PRESENTS THE 14TH ANNUAL

ROCKY TOP OPEN BONSPIELKNOXVILLE, TENNESSEE JUNE 7-9, 2019

INFORMATION FOR PARTICIPANTS

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CONTENTS

Rocky Top Open – Curlin’, Tennessee-style!................................................................................................3

Fundraising Raffle.........................................................................................................................................3

Travel Information........................................................................................................................................4

Getting to and around Knoxville...............................................................................................................4

Accommodations......................................................................................................................................4

PRELIMINARY SCHEDULE..............................................................................................................................5

GOLDLINE POPUP SHOP...............................................................................................................................6

OFF ICE.........................................................................................................................................................7

Bearden Beer Market...............................................................................................................................7

McKAY’s Books.........................................................................................................................................7

Knoxville Tourist Destinations..................................................................................................................7

Special Thanks to our Sponsors:

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ROCKY TOP OPEN – CURLIN’, TENNESSEE-STYLE!

Congratulations on securing a spot at the highly anticipated Rocky Top Open Bonspiel! We are in the midst of planning yet another great bonspiel. From our professionally-made ice to our southern style banquet and live bluegrass music, we work hard to make this a memorable weekend. We love throwing a great party (with a little curling, of course) and glad you’ll be coming to join us this year. For those that have been here before, welcome back! For those attending for the first time, we’re excited to meet new folks and show off our small but enthusiastic club. For everyone, we THANK YOU for supporting our club – the raffle and other fundraisers happening during the bonspiel are a primary source of support for the Great Smoky Mountains Curling Club, allowing us to continue promoting the sport of curling in East Tennessee.

In this information package, we’ve tried to provide all the information you’ll need for getting here, getting around, and making the most of your time in Knoxville. If you have further questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us by email (bonspiel@curlknoxville.com), Facebook (“Smoky Mountain Curling”), or through our webpage (www.CurlKnoxville.com). Check our website for updates to draw times.

FUNDRAISING RAFFLE

Our raffle will be held during the Saturday evening banquet. This is our main fundraiser for the Great Smoky Mountains Curling Club. We would greatly appreciate it if each rink could donate and item or two for the raffle. Every year a couple rinks ask what or how much they should bring – we’ve had donations of prizes ranging from $20 to priceless (e.g. unique homemade arts and crafts, autographed brooms and pictures, unique events or experiences etc.). We appreciate it all!

If you need ideas, here are some of the common donations we receive:

Curling brooms (sometimes autographed!)

Apparel from your curling club

Items representing your home town/state/province e.g. local beer or wine, sports apparel, delicacies; whatever your hometown is famous for! Baskets with a selection are always welcome.

Unique crafts or homemade items. Some of our past favorites include home-grown honey, beautiful curling stained glass, a handmade GSMCC crokinole board and unique screen printed t-shirts.

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TRAVEL INFORMATION

GETTING TO AND AROUND KNOXVILLE

By air: Fly into Knoxville via McGhee Tyson airport, which is a quick 20 minute drive from the Ice Chalet. Seven airlines fly here: Delta, United, Continental, America Eagle, US Air, Allegiant,

By wheels: Knoxville is located at the junction of I-40 and I-75. Greyhound and Megabus stop here.

Curling and all meals (except the banquet) will be at the Ice Chalet (100 Lebanon St., Knoxville, TN 37919).

Banquet: The Saturday evening banquet will be at the Concord Yacht Club (11600 S Northshore Dr Knoxville, TN 37922) If you would prefer not to drive....Uber and Lyft rides are plentiful in Knoxville! - Dress is casual for the banquet.

Here’s a map of these along with hotels, the airport, local restaurants etc.

ACCOMMODATIONS

Hilton Garden Inn - $99 / King or 2 Queen without breakfast; Breakfast tickets are available (optional) at the reduced price of $13 each - up to 4 per roomREFERENCE CODE: GREAT SMOKY MOUNTAINS CURLING CLUB216 Peregrine Way - just 2 doors down from Tennessee TaphouseKnoxville, TN 37922(865)690-6511

Red Roof Plus - $64.99 / King or 2 Queen with breakfastREFERENCE CODE: GREAT SMOKY MOUNTAINS CURLING CLUB208 Market Place Blvd - just a few doors down from the Hilton Garden Inn & Tennessee Taphouse)Knoxville, TN 37922(865) 691-1664

Courtyard by Marriott, Bearden - $114 / Std King; $119 / Std 2 Queen (no breakfast)REFERENCE CODE: ICE CHALETLink to Reservation Site: Reserve at the Courtyard Marriott250 Brookview Centre Way,Knoxville, TN 37919(865)690-7690

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PRELIMINARY SCHEDULE

Thursday, June 7Kickoff party: Informal pub gathering at Carolina Ale House 7:00 PM – lateFor those teams arriving by Thursday night, come on down to Tennessee Tap House for an informal gathering of bonspielers – A chance to kick off the weekend with some beverages and socializing. Carolina Ale House (9045 Kingston Pike) is located close to the Hilton Garden Inn and the Red Roof Plus.

