2012 United States Men's Curling Championship
Encyclopedia
The 2012 United States Men's Curling Championship will take place on February 11–18 at the IceWorks Skating Complex in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
. It will be held in conjunction with the 2012 United States Women's Curling Championship
. The winning team will represent the United States at the 2012 World Men's Curling Championship in Basel
, Switzerland
.
Order of Merit, through regional qualifiers, or through a challenge round. Two teams will qualify via the Order of Merit, five teams will qualify through the regional qualifiers, and the remaining three teams will qualify through the challenge round. The regional qualifiers in Green Bay
, Seattle, Grand Forks
, and Laurel
will each receive one or more qualifying spots, which will be awarded to the top finishers from the qualifiers. Teams that were not awarded a qualification spot but were top finishers will be invited to the challenge round, where the top three teams will qualify.
The Pete Fenson
rink stands as an exception to the preceding rules. Since Fenson and his team will be representing the United States in the 2012 USA-Brazil Challenge
, they receive an automatic berth into the nationals, regardless of their Order of Merit standing.
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
. It will be held in conjunction with the 2012 United States Women's Curling Championship
2012 United States Women's Curling Championship
The 2012 United States Women's Curling Championship will take place on February 11–18 at the IceWorks Skating Complex in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It will be held in conjunction with the 2012 United States Men's Curling Championship...
. The winning team will represent the United States at the 2012 World Men's Curling Championship in Basel
Basel
Basel or Basle In the national languages of Switzerland the city is also known as Bâle , Basilea and Basilea is Switzerland's third most populous city with about 166,000 inhabitants. Located where the Swiss, French and German borders meet, Basel also has suburbs in France and Germany...
, Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
.
Road to the Nationals
As with last year, teams can qualify for the men's nationals by qualifying automatically through the World Curling TourWorld Curling Tour
The Asham World Curling Tour is a group of curling bonspiels featuring the best male curlers in the world. A Women's World Curling Tour also exists....
Order of Merit, through regional qualifiers, or through a challenge round. Two teams will qualify via the Order of Merit, five teams will qualify through the regional qualifiers, and the remaining three teams will qualify through the challenge round. The regional qualifiers in Green Bay
Green Bay, Wisconsin
Green Bay is a city in and the county seat of Brown County in the U.S. state of Wisconsin, located at the head of Green Bay, a sub-basin of Lake Michigan, at the mouth of the Fox River. It has an elevation of above sea level and is located north of Milwaukee. As of the 2010 United States Census,...
, Seattle, Grand Forks
Grand Forks, North Dakota
Grand Forks is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of North Dakota and the county seat of Grand Forks County. According to the 2010 census, the city's population was 52,838, while that of the city and surrounding metropolitan area was 98,461...
, and Laurel
Laurel, Maryland
Laurel is a city in northern Prince George's County, Anne Arundel County, and Howard County, Maryland, United States, located midway between Washington, D.C. and Baltimore. Incorporated in 1870, the city maintains a historic district including its Main Street...
will each receive one or more qualifying spots, which will be awarded to the top finishers from the qualifiers. Teams that were not awarded a qualification spot but were top finishers will be invited to the challenge round, where the top three teams will qualify.
The Pete Fenson
Pete Fenson
Peter Fenson is an American curler, skip of the men's rink which represented the United States at the 2006 Winter Olympics. The rink took the bronze medal, the first ever Olympic medal for the United States in curling...
rink stands as an exception to the preceding rules. Since Fenson and his team will be representing the United States in the 2012 USA-Brazil Challenge
2012 USA-Brazil Challenge
The 2012 USA-Brazil Challenge will be a curling challenge taking place from January 27 to 29 at the Bemidji Curling Club in Bemidji, Minnesota. The challenge round will be held to determine which nation will qualify to the last Americas Zone spot at the 2012 Capital One World Men's Curling...
, they receive an automatic berth into the nationals, regardless of their Order of Merit standing.
Teams
| Skip | Third | Second | Lead | Alternate | Locale | Qualification Method |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pete Fenson Pete Fenson Peter Fenson is an American curler, skip of the men's rink which represented the United States at the 2006 Winter Olympics. The rink took the bronze medal, the first ever Olympic medal for the United States in curling... |
Shawn Rojeski Shawn Rojeski Shawn Rojeski is an American curler from Chisholm, Minnesota and Olympic medalist. He was born and raised in Biwabik, Minnesota and attended Mesabi East High School. Under skip Pete Fenson, he received a bronze medal at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Torino, playing as the third... |
Joe Polo Joe Polo Joseph Polo is an American curler. Polo was raised in Floodwood, Minnesota before moving to Cass Lake. He learned to curl in nearby Bemidji at the age of 10 in the Bemidji Curling Club's Sunday Night Junior League. Polo participated in the 2006 Winter Olympics as the second for Pete Fenson's U.S.... |
Ryan Brunt Ryan Brunt Ryan Brunt is an American curler. He is currently the lead for the Pete Fenson rink. He currently lives in Bemidji, Minnesota and curls out of the St. Paul Curling Club. He curls with a left-hand delivery.... |
 Bemidji, MinnesotaMinnesota Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state... |
Special Exemption |