Always fascinated by curling but never tried it out? Now's your chance!

Take the first step into curling and Learn to Curl with Aksarben Curling at Baxter Arena in Omaha! All ages and abilities can give curling a try. Learn to Curls and Newcomer Instructional Leagues occur from September through March each year.

Our next events include:

• Sunday, October 19 at 12pm — SOLD OUT!
• Sunday, November 30 at 12pm
• Sunday, December 14 at 12pm

The new 2025-2026 curling season kicks off this September! Here's our blog previewing the upcoming season! [read more]

The next Aksarben Curling member feature is none other than Erin Palmer! 

Erin was born and raised in Tallahassee, Florida where she grew up playing many sports like basketball, softball, and cross country. She got her undergraduate degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Florida (GO GATORS!) and currently works from home as a civil engineer for a firm out of Charlotte, North Carolina. Erin moved to Charlotte, where she married her now-husband, shortly after graduating from their separate universities. They moved to Lincoln, Nebraska two years ago so her husband could begin his law school education (and finally be an in-person Husker fan!). They currently reside in Lincoln with their Siberian husky, Ghost, and orange cat, Boba Fett. 

Pictured: John Cherek (skip), Elise Cherek (lead), Katie Ward (second), Jeff Cherek (vice)

On April 11-13, 2025, Aksarben Curling hosted its Season Championship bonspiel at Baxter Arena. The event featured sixteen teams including the champions of our 12 fall and winter leagues, our top college league team, the 2023-2024 defending champs, and two wild card lottery teams.

Teams competed for the Katie Beck Championship Cup, our annual trophy honoring the legacy of Katie Beck, one of Aksarben Curling's most accomplished curlers. Read more about Katie Beck's legacy and curlers' memories of Katie Beck.

Teams played in 4-team groups that broke into semi-finals and finals. Participating teams included:

Group A
Freeze Agents (Fall Sunday 12pm champ)
Stone Cold FA (Winter Tuesday 8pm champ)
The Long Shots (Fall Sunday 2:15pm champ)
Dinosaur Means Stop (Wild Card)

Group B
Spice Curls (Winter Sunday 4:30pm champ)
One WorldRocks (Wild Card)
Stone Cold (Winter Sunday 2:15pm champ)
The Rajects (Winter Sunday 12pm champ)

Group C
Little Raise of Sunshine (Fall Tuesday 8pm champ)
Sweeping Death (Winter Sunday 6:45pm champ)
Buff N Stuff (Team Aksarben - Defending Champ)
The Ice Is Right (Winter Friday 7pm champ)

Group D
Sheets & Giggles (Fall Sunday 6:45pm champ)
Leave No Stone Unturned (Fall Sunday 4:30pm champ)
Love Hack—Sheet 52s (Fall Friday 7pm champ)
UNO Curling Club (College League champ)

Team Freeze Agents advanced out of Group A to play Spice Curls from Group B in the semi-finals, with Spice Curls defeating Freeze Agents to advance to the finals. Little Raise of Sunshine advanced from Group C to face Sheets & Giggles from Group D, with Little Raise of Sunshine besting Sheets & Giggles to reach the finals. In the Bronze match, Sheets & Giggles defeated Freeze Agents. In the Championship match, Spice Curls defeated Little Raise of Sunshine to secure the championship and Katie Beck Cup!

Congratulations to our season champions!

2024-2025 Season Champion
Spice Curls
John Cherek (skip), Elise Cherek (lead), Katie Ward (second), Jeff Cherek (vice)

2024-2025 Season Championship Runner-Up
Little Raise of Sunshine
Nic Swiercek (lead), Kaeli Samson (vice), Lisa Truesdell (skip), Matthew Truesdell (second)

2024-2025 Season Championship Third Place
Sheets & Giggles
Bill Cleary (vice), Brian Cotner (skip), Glenn Prince (third), Jay Johnson (lead)

2023-2024 Season Championship Fourth Place
Freeze Agents
Eric Newhouse (vice), Stacy Bliss (second), Tiffany Buge (lead), Erin Palmer (skip)

Pictured: Nic Swiercek, Doug Michel, Sean Morrison, David Hill, Nic Ridder

In October 2024, Aksarben Curling's Team Ridder competed at the 2024 USA Curling Arena National Championship at the Wausau Curling Center in Wasau, WI.

After going 2-3 in pool play, Team Ridder earned a spot in the quarterfinals qualification game based on head-to-head tiebreakers. In the qualification game, they defeated Wine Country Curling's Team Betts to earn a spot in the semi-finals. There, Team Ridder won a pool play rematch against Cedar Rapids Curling's Team Tesch to advance to the finals. Team Ridder then played Wine Country Curling's Team Spangler in the gold/silver game. Team Spangler ultimately prevailed and Team Ridder won the silver medal!

Congratulations to Team Ridder's Nic Ridder, David Hill, Doug Michel, Sean Morrison, and Nic Swiercek!

Special thank you to all of the Aksarben Curling members who cheered on Team Ridder remotely from Omaha at home and at our livestream watch parties! We truuly had the gold medalists of cheering back home!

Congratulation to all of the 2024 USA Curling Arena National Champions:

Men's division
Gold: Team Spangler (Wine Country Curling, Mountain Pacific Curling Association)
Silver: Team Ridder (Aksarben Curling, Mid-America Curling Association)
Bronze: Team Curtis (Rocket City Curling, Grand National Curling Club)

Women's Division
Gold: Team Asis (Silicon Valley Curling, Mountain Pacific Curling Association)
Silver: Team Segovia (Houston Curling, Mid-America Curling Association)
Bronze: Team Feldman (Wine Country Curling, Mountain Pacific Curling Association)

Thank you to all of the amazing hosts at the Wausau Curling Club, all of the ice technicians who made the ice amazing all week, and all of the staff and officials at USA Curling for running such a great event!

New to curling? We got you covered with what you need to know!

Check out this handy Curling Basics 101  from our friends at Cedar Rapids Curling. It provides everything you need to know about the history of curling, game play, scoring, sportsmanship, and key terms.

Two-minute Video Explainer: