About the Capital Curling Club
Curling was introduced to the city of Bismarck in late 1982 when a group of homesick curlers held a series of organizational meetings to see how curling could get started. Acting on sentiment rather than common sense the small group of dedicated people pooled their resources and borrowed some rocks and set out to bring curling to Bismarck. During the winters of 1982-83, 1983-84, and 1984-85 curling took place in the “Barn”. The Barn was next to Cole Papers which is now the parking lot of Borrowed Bucks Roadhouse on Third Street. The first year there was no running water so water had to be brought in via trailers, getting the water from any house or business that was willing.
The Capital Curling Club’s first season probably explained why curling hadn’t come to Bismarck sooner. The widely varying temps of ND permitted only three or four weeks of curling between early December and late February for the two sheets of natural ice. Despite its shortness, the season was considered a success. Over 80 people were exposed to curling. By year two, major improvements included sweet talking the folks at Cole Papers into letting the club put an outdoor facet on their building. Hoses then had to run about 300 feet across the parking lot to get to the Barn. Additionally, sheet sidewalls had to be built up to account for the slope of the floor such that one corner of the sheet had 10 inches of ice while the other side was less than half an inch. As a finishing touch, plastic was put up to catch any water dripping from the ceiling, eventually leading to a few staples holding up pounds of ice and water.
During year three the club still curled in the Barn but it was also a part of a fundraising effort to build a new ice arena in north Bismarck. Fundraising was a success and construction began on the VFW All Seasons Arena. The building was to be owned and operated by the Bismarck Parks & Recreation District.
Construction of the new arena was timely because the Barn was condemned after the third season. The new arena was enclosed in late 1985 and club members donated countless hours of work to install subsurface heat pipes, insulation, and cooling pipes in floor. The cement floor in the curling portion of the building was poured between Christmas and New Years. The building did not have an ice compressor, so the club put natural ice in starting in February 1986 and curled for three weeks until the weather became too warm.
An ice plant was in place by the next fall and curlers enjoyed a full season in 1986-87. There was additional sweat equity donated during the first several years to finish off the clubrooms, (sheetrock, ceilings, locker rooms, etc.) build walkways etc. The club also bought its first set of stones to replace the loaner stones that had been provided by the US Curling Association. The stones were purchased for $2,000 thanks to a contribution from a local fraternal organization. The stones were poor quality “Keanies” that came from a defunct club in Hastings, Minnesota.
Today the curling club has 4 sheets of superb ice located in the same location in the All-Seasons Arena. A new floor and refrigeration system were supplied by the Bismarck Parks and Recreation District in 2016.
Continuing to be 100% volunteer organization, the ice is groomed by a fantastic ice crew and is cleaned and maintained by the members. The club has hosted several state and national events with the biggest curling event being the World Championships in 2002 which took place at the Civic Center in downtown Bismarck.
Where Champions Come to Play
1993 National Mixed Championships
1998 National Men’s & Women’s Championships
2002 World Men’s & Women’s Championships
2002 World Senior Men’s & Women’s Championships
2005 National Men’s & Women’s Junior Championships
2010 National Senior Women’s Championship
2012 National Senior Men’s Championships
2013 National Mixed Doubles Championship
2015 National Women’s Challenge Round
2016 National Men’s & Women’s Club Championships
2017 National Men’s Challenge Round
2019 National U14 Jamboree
The Capital Curling Club has been hosting a summer spiel in July since 1988 and gets teams from all over the US and Canada. In January, it hosts an outdoor spiel on the Missouri River for a fun weekend of curling in the heart of the winter months. Outdoor curling poses great challenges, but club members enjoy the feel of curling like they did back when curling first started in Scotland over 500 years ago.
The club has over 400 curlers that curl during the four league nights each week during the season. The club also supports junior curling with a program for future curlers on Saturday mornings to interest kids from ages 6 through high school. The club also makes its facilities available for physical education curling for Bismarck’s three public high schools. To get more people interested in the sport the club also host clinics in the fall before the season starts to introduce beginners to the sport and to teach people the proper techniques.
The Capital Curling Club was officially formed in 1982 with a small, dedicated group and has grown to over 400 members who are still dedicated to the sport and trying to get it to grow yearly. Our club is solely based on volunteers and because our club members strongly believe in the “Spirit of Curling” our club runs successfully.
Founding members of the club included Tim Lervick, Ken Sambor, Bill Peterson, Dwayne Schmidt, Annette Kinsala, John Gilbertson, Marnell Ringsak, Joe Newman, and Jon Mielke. Jon was inducted into the United States Curling Hall of Fame in 2012. Club Lifetime Award recipients include Wally Owen (1999), Jon Mielke (2003), and Roger Smith (2013).
