ANDERSON, Ind. (WISH) — The Circle City Curling Club is welcoming some of the sport’s best from across the country to Madison County.

The club is hosting USA Curling’s Senior Women’s National Championship through the weekend. The competition started on Wednesday.

Eight teams, all made up of women over 50 years old, will compete in a round robin with the top four teams advancing to the semifinals.

The winning team will qualify for the World Senior Curling Championships to be held in Sweden this April.

Aaron Kaylor, event director with USA Curling, says it should be a competitive weekend.

“You have…that added pressure of playing for a national championship,” Kaylor said. “The winner here is going to put the flag on and represent us at the world championship, which is a really cool opportunity.”

One of the curlers, Gaby Bruce, is on a team out of the Seattle-based Granite Curling Club.

This is her first time competing for a national title. She says participating at the senior level has been a great experience.

“I was never an athlete as a child,” Bruce said. “I feel like ‘Hey, it’s my moment. So I’m gonna grab it.’ These folks have been putting on such a wonderful event so far. It’s the fastest ice I’ve ever curled on. And it’s just lovely to see that so many women are coming out here.”

The senior men already got their chance for the honor earlier this month at the Heather Curling Club in Mapleton, Minnesota.

Central Indiana curling fans founded CCCC in 2007. The club was fairly nomadic, calling five different facilities home before settling in Anderson with a curling-specific rink in 2022.

Member Matt James says when USA Curling asked for venues, the club jumped at the opportunity to host one of its events.

“This is great for us. It was a very long road getting here,” James said. “This is a little bit of our way to give back to the rest of the curling community. Also, kind of to announce ourself that, ‘Hey, there’s curling in central Indiana and we’re here to stay and we’re going to make a go at this.’”

Spectators can watch the matches for free, but the club asks people to reserve a spot online before heading out.

CCCC will also stream the matches live on its YouTube channel.

Visit the Circle City Curling Club website to learn more or sign up for a league.