Furthest North 5 & Under Qualifier Bonspiel

The Fairbanks Curling Club started hosting this annual 5 & Under National qualifier in 2023. We have thoroughly enjoyed hosting teams from around the country and are thilled to provide Alaskan curlers a chance to compete at a National-style event.

You heard it, 5 & Under; but we don't mean under 5 years old! This bonspiel is for teams who want to compete for a chance to qualify for the 5 & Under National Championships, a 'USA Curling' sponsored event for curlers who have 5 or less years of curling experience.

We hope to keep hosting this event into the future in order to promote 5U curling in Fairbanks and Alaska as a whole, as well as attract out-of-town teams to curl in the Last Frontier!

The 2026 Furthest North 5 & Under Bonspiel is scheduled to be January 15-18, 2026! We have extended this spiel to Thur-Sun to spread out games and give travelling teams opportunities to explore Alaska between matches. Cost: $500/team

Registration cost includes:

5-game guarantee, several meals, discounted merch, and other potential extras!

We will be live-streaming games on our FCC Youtube Channel! Links will be shared before the event.

Furthest North 5 & Under Bonspiel Format:

• 18 team limit - may fill up fast!
• 3 pools of 6 teams
• Timed games (30 min of 'Thinking Time' for each team)
• 'No Tick Rule' in effect
• LSD shots before each game - to determine hammer and count towards DSC scores (tiebreakers in pool play)
• No broomhead restrictions ("legal" broom head covers are mandatory at National Championship events)
• Round Robin play within each pool (5 pool play games per team) and pools determined by peer seeding process
• Top 2 teams from each pool move onto the playoffs. Top 2 teams with best records will have a BYE into the semifinals. Quarterfinals are 3rd seed vs 6th seed overall, and 4th seed vs 5th seed overall. Winner of 3v6 plays the #1 seed in Semifianl #1, and the winner of 4v5 plays the #2 seed in Semifinal #2

Anticipated Schedule:

Thursday:

Morning: All-team meeting + brunch

Afternoon: Practice sessions. Possibility of one game per team Thur afternoon - schedule depending.

Evening: Regular FCC leagues will run as planned (5:30-9:30pm). Free to watch. Bar will be open! Possible 5U social event and/or other planned activities.

Friday: 

All day: Round robin games. 2 games per team.

Evening: Regular FCC leagues will run as planned (5:30-9:30pm).

Dinner Fundraiser for the FCC Junior Curler Program

Saturday:

All day: Round robin games. 2 games per team.

Evening: Alaskan Potluck dinner (Free for curlers!)

Sunday:

Morning: Quarterfinals

Afternoon: Semifinals and Finals (finals may start as late as 6pm -this is TBD)

The winning team of the Furthest North 5U will earn a spot at the 5 & Under National Championships that will be held in April 2026 in Seattle at the Granite Curling Club.

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