Founding Members
Tim Lervick, Crosby, ND
Ken Sanbor, Minot, ND
Bill Peterson, Grand Forks, ND
Dwayne Schmidt, Petersburg, ND
Annette Kinsala, Park River, ND
John Gilbertson, Crosby, ND
Marnell Ringsak , Grafton, ND
Joe Newman
John Mielke, Grafton, ND - 2012 United States Curling Hall of Fame
The Capital Curling Club’s first season probably explained why curling hadn’t come to Bismarck sooner. The widely varying temps of ND permitted only three or four weeks of curling between early December and late February for the two sheets of natural ice. Despite its shortness, the season was considered a success. Over 80 people were exposed to curling. By year two, major improvements included sweet talking the folks at Cole Papers into letting the club put an outdoor facet on their building. Hoses then had to run about 300 feet across the parking lot to get to the Barn. Additionally, sheet sidewalls had to be built up to account for the slope of the floor such that one corner of the sheet had 10 inches of ice while the other side was less than half an inch. As a finishing touch, plastic was put up to catch any water dripping from the ceiling, eventually leading to a few staples holding up pounds of ice and water.
During year three the club still curled in the Barn but it was also a part of a fundraising effort to build a new ice arena in north Bismarck. Fundraising was a success and construction began on the VFW All Seasons Arena. The building was to be owned and operated by the Bismarck Parks & Recreation District.
Construction of the new arena was timely because the Barn was condemned after the third season. The new arena was enclosed in late 1985 and club members donated countless hours of work to install subsurface heat pipes, insulation, and cooling pipes in floor. The cement floor in the curling portion of the building was poured between Christmas and New Years. The building did not have an ice compressor, so the club put natural ice in starting in February 1986 and curled for three weeks until the weather became too warm.
An ice plant was in place by the next fall and curlers enjoyed a full season in 1986-87. There was additional sweat equity donated during the first several years to finish off the clubrooms, (sheetrock, ceilings, locker rooms, etc.) build walkways etc. The club also bought its first set of stones to replace the loaner stones that had been provided by the US Curling Association. The stones were purchased for $2,000 thanks to a contribution from a local fraternal organization. The stones were poor quality “Keanies” that came from a defunct club in Hastings, Minnesota.
Today the curling club has 4 sheets of superb ice located in the same location in the All-Seasons Arena. A new floor and refrigeration system were supplied by the Bismarck Parks and Recreation District in 2016.
Continuing to be 100% volunteer organization, the ice is groomed by a fantastic ice crew and is cleaned and maintained by the members. The club has hosted several state and national events with the biggest curling event being the World Championships in 2002 which took place at the Civic Center in downtown Bismarck.
Where Champions Come to Play
1993 National Mixed Championships
1998 National Men’s & Women’s Championships
2002 World Men’s & Women’s Championships
2002 World Senior Men’s & Women’s Championships
2005 National Men’s & Women’s Junior Championships
2010 National Senior Women’s Championship
2012 National Senior Men’s Championships
2013 National Mixed Doubles Championship
2015 National Women’s Challenge Round
2016 National Men’s & Women’s Club Championships
2017 National Men’s Challenge Round
2019 National U14 Jamboree
The Capital Curling Club has been hosting a summer spiel in July since 1988 and gets teams from all over the US and Canada. In January, it hosts an outdoor spiel on the Missouri River for a fun weekend of curling in the heart of the winter months. Outdoor curling poses great challenges, but club members enjoy the feel of curling like they did back when curling first started in Scotland over 500 years ago.
The club has over 400 curlers that curl during the four league nights each week during the season. The club also supports junior curling with a program for future curlers on Saturday mornings to interest kids from ages 6 through high school. The club also makes its facilities available for physical education curling for Bismarck’s three public high schools. To get more people interested in the sport the club also host clinics in the fall before the season starts to introduce beginners to the sport and to teach people the proper techniques.
The Capital Curling Club was officially formed in 1982 with a small, dedicated group and has grown to over 400 members who are still dedicated to the sport and trying to get it to grow yearly. Our club is solely based on volunteers and because our club members strongly believe in the “Spirit of Curling” our club runs successfully.
Founding members of the club included Tim Lervick, Ken Sambor, Bill Peterson, Dwayne Schmidt, Annette Kinsala, John Gilbertson, Marnell Ringsak, Joe Newman, and Jon Mielke. Jon was inducted into the United States Curling Hall of Fame in 2012. Club Lifetime Award recipients include Wally Owen (1999), Jon Mielke (2003), and Roger Smith (2013).
Founding Members
Tim Lervick, Crosby, ND
Ken Sanbor, Minot, ND
Bill Peterson, Grand Forks, ND
Dwayne Schmidt, Petersburg, ND
Annette Kinsala, Park River, ND
John Gilbertson, Crosby, ND
Marnell Ringsak , Grafton, ND
Joe Newman
John Mielke, Grafton, ND - 2012 United States Curling Hall of Fame