Social Media Strategist by Day, Curler by Night

03.04.2010

EMA's Matt Hames to Compete in National Curling Championship

BUFFALO, NY — Social media expert Matt Hames of Eric Mower and Associates (EMA) Buffalo office is hitting the road this Friday — and it's not on business. Hames and three teammates from the New York City area are heading to Kalamazoo, Mich., to compete among the nation's best at the 2010 USA Curling National Championship.

From March 6 to March 13, Hames and teammates Dean Gemmell, Martin Sather and Bill Stopera will face off at Wings Stadium against three of the four previous men's champions and the Bronze medalist from the 2006 Olympic Games.

“First and foremost, my teammates and I plan to enjoy ourselves, relax, and try to play well for the week,” said Hames. “Most of the elite curlers live in the Midwest, so for a team from the East to win, it would be special. Either way, it's an honor to play against so many phenomenal athletes and we hope to do the sport of curling justice.”

Curling is a team sport where stones are slid across a sheet of ice toward a target area called the “house.” The sport recently gained popularity and became an official Olympic game in 1998 at the Nagano Winter games. According to CNBC, there are approximately 1.3 million curling players worldwide. The 2010 Olympic Curling games in Vancouver, British Columbia drew nearly 1.8 million viewers on CNBC alone. This weekend's USA Curling Nationals are expected to draw crowds of nearly 3,500 spectators.

At EMA, Hames provides counsel and expert social media advice to a number of EMA's regional and national clients including, Remington®, Bojangles' Famous Chick ?N Biscuits, Majestic Steel USA, Epsom Salt, Labatt USA and Mattel.

To learn more about the 2010 USA Curling National Championship click, here.