Rhinelander men’s curling team took on La Crosse in playdown with Nationals at stake

Sports such as hockey and basketball are popular in the wintertime. One sport that has grown in Rhinelander is curling. It all started with a Learn2Curl event.

The process started back in February of 2023 with interest in starting a curling club.

“Two people in the ‘curling world’ saw a Facebook post in February 2023 stating the desire to start a curling club in Rhinelander,” Rhinelander Curling Club president Steve O’Keefe said. “Erik Berth had visited his sister in Minnesota and watch her play in a bonspiel — weekend curling tournament — and wanted to have that fun available in Rhinelander. That group, (myself) and Terri Gleason, contacted Erik to see what his goal was and offered to help while recruiting a few more to assist and form a nucleus of a club.”

From then on, Rhinelander hosted a couple Learn2Curl events that introduced the sport and its rules to many people. Those Learn2Curls took place back in the spring.

“We started with Learn2Curls that taught the curling basics at the Rhinelander Ice Arena after the hockey season in late March and early April,” O’Keefe said. “We taught about 100 people so we knew the interest was there to progress.”

Two curlers who went to a Learn2Curl event ended up on the men’s team — Joseph Ross and Randy Louis.

“I went to a Learn2Curl that was hosted by Rhinelander Curling Club,” Louis said. “Me and Joe Ross, the other guy I curl with, he went with me and honestly that very first time going, we were hooked. It was fabulous. It was a great experience, it was a good atmosphere.”

O’Keefe, Rhinelander Curling Club board member Terri Gleason, Erik Berth, Paul Schaeffer, Geoff Goodland and Jean Rice got together to make the Rhinelander Curling Club official.

“We met during the summer and formalized an organization with bylaws and articles of incorporation and applied and got 501c non-profit status and started planning for our first full season,” O’Keefe said.

O’Keefe has been curling for many years. It didn’t take long before he was hooked on the sport.

“I have curled for over 20 years. I played hockey in high school and college, and when I graduated I came to Wausau as an Edward Jones agent,” O’Keefe said. “I saw an ad in the paper for a free event to learn how to curl, and I signed up and fell in love with it immediately. Over the years I gave a lot to the sport of curling and my curling club in Wausau and curling has rewarded me back with great opportunities. I have curled in many places in the U.S. and a few outside of the United States.”

Now in Rhinelander, O’Keefe said he is excited to bring the sport to the Northwoods.

“I have gotten involved with membership and board work in Wausau which led to being elected to represent Wisconsin on the United States Curling Association board and later took a position with USA Curling as Growth and Development Director,” O’Keefe said. “Now being a part of starting a new club from scratch is just another great opportunity, and I love to see the Rhinelander community respond positively.”

It doesn’t take many people to start a game of curling. It’s a life-long sport.

“The club was started for a few reasons, but the main reason is to share the sport of curling,” O’Keefe said. “Curling is a great community sport. It is a sport that nearly anyone can play within a few hours. Families can play together and youth, junior, high school, seniors, wheelchair curling, are all potential groups that can curl.”

Curling is a sport for everyone and one that you don’t age out of. 

“We start them as little rockers when they’re five-years old, and I have a very good friend of mine who’s 89 and had two hip replacements and just participated in Wausau,” Gleason said. “He used his walker … he doesn’t miss a shot. You don’t age out of it. It’s a really good sport.”

There are about 30 members in the Rhinelander Curling Club right now.

“Rhinelander is close to other curling cities — Wausau, Medford, Green Bay — but never had the group to make curling happen until now,” O’Keefe said.

The Rhinelander Curling Club hosts leagues at the Rhinelander Ice Arena that take place on Sundays and Mondays. That’s when they have ice time.

“Our ice time is limited. We only have Sunday night and Monday morning,” Gleason said. “We’ll keep working on it to get more ice time.”

In the future, the club is looking for a space where they can have more community and high school curling opportunities and host events.

“Our club goal is to get dedicated ice in Rhinelander,” Gleason said. “And with that in mind, you bring in a lot of events into the community.”

Rhinelander put together a men’s team consisting of curlers from around the Northwoods. 

