Lynn Munsinger Brown
Practice last week at the Madison Curling Club ice in McFarland.
When Eau Claire’s Mike Peplinski, a member of the 1998 Winter Olympics United States Curling Team, was diagnosed with a rare kidney disease and underwent a transplant later that year, the Eau Claire Curling Club organized two tournaments to raise money for the National Kidney Foundation.
A year later, a member of that club — Jennifer Krug — moved to Dane County and joined the Madison Curling Club. When breast cancer struck a fellow member, Krug remembered her days in Eau Claire: The Curl vs. Cancer Bonspiel was born.
Now in its 15th year, the bonspiel — the word curlers use to refer to a tournament — has raised more than $128,000 for the University of Wisconsin Carbone Cancer Center since 2002. This year’s bonspiel, featuring at least 18 teams and an opportunity for spectators to see an often-misunderstood sport free, up close and in person, happens Feb. 20-21 at the Madison Curling Club, 4802 Marsh Rd. in McFarland.
“It’s a disease that’s everywhere,” says bonspiel organizer Krug, who lost both of her parents to cancer.
Teams of four will participate in this weekend’s tournament. Each team is required to pay $240 or raise money through pledges; one woman consistently collects $5,000 every year, Krug says. At least two university cancer researchers will compete, as will a team composed of 14- and 15-year-olds.
Spectators are welcome, too. “There’s always somebody here who’s willing to share strategies and explain curling,” Krug says. “Curling is a lot harder than it looks. That’s something a lot of people don’t understand.”
I do. Six years ago, I found myself face-down on the Madison Curling Club’s ice sheet during an open house with my wife and kids. The core muscles and balance required to powerfully (and accurately) throw a polished 42-pound granite stone across textured ice with a piece of Teflon-like material called a slider underneath one shoe is no simple task.
Wisconsin has long been a curling haven. Madison’s Rich Lepping is the president of the United States Curling Association’s board of directors, and Mark Swandby, another Madison resident, was team leader of the men’s and women’s U.S. curling teams at the 2010 Winter Olympics and also is on the USCA board.
“This is the curling community raising money for the UW Cancer Center. There are no outside sponsorships. It’s the true definition of a grassroots event,” says Krug, who knows the money is put to good use. “If researchers find a cure for one type of cancer, they will find a cure for all of them. I really believe that.”
