This Saturday, the Wausau Curling Club will host the 20-man Scottish Men’s National Team as a stop on its U.S. Friendship Tour.
The men’s team will play against seven teams from Wausau’s club and one team from the Stevens Point Curling Club in a friendly competition. The bonspiel represents one leg of a tour through several locations throughout the U.S. This is the first time in 40 years that a leg of the competition has been held in Wausau.
Teams nationwide will collectively compete against the Scottish team for the Herries-Maxwell Trophy, tallying all points from all 29 stops to total one score. That’s similar to the Ryder Cup in golf, says club member Steve O’Keefe.
The Scots come to the U.S. once every ten years, O’Keefe says, and the U.S. travels to Scotland every five years after that. O’Keefe says Wausau’s new curling center, which is attracting attention worldwide, is likely the reason Wausau earned a spot on the tour this year.
Team Scotland’s tour will make 29 stops during its time in the U.S. including places such as Fargo, N.D. and Cape Cod, Mass. Those stops also include nine different clubs in Wisconsin.