The men’s team consists of Peter Chladil who lives in the Lac du Flambeau area, Ross from Minocqua, Louis from Lac du Flambeau and Chris Meier from the Eagle River area. Chladil is the only curler with previous experience on the team.

“For whatever reason, when we used Facebook ads last year to advertise our Learn2Curls, it seems that Facebook targeted the surrounding area more than Rhinelander itself so we are looking to make sure the Rhinelander community knows when our Learn2Curl events are this year,” O’Keefe said.

On July 27, this men’s team took on the La Crosse Curling Club in a playdown to see who would go to Nationals.

“Recently, we had four gentlemen from our club participate in a playdown for a national championship,” O’Keefe said. “The playdown was a Wisconsin State Curling Association event and the winner gained a berth in the USA Curling Arena National Championships this Oct. 23-27 in Wausau.”

La Crosse won the playdown 7-1.

“It was good. It was really cool to go and compete at that level and try to get a shot at the title if you will,” Louis said. “At the same time, it’s tough. It was mid-July, 85 degrees outside, the ice was really frosted over. We were at a great disadvantage. The La Crosse team gets to play year-round and here in Rhinelander, (we have) ice November through March. It makes it really difficult. It was tough. Still, happy with how we played as far as ice conditions. We didn’t give up … I think that’s pretty big for us as a new curling team.”

Even though Rhinelander didn’t win, it was a great learning experience for the team.

“Our men didn’t not win unfortunately, but they did gain great experience and now have an even stronger desire to return,” O’Keefe said. “In Wisconsin there are only two ‘Arena’ clubs — La Crosse and now Rhinelander. Arena curling is curling in a hockey arena where ice hockey is the main focus and where most new clubs must start before they grow enough to fundraise and plan for a ‘dedicated’ curling facility where it is curling only.”

The playdown was a first of its kind.

“This is the first time in Wisconsin’s history that we’ve had a playdown for Arena Nationals because La Crosse was the only ‘Arena’ club,” Gleason said. “Their guys always got the berth … because there was no competition. This time a playdown (took place), historical in itself, to see who would win and go to Nationals. Our guys did not win, but that was a good experience.” 

Playing against La Crosse was something that Rhinelander was excited to do.

“The most impressive thing is our guys wanted to do it,” Gleason said. “They did a good job. They competed against a tough team. They should be proud of that.”

This is just the beginning for the Rhinelander Curling Club. They have more Learn2Curls coming up and leagues that take place during the week.

“This upcoming season will be our second full season, and we are looking to grow our 30 members and have fun,” O’Keefe said. “We will have a few Learn2Curls, and then we will offer our leagues again — Sunday evening and Monday morning, perfect for retirees or work/stay at homes. Our long-term goal is to find a dedicated-ice solution for the club which will enable us to expand our curling to include nightly leagues, youth and junior curling, and even High School Hodag curling.”

A bonspiel in late October is something that Gleason is hoping will grow the club. There are two separate divisions — experienced and newbies. All teams are guaranteed to play three games.

“A bonspiel is a curling tournament for an entire weekend,” she said. “Our first is Oct. 25-27. The public is welcome to come down and watch. The response to this bonspiel has been unbelievable. The team can be comprised of any gender — all men, all women, half and half. There will be games going all weekend. It’s open to the public, and people can watch in the stands.”

There are currently 28 teams signed up for the bonspiel. There will also be more Learn2Curls in November.

“They can sign up for membership,” Gleason said. “They come, and they sign up. They do league curling on Sunday nights. We have four sheets of ice so that’s eight teams we can put out there. We can get that going.”

Louis encourages those who are interested to come to a Learn2Curl and give it a shot.

“We’re going to host some throughout the wintertime. Come, check it out, almost guaranteed to like it,” he said. “We have modified curling — kind of use a stick and push it almost like shuffleboard on ice. I would definitely encourage anybody to come check it out. Even if its Learn2Curl, just check us out. That way when you watch the Olympics in a couple years, you can say ‘I’ve done that.’”

Brett LaBore may be reached at [email protected].