A sport more known for cold and ice will have its 2016 national championship in Jacksonville.
The city will host the USA Curling National Championships from Feb. 6-13, 2016 at Veterans Memorial Arena, marking the first time the event will take place in Florida.
“We extend a warm welcome to a cool sport,” said Mayor Alvin Brown in a news release. “We look forward to hosting America’s top curling teams, as well as their fans from far and wide.”
The weeklong national championship will feature the top 20 men’s and women’s team’s competing for an opportunity to represent the U.S. at the world championships in Switzerland in April 2016.
Rick Patzke, USA Curling chief operating officer, said the decision was made based on “strong bids” from Jacksonville.
“In the past year, curling has landed on island shores (Hawaii) and drawn thousands of followers to the desert (Las Vegas), so the seeds are sown for this to be a strategic opportunity to both grow the sport and the national championships in a welcoming environment,” Patzke said in the news release.
Starting in 2009, the championships were hosted in an arena setting to allow greater marketing. Since then, Denver, Kalamazoo, Mich., Fargo, N.D., Philadelphia and Green Bay, Wis., have hosted the event, with Kalamazoo being the 2015 site.