Curling is an international sport dominated by teams from Canada and Northern Europe. But against all odds, two local men have swept themselves to national recognition by medaling in the 2025 USA Curling National Championships in Duluth, Minnesota.
Danny Casper was born and raised in Briarcliff Manor, and Andrew Stopera’s family moved there when he was just a baby. They grew up playing together in the Ardsley Curling Club and now live within a few miles of each other in Minnesota. “The Minneapolis-St. Paul area has become the hotbed for curling. Like me, Andrew moved out to Minnesota to follow his curling dreams, and I think being on a similar path has brought us closer” says Stopera.
Stopera’s Team Dropkin just won the National Championship by beating Team Casper 7-6, in a thriller that went down to the wire. “It is pretty cool that both of us went from growing up in New York together, to having a very real chance to go to the Olympics. … it’s practically all I think about” says Casper. Stopera adds, “It’s been special to have someone else from my hometown join me on this curling journey. To have two guys who come from the same place competing at this level is pretty cool and unique, and I think we do a pretty good job of putting aside our competitive differences once it’s over.”
According to World Curling, the earliest versions of the game date back to the 16th century, when it was played on frozen ponds and lochs in Northern Europe. But the first recognized curling clubs were formed in Scotland in the 19th century, and the first official rules were adopted by the Grand Caledonian Curling Club – in Edinburgh in 1838.
Every four years at the Winter Olympics curling fascinates audiences here in the United States. “It’s exciting to see how curling is growing in the U.S. It feels like we always have new clubs opening up, especially in places that are not typically cold weather sports hubs such as Charlotte, Nashville and San Francisco. It’s also been cool that curling has very slowly become a sport that most people recognize” says Stopera.
It’s a team sport, typically with four to a team, that’s played on ice using granite stones that are slid towards a target – known as a House. It’s estimated that more than 23,000 people in the U.S. participate, and there are 183 different clubs. And it’s been gaining in popularity here ever since Team USA won its first gold medal in Curling at the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics in South Korea.
“It is exciting seeing the sport grow in the U.S. I think from a new viewer’s perspective it is quite a lot to take in at first with all the different rules and strategies, but it is super easy for anyone to pick up and go play” says Caspar. But the most challenging part of the game is mental, according to Stopera, “Curling takes an immense amount of focus and technique so having doubts out there can really affect your performance. We work with a sports psychologist on our staff to make sure we remain confident and focused throughout because it can be easy to lose that at times.”
Casper and Stopera have been competing at the highest levels of curling for years. Casper won the Curtis Cup Sportsmanship award three different times at the U21 Junior National Championships, and he won Bronze Medals at the 2017 and 2019 U18 National Championships. And Stopera took the Silver at the 2017 World Junior Championships and placed 4th and 5th respectively in the 2018 and 2019 Championships.
Casper says they were both connected from the beginning, “Bill Stopera (Andrew’s dad) taught me most of what I know after my dad got me going into the sport. … and I was very lucky to have him around and he definitely played a massive part in molding me into the player that I am today.”
Bill was an accomplished curler himself. He was a U.S. Men’s National Champion in 2012 and placed third at the Olympic Trials for the 2014 Sochi Games. “The coach who helped me the most growing up was without a doubt my dad. Watching him have success when I was in high school showed me that I could be successful in curling as well” says Andrew. Stopera adds, “I think every young curler has Olympic aspirations and I’ve had them as long as I can remember.”
