''Curling Night in America'' is an American television program broadcasting a made-for-television

curling Curling is a sport in which players slide stones on a sheet of ice toward a target area which is segmented into four concentric circles. It is related to bowls, boules, and shuffleboard. Two teams, each with four players, take turns sliding ...

tournament called the U.S. Curling Grand Prix. The first season aired originally on

Universal Sports Universal Sports was an American sports-oriented digital cable and satellite television network. It was owned as a joint venture between InterMedia Partners (which owned a controlling 92% interest) and NBCUniversal (which owned the remaining 8%). ...

, starting on January 22, 2015. It has since run for five additional seasons, from 2016 to 2020, on

NBCSN NBCSN was an American sports television television channel, channel owned by the NBC Sports Group division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It originally launched on July 1, 1995, as the Outdoor Life Network (OLN), which was dedicated t ...

Format

Each season covers a made-for-television tournament, called the U.S. Curling Grand Prix, where the United States and three other countries compete for the American Cup. The Grand Prix tournament is a double

round-robin tournament A round-robin tournament (or all-go-away-tournament) is a competition Competition is a rivalry where two or more parties strive for a common goal which cannot be shared: where one's gain is the other's loss (an example of which is a zero ...

, with each team playing every other team in their division twice. The country with the best overall record at the end of the tournament wins the American Cup. In the first season there were two divisions, men's and women's, with one team from each country in each division. In following seasons

mixed doubles Mixed doubles or mixed pairs is a form of mixed-sex sports that consists of teams of one man and one woman. This variation of competition is prominent in curling and racket sports, such as tennis, table tennis and badminton (where it is known as ...

was added as a third division, thus three teams from each country for a total of twelve teams across all countries and divisions. Each episode shows one game including a team from the United States, along with highlights and score updates from the other games that occurred at the same time.

Production

The show is recorded in front of a live audience but broadcast at a later date. Originally the

United States Curling Association The United States Curling Association (USCA or USA Curling) is the national governing body of the sport of curling in the United States. The goal of the USCA is to grow the sport of curling in the United States and win medals in competitions both ...

published the results of the tournament in real-time but changed to keeping them secret until broadcast due to feedback. The first three seasons were filmed at curling clubs in Minnesota. The fourth season was the first to take place out of Minnesota and the first to take place out of a curling club; it was held at

Baxter Arena Baxter Arena (previously known under the working name UNO Community Arena) is the sports arena owned and operated by the University of Nebraska Omaha located in Omaha, Nebraska. Completed in 2015, Baxter Arena serves as the home of several of the ...

Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest cit ...

. This is the same venue that held the

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 tourname ...

only a few months later. The fifth season returned to Minnesota, held at Chaska Curling Center. The sixth season was the first to take place out of the Midwest, held at an arena in

Raleigh, North Carolina Raleigh (; ) is the capital city of the state of North Carolina and the List of North Carolina county seats, seat of Wake County, North Carolina, Wake County in the United States. It is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, second-most ...

. In the fall of 2019 it was announced the seventh season would be filmed at the Great Park Ice arena in

Irvine, California Irvine () is a Planned community, master-planned city in South Orange County, California, United States, in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Irvine Company started developing the area in the 1960s and the city was formally incorporated on ...

, in August 2020. The arena is also scheduled to serve as the venue for the 2021 United States Mixed Doubles Curling Olympic Trials. All curlers competing in the televised game have microphones, allowing the audience to listen in on strategy discussions and player reactions to shots.

Series overview

Season 1

The inaugural U.S. Curling Grand Prix, filmed December 4 to 6, 2014 at Fours Seasons Curling Club in

Blaine, Minnesota Blaine is a suburban city in Anoka and Ramsey counties in the State of Minnesota, United States. Once a rural town, Blaine's population has increased significantly in the last 60 years. For several years, Blaine led the Twin Cities metro region i ...

. Was aired on Universal Sports Network and NBCSN. Commentary provided by Jason Knapp,

Pete Fenson Peter Fenson (born February 29, 1968 in Bemidji, Minnesota) is an American curler. He was the skip of the men's rink that represented the United States at the 2006 Winter Olympics, where they won the bronze medal, the first Olympic medal for th ...

