Fan of the Month: Emma Ragauskas
Emma Ragauskas member of the Atlanta CC.
About Emma
From: Atlanta, Georgia
Home Club: Atlanta Curling Club
Occupation: Account/Program Manager
Years Curling: 3 years
Question (Q): What has been your favorite Curler Outreach webinar?
Emma Ragauskas (ER): So far, my favorite has been the Social Media Marketing webinar. I was able to take away so many useful things to help our club, and it also helped me in my professional role. It was wonderful to hear what makes a successful social media campaign and the tips/tricks to build your platforms and audiences.
Q: Do you have any special roles at your club, or leagues/spiels you regularly enjoy?
ER: I am on the board of directors at the Atlanta Curling Club (ACC). Within that group, I am the league coordinator and compile our monthly newsletter. COVID-19 has really impacted ACC’s ability to host leagues, but we’ve managed to hold monthly pick-up nights since Oct 2020 and hope to be back to our normal Friday leagues in March. (As an arena club we only have ice time once a week.) I also participate in Sunday pick-up at the Peachtree Curling Association.
Like any southeastern curler, I love going to spiels at the Charlotte Curling Club. I also enjoy traveling and have gotten to see a variety of locations in the southeast and even west coast while traveling for work.
Q: How did you find curling?
ER: I had moved back to Atlanta after grad school and was trying to find a way to meet people. I had probably seen curling on the news (it was 2018 after all) and thought "that sounds like something Atlanta would be odd enough to have", and low and behold it was. I signed up for a “learn and league” at ACC and honestly almost chickened out because I couldn’t find someone to try it with me. After about 10 minutes at learn-to-curl, I was laughing so hard and having more fun than I could’ve ever expected and I just never left.
The people are really what make curling special for me. I love the family it brings, and the competition and athletic camaraderie really just seal the deal. I don’t know what I would do without the amazing people I’ve met in the past few years. Being around so many people who just want to help and have fun is a truly inspiring thing.
Q: Best moment of curling in your life- on or off the ice.
ER: So far my favorite memory would be the Elisabeth Childs Challenge in Atlanta, GA in 2020. It was one of the last spiels before the world went topsy turvy, but it was also the first time I skipped in a bonspiel, and I also had an amazing team to play with. Meeting and playing against so many amazing women curlers was just great, I can’t wait until we’re able to do that again.
Emma and her team pose on the ice.
Q: Do you have any personal curling goals for the future?
ER: Falling less would always be a great thing, but I would certainly like to continue to further develop my understanding of the tactical side of the game and become more comfortable making calls.
Q: Especially in these uncertain times, what does being a curler mean to you?
ER: It’s been one of the few constants for me. The people will always be what brings me back to curling, and they are also what has gotten me through 2020 (and looks like 2021). I have met people who are willing to help each other with just about anything through curling, and having such a wide group of people to just talk and relate to is invaluable to me.
Q: Anything else you'd like folks to know- about yourself, your club, or something else?
ER: I have an excessively cute dog named Jefferson (Jeff for short) and cat named Daisy. Outside of curling, I’m really just a giant geek. I love to read (mostly history, biographies, and fantasy). I also play trombone.
As for the Atlanta Curling Club, we just hit our 10-year anniversary last year (what a year for that, huh?). Once things get back to normal, we play and host learn-to-curl classes on Friday nights in Duluth, Georgia. You can follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or our website to stay up to date on all of our leagues and social (or socially distant) activities.