You step onto the elongated “sheet” of ice, which is twice the size of a bowling alley, push off from a “hack,” then “slide” your “stone” with a “broom” and “lay it up just past the hog line.” Huh? What kind of game are you playing? Is it shuffleboard on ice? No, like more than one million people worldwide, you are curling.
A subtle game, curling probably had its beginnings on a frozen lake (loch) somewhere in Scotland more than 400 years ago. By the 1700s curling had become Scotland’s national pastime, and many curling clubs were established in that country, with numerous rules for curlers to heed. These rules included no wagering, swearing, or political discussions while curling, in addition to detailed instructions for sweeping the 42-pound granite stone which, today, looks like a tea kettle, across the “keen” ice. During the French and Indian War, Scottish soldiers brought curling to North America.
Today, particularly in the icy Midwest, curling clubs have sprung up, as has enthusiasm for the sport. Just ask residents of Mapleton, “the curling capital of southern Minnesota.” They’ll tell you how they drive for hours, in bad weather, to attend curling tournaments, called “bonspiels.” In Canada, curling is nearly akin to ice hockey in its number of supporters.
Clearly, curling has come a long way from its meager beginnings. In fact, in 1998 it officially became an Olympic sport. That year, in Nagano, Japan, the Canadian women’s curling team vanquished Denmark to take the gold medal. Curling’s popularity continues to grow in the United States. In fact, our nation’s largest curling club, in St. Paul, Minnesota, now boasts 700 members. In an age of raucous sports, with celebrity athletes and inflated salaries, curling remains a game of manners, a kind of chess on ice.