Two teams will be representing Team USA at the 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Sochi, Russia.

The American men’s group defeated the Czech Republic to secure the final berth at the Olympic Qualification Event at the BLZ Arena in Fuessen, Germany.

The success comes after John Shuster (Duluth, Minn.) and his teammates, Jeff Isaacson (Gilbert, Minn.), Jared Zezel (Hibbing, Minn.), and John Landsteiner (Duluth, Minn.), enjoyed a 8-5 victory after a big scoring end late in the game.  They knew they would have to dig deep to stave off elimination and they pulled off a win.

As Landsteiner said:  ”We always seem to pick it up and bring it up the next step and find a way to play better in a game.”

Shuster, who won Olympic bronze back in 2006 added:  ”The butterflies of winning for an opportunity like this, they never get old. That’s why we play this game.  These guys work their tails off and they’re some of the best in the business.  I’m extremely proud of how well our team has played the entire season and especially here when we had our backs against the wall.”

The next major stop will be in Scotland for the World Curling tour in January 2014, followed by an appearance as part of Team North America at the 2014 World Financial Group Continental Cup in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Today, USA Curling announced that 2010 Paralympian Patrick McDonald (Madison, Wis.) and his 2014 U.S. Paralympic Team have been nominated to compete in Sochi from March 7-16, 2014.  McDonald’s team will include David Palmer (Mashpee, Mass.), Jimmy Joseph (New Hartford, N.Y.), Penny Greely (Green Bay, Wis.), and Meghan Lino (East Falmouth, Mass.).   The nominations are subject to approval of the United States Olympic Committee.

The U.S. team was very close to winning a medal at the 2010 Paralympics which has only increased their determination for success this time around.  Canada has won gold at the past two Paralympic Winter Games.

Round Robin play begins on March 8, 2013 with the U.S. team facing off against Canada, China, Finland, Great Britain, Korea, Norway, Russia, Slovakia, and Sweden. The top four teams will advance to the semifinals.

Interested in watching the action?  NBC and NBC Sports Network will be airing 50 hours of television coverage of the Sochi 2014 Paralympic Winter Games.  This unprecedented attention will be complimented by the live online coverage at TeamUSA.org.

It might be the holiday season but the Curling Club of Virginia can’t take a break from our favorite sport!  In fact, we will be curling every Saturday night until Christmas!