# United States Men's Curling Championship

The United States Men's Curling Championship is the annual men's national curling championship for the United States. It is run by the United States Curling Association (USCA) and typically held in conjunction with the Women's Championship. The champion is eligible to represent the United States at the World Men's Curling Championships if they also rank in the top 75 teams over the last two seasons in the World Curling Tour Order of Merit or have earned 40 points in the Order of Merit year-to-date rankings.

## History

The United States Men's Curling Championship was started when Marshall Field and Company was inspired to host an American equivalent to the popular Macdonald Brier in Canada. The first championship was held March 27 to 30, 1957 at the Chicago Stadium in Chicago, Illinois. Opening night of the championship included a performance by the Scotch Highlander band of University of Iowa, an all female bagpipe and drum band, and were televised by the local television channel WGN-TV. Ken Watson, three-time Canadian champion, was hired as the commissioner of play and tasked with overseeing the umpires. Ten teams from nine states and one territory (Alaska) competed in a round-robin tournament with Harold Lauber's team from Hibbing, Minnesota coming out victorious.
Marshall Field and Company again ran the Championship in 1958, held at the Milwaukee Arena in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. In 1959 the newly formed United States Curling Association took over the operations of the Championship while Marshall Field and Company continued on as a sponsor. That year's Championship was held in Green Bay, Wisconsin at the Brown County Memorial Arena.
In 1961 Frank Crealock and his team out of Seattle won the fifth National Men's Championship, earning them the opportunity to represent the United States at the 1961 Scotch Cup in Scotland. While it was the third year that the Scotch Cup, which would later become the World Men's Curling Championship, was held it was the first year that the United States was invited to compete. Crealock competed against the national champions from Canada and Scotland and after a double round-robin all three teams were tied with a 2–2 record. A playoff was held to break the tie and the United States lost to Canada to finish third. For many years after this the national champion would go on to represent the United States at the World Championships, though eligibility prerequisites were added in recent years.
The 2021 Championship was originally planned to be held February 6–13 at the ImOn Ice Arena in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and it would have been the first time the Men's National Championship was held in Iowa. But in August, 2020 the arena was damaged during a severe derecho storm. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic caused delays in repairing the arena and in November, 2020 the USCA announced that an alternative host site would be found. Only a month later, the USCA announced another change to the 2021 Championship when they declared that all remaining 2020–21 events would be either cancelled or postponed until late spring 2021. This postponement delayed the Men's National Championship until after the 2021 World Men's Championship and so the 2020 champions, John Shuster's team, were selected to represent the United States. This gave the team the opportunity to compete at Worlds which they missed the previous year when the 2020 World Men's Championship was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. On March 29, 2021 it was announced that the 2021 Men's Championship will be held in conjunction with the Women's Nationals and Mixed Doubles Nationals in a bio-secure bubble at Wausau Curling Club in Wausau, Wisconsin in May, 2021.

## Qualification

The qualification methods and format of the championship has changed over time, but currently ten teams play in each championship. Five spots are awarded to the top American teams in the World Curling Federation (WCF) World Team Ranking System at a particular date roughly two months out from the championship. Four spots are awarded to the top teams from a Challenge Round, open to all United States curlers. The final spot is awarded to a team from that year's Junior Championships, as selected by the USCA.
Previously the USCA's High Performance Program has had the ability to select two of the competitors from their pool of teams.
For the 2021 Championship the qualification methods were modified slightly due to impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. The field was cut down to eight teams, included were the 2020 champion and runner-up, the top three teams in the WCF World Team Ranking System on September 1, 2020, and the top three teams from the Challenge Round. The tournament was later postponed to May 2021; as it falls after the 2021 World Men's Curling Championship, the 2020 winners will represent the United States in their place.

## Format

The current format begins with a complete nine game round robin where each of the ten teams play every other team. At the end of the round robin the top four teams qualify for the playoffs; if there is a tie for fourth place then a tiebreaker game is played. The playoffs are conducted in the page playoff format, a common playoff format in curling. In a page playoff the 1 seed and 2 seed play with the winner advancing straight to the championship game. The 3 seed and 4 seed teams play and the winner of that match plays the loser of the 1 vs 2 game. The winner of this third game advances to the championship to face the winner of the 1 vs 2 game.

