Eric Fenson (born May 6, 1971, in

Bemidji Bemidji ( ) is a city and the county seat of Beltrami County, in northern Minnesota, United States. The population was 14,574 at the 2020 census. According to 2022 census estimates, the city is estimated to have a population of 15,946, makin ...

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

) is an American curler. He lives in Bemidji and curls out of the

Bemidji Curling Club The Bemidji Curling Club is a curling club located in the city of Bemidji, Minnesota. It is notable for its long line of champions in many competitions, including men's and women's rinks which represented the United States in the 2005 World Cur ...

. He is a former national champion, and skips his own team.

Career

Fenson began curling at the age of ten. He was a state junior champion and state champion, and competed in the United States Men's Junior Curling Championship, finishing third in 1990 and winning the championship in 1991 and 1992. He won a bronze medal at the

1991 World Junior Curling Championships The 1991 World Junior Curling Championships were held from March 9 to 17 in Glasgow, Scotland. Men Teams Round Robin Tiebreaker Playoffs Rankings Women Teams Round Robin Playoffs Rankings Awards WJCC All-Star Team: WJCC Sp ...

, which he was named 1991 USCA Male Athlete of the Year for, and finished fifth in

1992 1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. * January 6 ** The Republ ...

. He appeared at his first national men's championship in 1996, and participated in the 1998, 1999 and 2001 national championships, with his best finish as a semifinalist in 1999. In 2003, with his brother

Pete Pete or Petes or ''variation'', may refer to: People * Pete (given name) * Pete (nickname) * Pete (surname) Fictional characters * Pete (Disney), a cartoon character in the ''Mickey Mouse'' universe * Pete the Pup (a.k.a. 'Petey'), a characte ...

skipping, Fenson won the national championship and participated in the 2003 Ford World Men's Curling Championship, finishing eighth. The next year, his team finished as runners-up in the nationals to

Jason Larway Jason Larway (born March 23, 1970) is an American curler from Lynnwood, Washington. He is a and a four-times United States men's curling champion (1989, 1992, 2001, 2004). In addition to representing the United States at the , winning the Nat ...

. Fenson then left his brother's team and joined

Scott Baird Scott Baird (born May 7, 1951) is an American curler. At 54, he is the oldest American athlete to ever participate in the Winter Olympics, which he did at the 2006 Winter Olympics. Despite this feat, Baird was only the alternate for Pete Fenson ...

. With his new team, he participated in the 2005 United States Olympic Curling Trials, finishing fifth. In 2010, he joined Mike Farbelow to participate in the nationals, and finished as a runner-up. Fenson, under Farbelow, then attempted to qualify for the nationals in 2011, but did not advance past the Challenge Round. Fenson then formed his own team, and made it through the

qualifying rounds Qualification may refer to: Processes * Qualifications-Based Selection (QBS), a competitive contract procurement process established by the United States Congress * Process qualification, ensures that manufacturing and production processes can ...

of the 2012 National Championships, qualifying for the nationals via the Challenge Round.

Personal life

Fenson graduated from

Bemidji State University Bemidji State University (BSU) is a public university in Bemidji, Minnesota, United States. Founded as a preparatory institution for teachers in 1919, it provides higher education to north-central Minnesota. It is part of the Minnesota State Coll ...

with a bachelor's degree in business administration. Fenson owns a carpet and upholstery cleaning company. Fenson is married and has two children, Riley and Kylen. He enjoys golf, fishing, travelling, and spending time with his family. His brother,

Pete Fenson Peter Fenson (born February 29, 1968, in Bemidji, Minnesota) is an American curler. He was the skip of the men's rink that represented the United States at the 2006 Winter Olympics, where they won the bronze medal, the first Olympic medal for t ...

, is a curler known for winning the bronze medal at the

2006 Winter Olympics The 2006 Winter Olympics (), officially the XX Olympic Winter Games () and also known as Torino 2006, were a winter multi-sport event held from 10 to 26 February in Turin, Italy. This marked the second time Italy had hosted the Winter O ...

Teams

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fenson, Eric 1971 births Living people Sportspeople from Bemidji, Minnesota American male curlers American curling champions Continental Cup of Curling participants 20th-century American sportsmen