Anyone wanting to learn curling has two opportunities in the coming weeks.
The Whitefish Curling Club has two Learn-to-Curl Nights on the horizon at Stumptown Ice Den, this Thursday and next Thursday starting at 7 p.m.
The Curling Club formed in 2009 and Beacon staff writer Myers Reece wrote about the organization earlier this year. The sport has a huge fanbase up north in Canada and the following in Whitefish has grown from the start. The Fall League will have 12 teams this year and will start Oct. 7. Visit www.whitefishcurling.com for more info.
Here’s the group’s press release:
The events will be hands-on opportunities for anyone interested in joining the club or just curious about the sport. Current club members will also have a chance to practice for the upcoming season.
According to club president Erik Illi, teams are being put together now for the Fall League starting October 7 and beginners are always welcome. The club fields 12 teams.
All equipment is supplied during the Learn-to-Curl Nights and the cost is $10 a person. The fee can be applied toward club membership dues. Participants should bring warm clothes and some sort of soft rubber athletic shoes.
The name curling comes from an old Scottish word for thunder since the stones make a similar sound when they slide down the ice. Coincidentally, the term curling also refers to the ability of players to cause the stones to curve down the ice like a curveball in baseball. The game is played on ice where 42 pound flat-bottomed granite stones with handles are slid toward target areas 146 feet apart. Members of a team use brooms to sweep the surface of the ice in the path of the stones to control speed and direction. There are four curlers per team. Stones that end up closer to the middle of the target than the other team’s closest stone each score a point. The game is an official Olympic sport.
What sets curling apart from other sports is its higher level of sportsmanship, Illi said. There are no referees so players call their own fouls and at the beginning of every match, the players shake hands and tell each other “Good curling.” It is also traditional for the winning team to buy the losing team a drink after the game and not the other way round. While it is still very competitive, the spirit of curling results in a more friendly atmosphere.