## Past champions

The location and champion of every men's national championship since it began in 1957:
| Year | Site | Winning club | Skip | Third | Second | Lead | Finish at Worlds |
| 1957 | Chicago, IL | Hibbing, MN | Harold Lauber | Louis Lauber | Peter Beasy | Matt Berklich | |
| 1958 | Milwaukee, WI | Detroit, MI | Mike Slyziuk | Douglas Fisk | Ernest Slyziuk | Merritt Knowlson | |
| 1959 | Green Bay, WI | Hibbing, MN | Dick Brown | Terry Kleffman | Fran Kleffman | Nick Jerulle | |
| 1960 | Chicago, IL | Grafton, ND | Orvil Gilleshammer | Glenn Gilleshammer | Wilmer Collette | Donald LaBonte | |
| 1961 | Grand Forks, ND | Seattle, WA | Frank Crealock | Ken Sherwood | John Jamieson | Bud McCartney | Bronze |
| 1962 | Detroit, MI | Hibbing, MN | Dick Brown | Terry Kleffman | Fran Kleffman | Nick Jerulle | Silver |
| 1963 | Duluth, MN | Detroit, MI | Mike Slyziuk | Nelson Brown | Ernest Slyziuk | Walter Hubchick | Silver |
| 1964 | Utica, NY | Duluth, MN | Robert Magie Jr. | Bert Payne | Russell Barber | Britton Payne | Bronze |
| 1965 | Seattle, WA | Superior, WI | Bud Somerville | Bill Strum | Al Gagne | Tom Wright | Gold |
| 1966 | Hibbing, MN | Fargo, ND | Bruce Roberts | Joe Zbacnik | Gerry Toutant | Mike O’Leary | Bronze |
| 1967 | Winchester, MA | Seattle, WA | Bruce Roberts | Tom Fitzpatrick | John Wright | Doug Walker | Bronze |
| 1968 | Madison, WI | Superior, WI | Bud Somerville | Bill Strum | Al Gagne | Tom Wright | Bronze |
| 1969 | Grand Forks, ND | Superior, WI | Bud Somerville | Bill Strum | Franklin Bradshaw | Gene Ovesen | Silver |
| 1970 | Ardsley, NY | Grafton, ND | Art Tallackson | Glenn Gilleshammer | Ray Holt | Trueman Thompson | 4th |
| 1971 | Duluth, MN | Edmore, ND | Dale Dalziel | Dennis Melland | Clark Sampson | Rodney Melland | Bronze |
| 1972 | Wilmette, IL | Grafton, ND | Robert LaBonte | Frank Aasand | John Aasand | Ray Morgan | Silver |
| 1973 | Colorado Springs, CO | Winchester, MA | Charles Reeves | Doug Carlson | Henry Shean | Barry Blanchard | 5th |
| 1974 | Schenectady, N.Y. | Superior, WI | Bud Somerville | Bob Nichols | Bill Strum | Tom Locken | Gold |
| 1975 | Detroit, MI | Seattle, WA | Ed Risling | Charles Lundgren | Gary Schnee | Dave Tellvik | Silver |
| 1976 | Wausau WI | Hibbing, MN | Bruce Roberts | Joe Roberts | Gary Kleffman | Jerry Scott | Gold |
| 1977 | Northbrook, IL | Hibbing, MN | Bruce Roberts | Paul Pustovar | Gary Kleffman | Jerry Scott | 4th |
| 1978 | Utica, NY | Superior, WI | Bob Nichols | Bill Strum | Tom Locken | Bob Christman | Gold |
| 1979 | Superior, WI | Bemidji, MN | Scott Baird | Dan Haluptzok | Mark Haluptzok | Bob Fenson | 5th |
| 1980 | Bemidji, MN | Hibbing, MN | Paul Pustovar | John Jankila | Gary Kleffman | Jerry Scott | 4th |
| 1981 | Fairbanks, AK | Superior, WI | Bob Nichols | Bud Somerville | Bob Christman | Bob Buchanan | Silver |
| 1982 | Brookline, MA | Madison, WI | Steve Brown | Ed Sheffield | Huns Gustrowsky | George Godfrey | 6th |
| 1983 | Colorado Springs, CO | Colorado Springs, CO | Don Cooper | Jerry Van Brunt Jr. | Bill Shipstad | Jack McNelly | 6th |
| 1984 | Hibbing MN | Hibbing, MN | Joe Roberts (4th) | Bruce Roberts (skip) | Gary Kleffman | Jerry Scott | 6th |
| 1985 | Mequon, WI | Wilmette, IL | Tim Wright | John Jahant | Jim Wilson | Russ Armstrong | 3rd |
| 1986 | Seattle, WA | Madison, WI | Steve Brown | Wally Henry | George Godfrey | Richard Maskel | Bronze |
| 1987 | Lake Placid, NY | Seattle, WA | Jim Vukich | Ron Sharpe | George Pepelnjak | Gary Joraanstad | 5th |
| 1988 | St. Paul, MN | Seattle, WA | Doug Jones | Bard Nordlund | Murphy Tomlinson | Mike Grennan | 7th |
| 1989 | Detroit, MI | Seattle, WA | Jim Vukich | Curt Fish | Bard Nordlund | James Pleasants, alt.: Jason Larway | 8th |
