Inspired to try your hand at curling?

Bonnie Morris
Posted 1/25/18

TRIUMPH – Ever since its addition to the 1998 Winter Olympics, curling has continued to grow in popularity.

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Inspired to try your hand at curling?

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Waltham Curling Club Junior Team members, left to right, Mae Hagenbuch, Genevieve Salander, Bella Hagenbuch and Max Salander, came in third in the “developmental division with previous bonspiel experience” at a recent Juniors Bonspiel in Portage, Wis. Membership in the Waltham Curling Club is open to everyone ages 8 and up. (Photo contributed)

TRIUMPH – Ever since its addition to the 1998 Winter Olympics, curling has continued to grow in popularity. With next month’s television broadcast of curling events at the Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea, interest in the centuries-old winter sport is expected to grow even more.

Luckily for local residents who feel the urge to give this unique sport a try, that opportunity is just a stone’s throw away. The Waltham Curling Club in Triumph is inviting the public to visit their facility, get on the ice and learn for themselves what the sport is all about.

Two open house sessions have been scheduled. The first will take place on Friday evening, Feb. 23 from 5–9 p.m. This will be a free session open to all individuals age 8 and above. This session will be held on a first-come, first-served basis, but the club will attempt to get all attendees some amount of instruction and ice-time. The amount of ice-time will be subject to the number of people attending.

Then on Saturday, Feb. 24 an all-day open house event will run from 9 a.m.–9 p.m. with pre-registration available. The cost on Saturday will be $5 for a 45-minute reserved session. Each session is limited to 24 individuals and registration is available online at www.walthamcurling.org. Advance registration and payment are required on Saturday. Registered guests will receive instruction and have the opportunity to play.

All of the necessary equipment will be provided at the open house events. Participants should bring a separate pair of CLEAN, rubber-soled shoes (must be clean and free of rocks, pebbles, mud, dirt, ice melt and other debris) and wear layered, loose-fitting clothing.

Additional activities may be scheduled as specific Olympic curling events and TV schedules are released.

Curling in the Olympics

Believed to be one of the world’s oldest team sports, curling appeared at the very first Winter Olympic Games in 1924 but did not become part of the official program until many decades later. Although men’s curling returned as a demonstration sport at the 1932 games in Lake Placid, the sport subsequently had a long absence due to the lack of an international curling organization. After formation of the International Curling Federation in the 1960s, it took a few more decades for curling to again be included at the Olympics.

Men’s and women’s curling finally reappeared as a demonstration sport at the 1988 and 1992 Games. Then in 1998, men’s and women’s curling was added to the official program for the Nagano, Japan Olympic Games.

Curling teams are comprised of four players, a lead, a second, a third and a skip. All four team members shoot – or deliver – two rocks, alternating with the other team. Similar in some respects to shuffleboard, players slide their stones along the ice aiming for a goal at the far end. Unlike shuffleboard, however, a turn of the handle on the stone during the release makes it curve – or curl – as it travels towards the goal.

This year, mixed doubles will be the third curling event added to the official program at the Winter Olympics in PyeongChang. Mixed doubles curling teams differ in that they have only two players, a woman and a man, rather than four and matches are slightly shorter.

Local history

The Waltham Curling Club, founded in 1884, has the distinction as the oldest curling club in Illinois

The start of curling locally is credited to John Currie, a Scottish visitor to the area who in the 1880s helped to organize the Waltham Curling Club. In the early days, curling was played outdoors on Johnson’s Pond near Tomahawk Creek. Curling stones were not immediately available here, so early club members used wooden blocks as a substitute. The outdoor rinks had to be flooded and made as level as possible for play. In an effort to make curling permanent in this area, after his return to Scotland Currie sent a curling medal to be played for annually by the Waltham Club.

Over time, an indoor facility was built in Triumph to house the Waltham Curling Club. The club has membership in the Illinois Curling Association (ICA) and the U.S. Curling Association (USCA). The family-friendly facility has three sheets of ice, a fully-equipped kitchen, dining area and large viewing room.

Curling can be enjoyed by just about everyone - no special athletic ability or strength is required and equipment is minimal for beginners as the club provides the specially made curling stones. People with all levels of experience, or no experience, are welcome to become members.

The curling season begins in November and ends in March. WCC has men’s, women’s, junior’s and mixed leagues as well as bonspiels, open events and instructional sessions. Their International Men's Bonspiel is usually the third weekend in February and their Mixed Bonspiel is the first or second weekend in March.