Curling: A Winter Sport for the Ages

Have you ever considered pushing a 44-pound granite stone down a rectangular sheet of ice with a broom? Then you should consider watching or playing the sport of curling. More specifically, the sport is played on a rectangular sheet of ice that measures 42.07 meters long and 4.28 meters wide. There are targets at both ends of this sheet called “the house.” The ice is also treated with drops of water that freeze and create pebbles so the ice is textured, allowing the granite stone to move in a more controlled way.

Curling teams consist of two teams of four. Their two main pieces of equipment are brooms and shoes. There are two kinds of brooms: a brush or “push broom” and a “Canadian broom” with long straw bristles. Curling shoes are not created equal, one is a gripping shoe and one is a sliding shoe. Curling has been an Olympic sport since 1924 and, in 2018, mixed doubles will be introduced to an Olympic curling competition for the first time.

Curling is not the easiest sport to play as a layperson, but it is possible. There are curling clubs across the United States. These clubs offer lessons and friendly competition. If you are looking for a more casual environment, there may be a beer garden or bar that offers curling during the winter season like the Kaiser Tiger in Chicago. But first things first, you may want to watch a match or two this February during the 2018 Games!