| 1990 | Superior, WI | Seattle, WA | Bard Nordlund | Doug Jones | Murphy Tomlinson | Tom Violette | 6th |
| 1991 | Utica, NY | Madison, WI | Steve Brown | Paul Pustovar | George Godfrey | Wally Henry, Mike Fraboni | Bronze |
| 1992 | Grafton, ND | Seattle, WA | Doug Jones | Jason Larway | Joel Larway | Tom Violette | Bronze |
| 1993 | St. Paul, MN | Bemidji, MN | Scott Baird | Pete Fenson | Mark Haluptzok | Tim Johnson | Bronze |
| 1994 | Duluth, MN | Bemidji, MN | Scott Baird | Pete Fenson | Mark Haluptzok | Tim Johnson | 5th |
| 1995 | Appleton, WI | Superior, WI | Tim Somerville | Mike Schneeberger | Myles Brundidge | John Gordon | 4th |
| 1996 | Bemidji, MN | Superior, WI | Tim Somerville | Mike Schneeberger | Myles Brundidge | John Gordon | 5th |
| 1997 | Seattle, WA | Langdon, ND | Craig Disher | Kevin Kakela | Joel Jacobson | Paul Peterson | 6th |
| 1998 | Bismarck, ND | Stevens Point, WI | Paul Pustovar | Dave Violette | Greg Wilson | Cory Ward | 6th |
| 1999 | Duluth, MN | Superior, WI | Tim Somerville | Don Barcome Jr. | Myles Brundidge | John Gordon | 4th |
| 2000 | Ogden, UT | Madison, WI | Craig Brown | Ryan Quinn | Jon Brunt | John Dunlop | 4th |
| 2001 | Madison, WI | Seattle, WA | Jason Larway | Greg Romaniuk | Joel Larway | Travis Way, Doug Kauffman | 6th |
| 2002 | Eveleth, MN | Madison, WI | Paul Pustovar | Mike Fraboni | Geoff Goodland | Richard Maskel | 4th |
| 2003 | Utica, NY | Bemidji, MN | Pete Fenson | Eric Fenson | Shawn Rojeski | John Shuster | 8th |
| 2004 | Grand Forks, ND | Seattle, WA | Jason Larway | Doug Pottinger | Joel Larway | Bill Todhunter, Doug Kauffman | 9th |
| 2005 | Madison, WI | Bemidji, MN | Pete Fenson | Shawn Rojeski | Joe Polo | John Shuster | 6th |
| 2006 | Bemidji, MN | Bemidji, MN | Pete Fenson | Shawn Rojeski | Joe Polo | John Shuster | 4th |
| 2007 | Utica, NY | Caledonian | Todd Birr | Bill Todhunter | Greg Johnson | Kevin Birr | Bronze |
| 2008 | Hibbing, MN | Madison, WI | Craig Brown | Rich Ruohonen | John Dunlop | Pete Annis | 7th |
| 2009 | Broomfield, CO | Duluth, MN | John Shuster | Jason Smith | Jeff Isaacson | John Benton | 5th |
| 2010 | Kalamazoo, MI | Bemidji, MN | Pete Fenson | Shawn Rojeski | Joe Polo | Tyler George | 4th |
| 2011 | Fargo, ND | Bemidji, MN | Pete Fenson | Shawn Rojeski | Joe Polo | Ryan Brunt | 10th |
| 2012 | Philadelphia, PA | Ardsley, NY | Heath McCormick | Bill Stopera | Martin Sather | Dean Gemmell | 8th |
| 2013 | Green Bay, WI | Seattle, WA | Brady Clark | Sean Beighton | Darren Lehto | Philip Tilker, Steve Lundeen | 9th |
| 2014 | Philadelphia, PA | Bemidji, MN | Pete Fenson | Shawn Rojeski | Joe Polo | Ryan Brunt | 10th |
| 2015 | Kalamazoo, MI | Duluth, MN | John Shuster | Tyler George | Matt Hamilton | John Landsteiner | 5th |
| 2016 | Jacksonville, FL | Seattle, WA | Brady Clark | Greg Persinger | Colin Hufman | Philip Tilker | Bronze (Shuster) |
| 2017 | Everett, WA | Duluth, MN | John Shuster | Tyler George | Matt Hamilton | John Landsteiner | 4th |
| 2018 | Fargo, ND | Seattle, WA | Greg Persinger | Rich Ruohonen | Colin Hufman | Philip Tilker | 6th |
| 2019 | Kalamazoo, MI | Duluth, MN | John Shuster | Chris Plys | Matt Hamilton | John Landsteiner | 5th |
| 2020 | Cheney, WA | Duluth, MN | John Shuster | Chris Plys | Matt Hamilton | John Landsteiner | T5th |
| 2021 | Wausau, WI | Chaska, MN | Korey Dropkin | Mark Fenner | Thomas Howell | Alex Fenson | 4th |
| 2023 | Denver, CO | Duluth, MN | John Shuster | Chris Plys | Matt Hamilton | John Landsteiner | 8th |
| 2024 | East Rutherford, NJ | Duluth, MN | John Shuster | Chris Plys | Colin Hufman | Matt Hamilton | 6th |
| 2025 | Duluth, MN | Duluth, MN | Korey Dropkin | Thomas Howell | Andrew Stopera | Mark Fenner | |

