 Well, maybe you've seen it in the Olympics and now you could see it in person. Because the U-18 curling national championships are set to take center ice, but mid-year later this week, boys and girls teams from all over the country will battle it out for a gold medal. Even though rocks have been sliding for years, the U-18 level is still very new. In only its second year as part of the USCA, it's sweeping its way to the curling capital of the United States. Minnesota has always been some of the toughest curling. It's set out there to make it out of Minnesota is to make it out of the national turf. From Wednesday to Sunday, the national championships will take over the Bemidji Curling Club, a place known for success. You look on the one side of the club and we have state champions. You go to the other side of the club, we've got national champions and we even have Olympic, if not world champions. The field of teams ranges from Oregon to Massachusetts to all over the Midwest, but the event in a way brings together the curling family. It would be really cool to have just the 12 different teams from around the nation coming. It's very nice to, a lot of these teams have played against them before, so it's kind of like a curling family that you have. Of the 24 teams, four consist of Bemidji athletes, two boys and two girls who are excited to show off the level of competition to the area. I think it's really great for the community to open them up to competitive curling, not so much just league and all that other stuff, but I think it's really great advantage for us. It's really nice because you'll have more spectators to come. It's also nice to have home field advantage, knowing the ice a little better and the rocks how they run. One of the Bemidji teams even features the 2017 U18 gold medalist as Leah Yovaro gets to defend her title on home ice. It gives me a little extra confidence. It also gives me a little bit of pressure, knowing that hoping to succeed that well again this year, but I think there's quite a bit of confidence going into it. But when it's all said and done, every team has their eyes on the prize. Our goal is to take home gold. Making the playoffs and then from there on, a couple more and we'll win the whole thing. So here's a look at the schedule starting Wednesday. Practice is the first couple of days. Opening ceremonies Wednesday night, then pool play begins Thursday to Saturday. The semis and finals taking place Sunday morning and afternoon. All fans are welcome for more information. You can find on the website U18 nationals2018.com. If you enjoyed this segment of Lakeland news, please consider making a tax deductible contribution to Lakeland PBS.