lives in Lincoln today and attends the University of Nebraska - Lincoln. She is looking forward to finishing her senior year off strong and graduating in May with a degree in Advertising and Public Relations. As part of her studies, Julia works as a digital marketing intern for Sandhills Global. One of her goals post graduation is to start her own photography and videography business! Currently, she enjoys photographing just about anything, but loves couples and families especially. Her other hobbies include cooking and occasionally playing pickleball and golf.  

When Julia isn’t busy with school and work, you’ll catch her curling all weekend long. Her main leagues are Friday night and Saturday Doubles, but she subs at most Sunday leagues too! If you play against Julia’s team, you’ll probably see her throw second or vice, but more commonly vice. Vicing is her favorite position at the moment since she gets to do all the things - throwing, sweeping stones, and calling lines. When asked what her favorite shots are, she would tell you that a good takeout is really satisfying when done right! 

In her short 11 months of curling, Julia has taken advantage of everything curling has to offer. When she’s able, she enjoys broomstacking at Backlot Taphouse after leagues and getting to talk with other curlers in her league. She recommended everyone to try their crab rangoon pizza when it’s available! In addition to broomstacking, she’s come to love the traveling aspect of curling. She’s only been able to go down to Kansas City Curling Club’s dedicated facility a few times, but looks forward to traveling to other facilities in the future. 

One of her favorite memories since starting her curling career was getting to go to her first bonspiel in Kansas City with Isaiah Jacobsen, Molly O’Brien, and Nic Ridder. At that bonspiel, her team did so well and ended up winning the whole thing! Dedicated ice was fun for her to curl on for the first time, and she’s looking forward to when Aksarben gets their own. Another favorite part of curling for her is the great community it provides. The immediate connection and camaraderie over a shared interest is really special. Plus, being able to say she’s a curler is a unique fun fact to share with others! Not only is the community amazing, but it’s also a good way to stay active without stepping foot in the gym. Julia loves that she can leave the stress of school and life on the bleachers and have fun when she gets on the ice! 

Despite being a novice curler, Julia has some great advice for brand new curlers. She’d encourage everyone to take advantage of practice ice times and sign up to sub for as many leagues as possible. Also, she would tell new folks to make sure to not be too hard on themselves and show themselves grace when a shot is missed!