### Notes

* ^ This column shows the results of the team representing the United States at the World Curling Championships. Based on the rules implemented by the United States Curling Association for the 2013–14 season, the United States team at the World Curling Championships is not necessarily the team that won the national championship.
* ^ Record is for the 2021 World Men's Curling Championship. The 2020 World Men's Curling Championship was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
* ^ Record is for the 2022 World Men's Curling Championship. The 2022 US Championship was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

## Champions by state

| Rank | State | Trophies |
| 1 | Minnesota | 27 |
| 2 | Wisconsin | 16 |
| 3 | Washington | 13 |
| 4 | North Dakota | 6 |
| 5 | Michigan | 2 |
| 6 | Colorado | 1 |
| 6 | Illinois | 1 |
| 6 | Massachusetts | 1 |
| 6 | New York | 1 |

## Sportsmanship Award

The Ann Brown Sportsmanship Award has been presented annually since 2007 to one male and one female athlete at the National Championships who are judged to best embody the USCA Spirit of Curling as voted on by their peers. The award is given in memory of Ann Brown, who was the first female president of the United States Curling Association and was the second female inductee into the USCA Hall of Fame.
Male recipients: :
| Year | Recipient |
| 2007 | Joel Jacobson |
| 2008 | Greg Romaniuk |
| 2009 | Mike Farbelow |
| 2010 | Kevin Kakela |
| 2011 | Todd Birr |
| 2012 | Kroy Nernberger |
| 2013 | Mike Farbelow |
| 2014 | Josh Bahr |
| 2015 | Mark Haluptzok |
| 2016 | Jason Smith |
| 2017 | Hunter Clawson |
| 2018 | Tucker Smith |
| 2019 | Sam Strouse |
| 2020 | Jason Smith |
| 2023 | |