Ben Richardson, the Issaquah-raised Olympic curler, remembers the first time he ever talked to Team USA teammate Luc Violette from Lake Stevens.
It was the summer of 2013 in Seattle. Richardson and Violette, both 14 at the time, piled into the back seat of Violette’s parents’ car, en route to Vancouver to hunt down a curling club that still had ice for them to practice on despite the heat.
Richardson was nervous. He had just picked up curling the year before, whereas Violette was already a seasoned veteran, born into the sport as the son of two-time national champion (1990, 1992) Tom Violette.
“I was thinking, ‘I don’t know what to say to this new person, so I’m just going to show him a cool YouTube video, and hopefully he thinks I’m cool,’” Richardson said about the car ride.
He played Violette a video of “epic fails” on his phone, and it worked.
“I’m sure I thought he was cool,” Violette said with a chuckle.
It wasn’t just a friendship that blossomed out of that road trip, but also a lifelong partnership on the ice that has now landed them both in Milan Cortina for their Olympics debut at the 2026 Winter Games.
“I met Luc and his dad, Tom, and they both took me under their wings and taught me everything they knew,” Richardson said. “We just kept going from there.”
Richardson, now 27, and Violette, 26, are two of five members for Team Casper, the men’s curling rink representing Team USA at the Winter Olympics. The remaining three teammates — Danny Casper, 24; Aidan Oldenburg, 24; and Rich Ruohonen, 54 — hail from Minnesota, where Team Casper is now permanently based.
Violette, the team’s third (throwing position), and Richardson, the second, have been playing together consistently for the past 10 years. They joined forces with their skip Casper in 2022 at the beginning of this Olympic cycle and their lead Oldenburg in 2024 for a chance at Olympic qualification.
The team brought on Ruohonen as an alternate halfway through last season. Should Ruohonen see action, he will become the oldest American to compete in a Winter Olympics in any medal sport.
Richardson and Violette grew up practicing at the Granite Curling Club near Haller Lake, but would travel all over the country for competitions, winning silver together while repping Team USA at the 2016 Youth Winter Olympics and at the 2017 world junior men’s curling championships.
Their familiarity on the ice has become something of its own language and highly advantageous for Team Casper’s competitions.
“Ben and I, especially when we are sweeping for each other, are really good at being able to read the way that we each threw the rock, which is a big part of sweeping,” Violette said. “And when we’re sweeping together for Aidan’s rocks, that communication has been built up for so long. It definitely comes more easily than with the other guys.”
Added Richardson: “When you’re throwing a rock, you can do the tiniest little thing with your hand when you let go, and it’ll add, say, three to four feet of weight. Most people wouldn’t be able to tell that if you’re just watching it, but because I’ve played with Luc for so long, I’m able to watch him throw and see those really small details in his release and be like, ‘Oh, he just added three to four feet.’”
Their synchronization was integral in Team Casper’s tough road to Milan Cortina.
The rink first had to dethrone Team Shuster in November at the U.S. Team Trials, ousting the team who has qualified for five straight Winter Olympics and holds the nation’s lone goal medal in the event (Pyeongchang 2018).
Team Casper then bested Team Xu (China) in the Olympic Qualification Event in Kelowna, Canada in December to solidify their debut.
As if qualifying for the Olympic Games isn’t hard enough on its own, Richardson and Violette both have full time jobs. Richardson is a Renewal Operations Analyst for a software company, and Violette, who graduated from UW in 2021, is a civil design engineer.
“We have a routine,” Richardson. “If we’re staying at a hotel, we’ll go down to the lobby earlier in the day and just log onto our jobs with our laptops and work until we have to go play a game.”
Fortunately, they both get some time off while competing on the grand stage.
“Thankfully, it’s a pretty reasonable excuse to take some time off,” Richardson added. “It’s a pretty good reason for your PTO to get approved.”
Richardson, Violette and the rest of Team Casper begin competing Wednesday at the Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium. They are ranked sixth in the world as of Tuesday, according to World Curling, and vying for a spot on the podium.
“We know we’re capable of it,” Richardson said. “I mean, obviously, we are there to enjoy the experience. If you look at the world rankings, we’re not the No. 1 ranked team going into it, but curling is really all about what teams get hot at the right time. This past year, we’ve gotten hot at the right times consistently. We’re not just there to enjoy the ride, we’re there to win and give it all we got.”
Here is Team Casper’s full game schedule. All will broadcast on NBC and stream live on Peacock.
Wednesday, Feb. 11: vs. Czechia, 10:05 a.m. PT
Thursday, Feb. 12: vs. Switzerland, 5:05 a.m. PT
Friday, Feb. 13: vs. Canada, 12 a.m. PT
Saturday, Feb. 14: vs. Germany, 5:05 a.m. PT
Saturday, Feb. 14: vs. Germany, 10 a.m. PT
Sunday, Feb. 15: vs. Sweden, 12:05 a.m. PT
Sunday, Feb. 15: vs. Sweden, 8 a.m. PT
Sunday, Feb. 15: vs. Norway, 10:05 a.m. PT
Sunday, Feb. 15: vs. Norway, 5 p.m. PT
Tuesday, Feb. 17: vs. China, 12:05 a.m. PT
Tuesday, Feb. 17: vs. China, 3 a.m. PT
Tuesday, Feb. 17: vs. Italy, 10:05 a.m. PT
Tuesday, Feb. 17: vs. Italy, 6:30 p.m. PT
Wednesday, Feb. 18: vs. Great Britain, 5:05 a.m. PT
The men’s semifinals take place on Feb. 19. The bronze final will be on Feb. 20, and the gold medal game happens on Feb. 21.
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