The week-long event is due to take place from February 6 to 13 at the Veterans Memorial Arena in the city, and follows this year's event in Philadelphia and a competition next year in Kalamazoo, Michigan. 

The event will feature the top 20 men's and women's teams competing for the one slot to represent the United States at the 2016 World Championships, and it will mark the first time any Florida venue has hosted a National Championship in the sport, 

Jacksonville bid for both the 2015 and 2016 events before being awarded the latter, and the choice is seen as a way to bring the sport to a part of the country not traditionally associated with curling.

Florida currently has one active curling club in Coral Springs, but it has been stressed that Jacksonville has a very enthusiastic fan base of people hoping to start a club in the area.

"This decision was made based upon a very strong bid from the various partners in Jacksonville, as well as many, many meetings between USA Curling and Jacksonville that have convinced all of us that this is a good move for many reasons," said the chief operating officer of USA Curling, Rick Patzke. 

"In the past year, curling has landed on island shores in Hawaii and drawn thousands of followers to the desert in Las Vegas.

"So the seeds are sown for this to be a strategic opportunity to both grow the sport and the National Championships in a welcoming environment."

The US endured a disappointing time in both the male and female events at Sochi 2014 ©Getty Images


Similar enthusiasm was conveyed by Jacksonville Mayor Alvin Brown as he celebrated the decision.

"We extend a warm welcome to a cool sport," he said.  

"Jacksonville has become a premier venue and destination for a wide range of major sporting events, and we're honoured to have the 2016 Curling National Championships in our city.''

With the Championships coming at the halfway point in the Olympic cycle between Sochi 2014 and Pyeongchang 2018, it will give a good indication over whether the fortunes of both the male and female teams have improved following disappointing performances in Sochi.

The men's team managed just two wins and finished ninth out of 10 in the round-robin stage, while the women finished bottom of the pile after mustering a solitary victory throughout their nine matches.

The last time the US won a medal in the sport was at Turin 2006, when Pete Fenson skippered the men's team to a bronze medal. 

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