Teams Announced For Curling Night In America

Curling Night in America’ teams set

(STEVENS POINT, Wis.) – The production of the sixth edition of “Curling Night in America” is just two weeks away at the Polar Iceplex in Raleigh, N.C., with four countries set to contend for the U.S. Grand Prix of Curling title.

In partnership with NBC Sports, the World Curling Federation, Triangle Sports Commission, and the United States Olympic Committee, USA’s Jamie Sinclair and John Shuster rinks (“rink” is curling terminology for “team”) as well as the American mixed doubles team of Sarah Anderson and Korey Dropkin will take on China, Italy and Japan in the made-for-TV international curling event. The competition and production will take place Aug. 22-24. The series of nine, two-hour programs will air beginning in January and run through March on NBC Sports Network.

USA’s Shuster rink will take on familiar international foes after competing against both Retornaz (Italy) and Zou (China) at the recent World Men’s Championship and facing all three at last year’s Curling Night competition. Sinclair, who has won the last three women’s national championships, is set to contend against familiar opponents as well from World Curling Tour and world championships of the past in Japan’s Satsuki Fuijawa, Italy’s Stefania Constantini and China’s Jie Mei. USA’s mixed doubles squad of Anderson and Dropkin look to pick up where they left off after a very successful international season last year.

Here is a look at the teams competing in the sixth edition of Curling Night in America:

USA:
John Shuster (Superior, Wis.)
Chris Plys (Duluth, Minn.)
Matt Hamilton (McFarland, Wis.)
John Landsteiner (Duluth, Minn.)
Jamie Sinclair (Osgoode, Ontario)
Cory Christensen (Duluth, Minn.)
Vicky Persinger (Fairbanks, Alaska)
Taylor Anderson (Minneapolis, Minn.)
Sarah Anderson (Minneapolis, Minn.)
Korey Dropkin (Duluth, Minn.)

Italy:
Joel Retornaz
Amos Mosaner
Sebastiano Arman
Alberto Pimpini
Stefania Constantini
Angela Romei
Giulia Zardini Lacedelli
Elena Dami
Veronica Zappone
Simone Gonin

China:
Qiang Zou
Dexin Ba
Zhiyu Wang
Jingtao Xu
Jingyuan Wang
Jie Mei
Rui Wang
Mingyue Yao
Jingyi Ma
Xindi Jiang

Japan:
Go Aoki
Kei Kamada
Ayao Sasaki
Kazushi Ogiwara
Koki Ogiwara
Satsuki Fujisawa
Chinami Yoshida
Yumi Suzuki
Yurika Yoshida
Kouta Onodera
Shiori Fujisawa

USA Curling is sponsored by AtomOS, CryoMAX 8-Hour Cold Pack, Franklin Group, ISS (Ice, Sports & Solar), Sitrin, Thorne, Toyota, Traveler’s Choice, and Twin Cities Orthopedics, and is partnered with Brakebush, Laurie Artiss Ltd. – The Pin People, United Airlines, 12th End Sports Network, IHG, and CurlingZone.

For more information: Terry Davis, Director of Communications, terry.davis@usacurl.org, 608-338-9900 (mobile).

About USA Curling:

?The United States Curling Association (USCA), doing business as USA Curling, is the National Governing Body for the Olympic sport of curling. The association is headquartered in Stevens Point, Wis. USA Curling oversees all aspects of competitive curling in the United States and develops, prepares, and selects the U.S. National and Olympic Teams for international competition. USA Curling is sponsored by AtomOS, Toyota, Brooms Up Curling Supplies, Carhartt, CryoMAX 8-Hour Cold Pack, Sitrin, The RAM Restaurant & Brewery, Thorne, ISS (Ice, Sports & Solar), and Twin Cities Orthopedics, and is partnered with Brakebush, Laurie Artiss Ltd. – The Pin People, United Airlines, 12th End Sports Network, IHG, and CurlingZone.

About the Triangle Sports Commission:

?The Triangle Sports Commission is the sports commission for the Triangle region of North Carolina consisting of Wake, Durham, and Orange Counties. A long-time Community Olympic Partner of the U.S. Olympic Committee, the TSC focuses on the hosting of Olympic and amateur sports events and activities that help develop athletes, promote the region, and foster positive branding and economic impacts for the Raleigh-Durham market. The TSC successfully recruited USA Baseball’s headquarters to Durham and their national training complex to Cary. The TSC has served as host organization for the U.S. Olympic Trials–Table Tennis, Collegiate Rugby National Championships, ACC Baseball Championships, North Carolina Sports Summit, Triangle Tip-Off Men’s and Women’s Basketball Luncheons, NC High School Football Championships, and the world’s first- ever Rugby 7’s Olympic Qualification Tournament, among others. For more information on the TSC, visit www.trianglesportscommission.com.