8 Bemidji Curlers Competing at Junior U21 Championships

The Junior U21 National Championships of curling are reserved for the best of the best, comprised of the top eight men’s and top eight women’s curling teams from across the country. This year, two women’s teams from Bemidji qualified to compete for the title in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. We had a chance to catch up with a few of the curlers to see what it means to represent the Bemidji Curling Club and the community on such a big stage.

The Bemidji Curling Club has seen its fair share of greats, including state champions and national champions. Even Olympic medalists have called it their home.

“You look at the list of names all around the club, it’s amazing,” said Team N-Berg head coach Jeremy Berg. “There’s eight women’s teams at Nationals and two of them are from Bemidji. So it goes to show right there that there’s great curling right here in Bemidji.”

And this week, those two teams will have the chance to make their mark on Bemidji curling while competing at the Junior National Championships.

“It’s a really awesome opportunity to play against the best U21 curlers,” said Team G-Berg skip Gracia Berg. “And we all know each other, so it’s super fun to play against them and develop friendships with everyone.”

Team G-Berg is the older of the two teams competing and is comprised of high school seniors. For them, it’s a chance to finish what could be their last season together on a high note.

“The last hurrah, I guess, for all of us together,” reflected Gracia. “It’s been super fun to see how we’ve grown through the past six years and be able to accomplish more and more together. And we’ve grown as friends and as teammates. And [we’ll] just play our best, is what I’m most excited for.”

Team N-Berg is the younger team, a mix of one freshman and three middle schoolers, all looking forward to the opportunity that’s in front of them.

“I didn’t think that I would have this opportunity so young and it’s just really exciting,” said Team N-Berg skip Nia Berg. “I like the challenge and also being with friends. There is so much fun and I just have a great time with them.”

It’s a good thing too, because these teams have spent hours and hours together on the ice to reach a stage this big.

“They come out here and curl any chance they’ve got,” explained Jeremy. “The curling club’s been really good to us. They let us come on the weekends when no one’s here. They are watching curling as much as they can. They love curling, that’s the thing. I mean, it’s not something they have to do. They enjoy doing it.”

And they enjoy it for reasons beyond the ice as well.

“The relationships that you make, and at Bemidji, the curling relationships and the family, we call it our Bemidji curling family,” said Gracia. “It just is so fun.”

Team G-Berg qualified in January after sweeping the junior qualifier in Fargo. They are comprised of skip Gracia Berg, third Demi Black, second Brooklyn Saiger, lead Raelynn Trask, and coach Tucker Smith.

Team N-Berg qualified by going a perfect 6-0 at the Blaine qualifier two weeks ago, beating the U18 national champions from Boston 6-2 in the process. They are skip Nia Berg, third Solveig Berg, second Carol Chance, lead Lauren Erickson, and coach Jeremy Berg.

Both teams will be competing in Eau Claire throughout the week. Games will be live streamed on the USA Curling YouTube channel.

Updated 3-26-24 at 5:36 p.m. to include names of Team G-Berg and Team N-Berg members not present in the original story.