Curling is Cool and Cold but not Especially Hot

In case I needed any more reminders that we live in the north central region of the US, gerg took me to his Curling Club match in St. Paul on Sunday. I took photos of the team from IB (that's gerg's office).

Here's what I observed:

So basically curling is like bocce, except you slide a "stone" on ice, rather than rolling a ball through grass.

The "skip" (Andy Kruse) uses a broom to indicate where the person delivering should throw his/her stone.

Team members help the stone move along by sweeping the ice vigorously in front of the rock as it slides toward "the house".

Each team delivers 8 stones. They get one point for each rock that is closest to the center of the house if it is closer than the opposing teams' stones. After 12 rounds, whoever has the most points wins.

Curlers are serious about their sport. I heard many skips screaming "SWEEP! SWEEP! SWEEP!" as sweepers damn near gave themselves curling elbow.

Curlers don't wear sexy outfits. Roomie warmup gear is the favored apparel. Not that hot. Naturally, gerg was uber hot as usual...duh!

It's a male dominated sport, although there are women's teams, and I did see women playing.

Equipment includes slider shoes, a "broom", and the stone.

Some curling trivia: (from the internet and from me)

In the 2006 Olympics, half of the U.S. men's and women's curling teams hailed from the small Minnesota town of Bemidji, population 13,000. Hell yeah!

A front-end (lead or second) player will walk as far as 2 miles during an 8-end match.

The first America versus Canada curling match was held on Lake Erie.

Founded in 1888, the St. Paul Curling Club is the largest curling club in the country.

Curling is one of four winter Olympic sports contested indoors. The other three are hockey, figure skating, and speed skating.

You can watch curling from a warmed viewers area at the St Paul Curling Club. Check it out sometime!

Check out my photos from the event.