We hope you’re doing well all things considered amid this strange and unpredictable year.
The summer months are a quieter time for curling and our club. While last season ended abruptly, we want you to know that our Board of Directors is actively planning the upcoming 2020-2021 curling season and thinking carefully about how we can return to curling safely.
In June, our board visited with leadership from the United States Curling Association (USCA) to discuss health and safety guidelines, considerations they’re taking into account, and what they’ve been hearing from clubs around the country. We are very pleased with their level of thoughtfulness and advice for clubs. We have also been in regular communications with Baxter Arena about their health and safety precautions.
Our Board of Directors also held our annual board retreat in June to begin to map out what the next season will look like. We welcomed two new members to our Board—Brian Cotner and Nic Swiercek—that membership elected earlier this spring. We thanked outgoing board members whose terms ended: John Benefiel, Karen Benefiel, Nick Allmaker, and Nancy Myers. And we elected new officers for the coming year: Nic Ridder (President), Kaeli Samson (Vice President), Liz Akert (Treasurer), and Michael Brich (Secretary).
This upcoming season will look a little different than our typical season.Our top priority is the health and safety of our members. In addition to that, our priorities are to:
- Provide a safe way to return to league play in some capacity this fall.
- Retain and support our membership for the long-term health of our club.
- Finish the 2020-21 season in a great position to host the US Team Trials in November 2021 at Baxter Arena and help grow the game in Omaha.
You’ll start hearing from us more in the coming weeks and months. Soon, we’re going to circulate a survey to members to understand how you’re feeling about this upcoming season, and what we can do to support a return to curling safely and foster camaraderie among our members.
Please keep an eye out for that survey—your response will be extremely helpful to the planning of the 2020-2021 season.
Thank you for supporting the Aksarben Curling Club, and all you do to contribute to the Club’s community.
With gratitude,
The Aksarben Curling Club Board of Directors