, and

Tracy Wilson Tracy Wilson, (born September 25, 1961) is a Canadian former competitive ice dancer. With partner Rob McCall, she won the Canadian national championship seven times (1982–1988), is a three-time World bronze medallist, and the 1988 Olympic ...

. At the end of the tournament China won the inaugural American Cup, finishing first in both the men's and women's divisions.

Teams

Episodes

Season 2

Filmed December 3 to 5, 2015 at Curl Mesabi in

Eveleth, Minnesota Eveleth is a city in St. Louis County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 3,718 at the 2010 census. U.S. Highway 53 and State Highway 37 (MN 37) are two of the main routes in Eveleth. Eveleth was the site of the conflict that resu ...

. Commentary provided by Jason Knapp, Pete Fenson, and Tanith White. At the end of the tournament China and the United States were tied for first in the overall standings with eleven points each, with Scotland finishing third and Japan fourth. A

draw Draw, drawing, draws, or drawn may refer to: Common uses * Draw (terrain), a terrain feature formed by two parallel ridges or spurs with low ground in between them * Drawing (manufacturing), a process where metal, glass, or plastic or anything ...

to the

button A button is a fastener that joins two pieces of fabric together by slipping through a loop or by sliding through a buttonhole. In modern clothing and fashion design, buttons are commonly made of plastic but also may be made of metal, wood, ...

tiebreaker was conducted to determine the overall winner, with the men's skips from China and the United States,

Zang Jialiang Zang Jialiang (; born January 12, 1988, in Harbin, Heilongjiang) is a Chinese curler who trains in Harbin. He made his world championship debut at the 2008 Grand Forks World Championships. Team China achieved their best result to date. In the ...

and

John Shuster John Shuster ( ; born November 3, 1982) is an American curler who lives in Superior, Wisconsin. He led Team USA to gold at the 2018 Winter Olympics, the first American team to ever win gold in curling. He also won a bronze medal at the 2006 Winte ...

, each throwing one stone. Zang won the tiebreaker, earning the American Cup for Team China for the second consecutive year. In the individual discipline standings Scotland won in men's, United States won in mixed doubles, and China won in women's.

Teams

Episodes

Season 3

Filmed December 1 to 3, 2016 at

Duluth Curling Club The Duluth Curling Club (DCC) is a curling club located in Duluth, Minnesota, United States. DCC is the curling club with the second largest membership in the United States. History The Duluth Curling Club was organized in 1891. The original bui ...

Duluth, Minnesota , settlement_type = City , nicknames = Twin Ports (with Superior), Zenith City , motto = , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top: urban Duluth skyline; Minnesota ...

. Jason Knapp, Pete Fenson, and Tanith White provided commentary. The United States won the overall tournament, earning the American Cup for the first time.

Teams

Episodes

Season 4

Filmed August 24 to 26, 2017 at Baxter Arena in Omaha, Nebraska; a precursor to the arena holding the Olympic trials. Commentary provided by Jason Knapp, Pete Fenson, and Trenni Kusnierek. The United States won the overall tournament for the second year in a row. In the individual discipline standings Japan won the men's with a draw to the button tiebreaker over the United States, the United States won the women's with a tiebreaker over China, and the United States won in mixed doubles.

Teams

Episodes

Season 5

Filmed August 27 to 29, 2018 at Chaska Curling Center in

Chaska, Minnesota Chaska is a city and the county seat of Carver County, Minnesota, United States. An outer ring suburb of the Twin Cities, Chaska is home to the Hazeltine National Golf Club and is known for its historic downtown area located on a bend of the M ...

. Commentary provided by Jason Knapp, Pete Fenson, and Tanith White. United States represented by three out of five men's Olympic team members, four out of five women's Olympic team members, and the Olympic mixed doubles team of the Hamilton siblings. The United States won the American Cup for a third year in a row, only losing one game across the overall tournament.

Teams

Episodes

Season 6

Filmed August 22 to 24, 2019 at Polar Iceplex in

. Commentary provided by Jason Knapp, Pete Fenson, and Tanith White. The United States won their fourth American Cup in a row, with Italy finishing second overall, Japan third, and Scotland fourth.

Teams

Episodes

Season 7

To be filmed August 25 to 27, 2021 at the Great Park Ice Arena in

Teams

References

{{Reflist NBCSN shows 2015 American television series debuts International curling competitions hosted by the United States