The Rhinelander Curling Club’s men’s and women’s teams will be competing in Las Vegas this fall.
Peter Chladil and Jean Rice are the skips, or captains, for their respective four-person teams.
They’ve curled with other clubs before Rhinelander started its own. Still, they had very low expectations going into the state competition.
“Because it was the first time. I did not have real high expectations. I'll admit that. Agreeing to just do one match, it was one and done. It was okay with the lacrosse team as well, and we pulled off a win, which was wonderful, a bit of a surprise, but wonderful,” said Rice.
The Women’s team, comprised of Jean Rice, Tykie Wescott, Judy Lehman, and Hannah Beeler, won the playoff match against LaCrosse on Sunday, March 16th, 2025, taking the Wisconsin State Championship title. The Men’s team, comprised of Joe Ross, Randy Louis, Peter Chladil, and Rick Peterson, also took the Wisconsin State Championship title in a three-game series against LaCrosse on Sunday, March 23rd, 2025.
The National Championship they’ll be competing in is for Arena Clubs, these are ones that don’t have their own facilities and are often competing for ice time with hockey players and ice skaters.
They’ll be competing against 12 teams at Curl Vegas in October.
“It's mostly just for me, it's just to have fun exactly, and some experience of it,” said Rice “We'll be able to hopefully add some information to provide future teams.”
“We play five games minimum. Five games at the National so my first goal is to win a game, and then after that, it’s gravy,” added Chladil.
The Rhinelander Curling Club hopes to build up to a club team with its own, dedicated space, but Claudil says they need to build up membership before they get there.
He encourages people to come try it out when its starts back up this fall.
“I like the chess match, that strategy of scoring and setting up your game,” said Chaldil. “I also like the camaraderie, and I've met some of the nicest people curling. Everybody that curls is pretty nice. Some of the nicest people, that's probably the biggest thing, and the social aspect of it.
Though he warns it’s harder than it looks.
“People watch on TV, and if they've never curled, they think it's so easy. Yeah, come on out on the ice and find out that it's not so easy,” said Claudil. “That's the other part I enjoy. It is actually a pretty physical sport.
The Rhinelander Curling Club holds Learn to Curls every Sunday night and Monday mornings during their season.
They expect to start those up again in early November. You can learn more about the club through its Facebook page.