Friday, June 8 Registration opens 7:15 AMFirst and second draw 8:15 AM, 10:30 AMLunch Third and fourth draw 1:00 PM, 3:15 PM Dinner Evening draws 6:00 PM, 8:15 PMFriday Evening – Ice Chalet: Backporch Pickers playing bluegrass tunes to keep your toes tapping.

Saturday, June 9Continental Breakfast Morning draws 8:15, 10:30 AMLunch Afternoon draws 1:00, 3:15 PMSaturday Evening - Banquet at Concord Yacht Club Cocktails 6:30 PMDinner 7:30 PMRaffle 9:00 PMMusic 6:30 – 11:00 PMFeaturing Dusty and his “VolHauler” Big Orange Tailgate wagon, cooking up some BBQ favorites, along with Monroeville playing awesome Bluegrass music for us once again.Dress is casual – expect a laid-back evening of music and some good Southern eats (more BBQ)! Our raffle will be held after dinner – teams that have attended in the past: we WILL be streamlining the raffle this year to allow more time to enjoy the Bluegrass music by the fantastic band Monroeville.

Sunday, June 10Hot Breakfast Semifinal draws 8:15, 10:30 AMLunch Finalists piped onto Ice 1:15 PMFinal draw 1:30 PMPresentation of Awards 3:45 pmNotes:

All curling and meals will be at the Ice Chalet EXCEPT Saturday evening (at Concord Yacht Club).

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Beer, wine, and pop/soda/coke will be provided throughout the weekend. Due to license restrictions we cannot sell or provide liquor, however you may bring your own to the club.

GOLDLINE POPUP SHOP

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Debbie McCormick will be visiting the Rocky Top Bonspiel with the Goldline Pop Up Shop. The Shop has a variety of curling shoes, brooms, gloves, sliders, stabilizers, replacement broom pads, clothing, novelty items and much more! You will have the opportunity to try on items and ask any questions about equipment you may have. Come see what the Pro’s use!

- A percentage of sales will be given to the Great Smoky Mountains Curling Club.

Store Hours:

June 7: 10:00am – 2:00pm & 4:00pm – 8:00pm

June 8: 10:00am – 4:00pm

June 9: 10:00am – 2:00pm

4 X Olympian and World Champion – Debbie McCormickCell Phone: 608+212-6047

Email: curling@usa.com

OFF ICE

Wondering what to do between draws, or when you find yourself out after 3 games because your skip can’t seem to find his draw weight? Here are some ideas:

BEARDEN BEER MARKET

The Bearden Beer Market owners were obviously thinking ahead when they opened right across the street from the Ice Chalet. So when you need a break from the ice, pop across the street to enjoy a pint of beer in the garden, peruse the 400+ beers and ciders from around the world, or start up a game of ping pong, cornhole, bocce, or giant Jenga.

MCKAY’S BOOKS

McKay’s might just be the best used bookstore you’ve ever seen. They are a fast-paced, high-volume, one-of-a-kind shopping destination for people who

love books, music, movies, and video games.

KNOXVILLE TOURIST DESTINATIONS

If you get a chance to venture out, Knoxville has a variety of things to see and do. Here’s some suggestions and links to get you started on planning your trip:

TN tourism webpage: http://www.tnvacation.com/ http://knoxville.com

Local events: Local paper Knoxville Mercury will tell you want’s on http://www.knoxmercury.com/

Get downtown: Market Square near downtown Knoxville is a central collection of pubs, restaurants and stores http://knoxvillemarketsquare.com/

Get outdoors: Ijams Nature Center is just down the street from Alliance. Go for an easy walk by the river, take a canopy ropes tour with Navitat, rent a boat or SUP and paddle the quarry, climb the crag, or explore the 50+ miles of hiking and biking trails that make up Knoxville’s Urban Wilderness http://ijams.org/

If you want to venture further out, Great Smoky Mountains National Park is about a 45 minute drive from Knoxville, and well worth the trip! http://www.nps.gov/grsm/

Golf: Knoxville has some great golf courses, so bring your sticks! You can find a listing of courses here: http://www.golflink.com/golf-courses/city.aspx?dest=Knoxville+tn

Boating: There’s no shortage of lakes and rivers around here! Rent a pontoon boat from Concord Marina or Fort Loudoun Marina if you want to spend some time on the water. http://www.fortloudonmarina.com/Leisure_Time_Rentals.html

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