Getting Into the Olympic Spirit with Curling

I love the Olympics and rooting for Team USA. During the Winter Olympics, Curling is one of the sports that I've always been fascinated with watching, but I never really understood how the game was played. Well today, thanks to the Durham Sports Commission and the Triangle Curling Club, I got the opportunity to get out on the ice to learn about the game and how to play.

As much fun as it was to learn the sport and try to play the game. It quickly became very clear that it is a physical and strategic sport. In a nutshell, curling is a 4-player team sport where each player tries to shoot two stones each into the scoring area called "the house". Taking turns with the opposition, players must shoot the stones down a sheet of ice 150-feet long, and each stone closer to the center of the house than the opposing team's stones scores one point. While one player is shooting, two other players are "the sweepers", sweeping in front of the stone to help it reach its intended target. The fourth player, "the skip", is positioned down by the house and helps call the strategies for the shooter.

If you want to try curling, or are interested in watching upcoming events like the USWCA National Bonspiel, visit trianglecurling.com. They offer programs for all ages.

Thanks to today, I'm looking forward even more to watching this sport during the Winter Olympics. Go Team USA!