2017 United States Olympic Curling Trials


The 2017 United States Olympic Curling Trials were held from November 11-18, 2017 at Baxter Arena in Omaha, Nebraska. Five teams qualified for the men's tournament and three teams qualified for the women's tournament. The winner of each tournament represented the United States at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang County, South Korea.

Road to the Trials

USA Curling used a number of selection criteria to determine which teams would qualify for the Olympic Trials. If an American team placed in the top five at the 2017 World Men's Curling Championship or 2017 World Women's Curling Championship, that team would automatically qualify for the Olympic Trials. The John Shuster and Nina Roth rinks qualified via this method. Next, teams had an opportunity to qualify for the Olympic Trials by placing in the top 15 of the World Curling Tour Order of Merit standings for the 2016-17 season. No US teams placed high enough in these standings to automatically qualify in this manner. The final criterion used for inclusion in the trial was a discretionary selection by USA Curling's Olympic Team Selection Committee. The committee was required to choose some number of teams for each tournament to ensure that there were a minimum of three and a maximum of five teams competing. The committee chose three men's teams and two women's teams. A fifth team, skipped by Todd Birr, was added to the men's tournament after a successful appeal to the USCA Judiciary Hearing Panel, alleging that the Olympic Team Selection Committee erred in its decision not to include Team Birr in the tournament.

Men

Teams

Five teams qualified for the men's tournament:
SkipThirdSecondLeadAlternateLocaleQualification method
John ShusterTyler GeorgeMatt HamiltonJohn LandsteinerJoe Polo Duluth, MinnesotaTop 5 finish at 2017 World Men's Curling Championship
Heath McCormickChris PlysKorey DropkinTom HowellRich Ruohonen Blaine, MinnesotaDiscretionary selection
Brady ClarkGreg PersingerColin HufmanPhilip Tilker Seattle, WashingtonDiscretionary selection
Craig BrownJason SmithKroy NernbergerSean BeightonQuinn Evenson Madison, WisconsinDiscretionary selection
Todd BirrJohn BentonHunter ClawsonTom O'Connor Blaine, MinnesotaAppeal to USCA Judiciary Hearing Panel

Round Robin Standings

Final Round Robin Standings

Round Robin Results

All draw times are listed in Central Standard Time.

Draw 1

Saturday, November 11, 1:00 pm

Draw 2

Saturday, November 11, 7:00 pm

Draw 3

Sunday, November 12, 1:00 pm

Draw 4

Sunday, November 12, 7:00 pm

Draw 5

Monday, November 13, 11:00 am

Draw 6

Monday, November 13, 7:00 pm

Draw 7

Tuesday, November 14, 11:00 am

Draw 8

Tuesday, November 14, 7:00 pm

Draw 9

Wednesday, November 15, 11:00 am

Draw 10

Wednesday, November 15, 7:00 pm

Tiebreaker

Thursday, November 16, 8:30 am

Final

The final round was between the top two teams at the end of the round robin. The teams played a best-of-three series.

Game 1

Thursday, November 16, 6:00pm

Game 2

Friday, November 17, 6:30pm

Game 3

Saturday, November 18, 6:30pm

Women

Teams

Three teams qualified for the women's tournament:
SkipThirdSecondLeadLocaleQualification method
Nina RothTabitha PetersonAileen GevingBecca Hamilton Madison, WisconsinTop 5 finish at 2017 World Women's Curling Championship
Jamie SinclairAlex CarlsonVicky PersingerMonica Walker Blaine, MinnesotaDiscretionary selection
Cory ChristensenSarah AndersonTaylor AndersonJenna Martin Blaine, MinnesotaDiscretionary selection

Round Robin Standings

Final Round Robin Standings

Round Robin Results

All draw times are listed in Central Standard Time.

Draw 1

Saturday, November 11, 7:00 pm

Draw 2

Sunday, November 12, 1:00 pm

Draw 3

Sunday, November 12, 7:00 pm

Draw 4

Monday, November 13, 11:00 am

Draw 5

Monday, November 13, 7:00 pm

Draw 6

Tuesday, November 14, 11:00 am

Draw 7

Tuesday, November 14, 7:00 pm

Draw 8

Wednesday, November 15, 11:00 am

Draw 9

Wednesday, November 15, 7:00 pm

Final

The final round was between the top two teams at the end of the round robin. The teams played a best-of-three series.

Game 1

Thursday, November 16, 1:30 pm

Game 2

Friday, November 17, 1:00pm

Game 3

Saturday, November 18, 10:00am