Have you ever wanted to try something but never had the opportunity? Ever since seeing it on the Olympics, I’ve always been curious about curling and I’m so glad the Schenectady Curling Club welcomed me into their space.
I was trying to figure out how to explain curling after one time, instead, I turned to Wikipedia who says “Curling is a sport in which players slide stones on a sheet of ice toward a target area which is segmented into four concentric circles.” And, yeah, that’s it.
The Schenectady Curling Club was hosting a Learn to Curl clinic a few weeks ago and invited me to give it a try (you may have seen my live Instagram story posts). I didn’t realize how much went into this sport. It’s not just about throwing a rock down a bunch of ice and sweeping in front of it. There’s a ton of technique, skill, and thigh muscle there too.
To start, you put your feet in these (excuse the fact that I have zero recollection of the actual terms) rubber soles. They surround your foot so that you don’t slip so easily on the ice. Then, you put one foot against this rubber stopper and the other on a very slippery piece of plastic. A balancing handle in one hand and the rock in the other. Then, you lean back with your whole body squatting and let go while putting your leg down to glide across the ice. At some point (I never got that part down) you let go of the rock. That’s when the sweepers take over and hope to get your rock to the right place in the circles at the other end of the lane.
I’m sorry to the kind people at Schenectady Curling Club who are probably pulling their hair out at how I referenced things that probably have more official names.
Though the season has started, they will welcome new members at any time, according to their website. If this year doesn’t work for you, they host a Learn to Curl week every October at the beginning of the season. I recommend giving it a try!
I may have been an extreme beginner but we had a great time not just learning the game but playing the game together. There’s definitely a skill that you would learn the more you did it but I did make it into a circle my first time! Overall, we had a blast! If I didn’t just start a job and don’t yet have my schedule figured out, we probably would’ve joined the league. It’s a great activity for couples or friends to do together and perfect for people who may be intimidated by your regular sports. Try it out and Good Curling!
