Hockey players and skaters aren’t the only athletes on ice at the University. Students passing through the Ice Arena can also see curlers.

The University’s curling club became an organization on campus in 2006, said club president Ryan Meyer, who has been playing for three years.

Each curling team is made up of four members, Meyer said. Two curlers slide rocks across the ice toward a target and the others two sweep brooms back and forth across the ice to affect the speed and direction of the rocks.

The team with the most rocks closest to the center of the target after 10 rounds wins.

There are 28 members on the curling club at the University, but Meyer said they are always looking for new curlers.

‘Curling is a great sport to come out and get to know people,’ he said. ‘At times it can be competitive, but the main focus in the curling club is to have fun. It really is more of a social sport like golf.’

Patrick Williams, a senior education major, is taking a curling class this semester.

‘At first I didn’t know anything about the sport except for the fact that I knew it was played in the Winter Olympic Games,’ Williams said. ‘I had never played before taking this class.’

Williams said curling is a lot like shuffle board on ice. The game involves planning and strategy.

‘The first two shots each team makes are very important,’ he said. ‘If they don’t land in the scoring area, the teams are not allowed to hit those rocks anymore.’

Throughout the game, the skip, or the team leader calls the shots, Williams said. He tells the other players where to aim and when to sweep. He also tries to set up blocks, which stop the other team from knocking rocks out of the scoring area.

Williams said the hardest part about being skip is changing with the flow of the game. If the initial strategy is not working, the skip has to adapt and create a backup plan.

Williams said the one-credit curling class gives students the chance to learn the rules and techniques of the sport in a laid-back environment.

‘As a senior getting towards the end of my degree, I had room to take an elective class and I thought this looked fun,’ he said. ‘It’s nice to have this class once a week to be able to learn, play, compete and socialize with my classmates.”

CURLING HISTORY

Curling originated in Scotland in the 16th century, where it was played outside. Since then, the sport has grown in popularity and spread around the world. In 1988, curling became an official part of the Winter Olympics for both men and women.

Source: ‘The Sports Book: The games, the rules, the tactics, the techniques’

HOW TO PLAY

Curling teams are made up of four players: a lead, a second, a vice-skip and a skip, who directs play. The players take turns sliding rocks across the ice toward a target, called the house. The team’s goal is to slide their rocks closer to the center of the house than the other team.

As the rocks slide, curlers sweep brooms across the ice in front of them to adjust their speed and direction.