Curling, it’s not just for the Olympics

by Eric Pfahler
Staff Writer

At the Bowling Green University bonspiel, local rinks complete with skips, thirds, seconds and leads attempt to hit the button with 42-pound slabs of polished granite.

But the teams must beware of well-placed guards who are placed between the hog lines and the house and must decipher whether the arena is keen or heavy.

This is not Norwegian skating vernacular, it is curling lingo. Modern curling originated in Scotland and became a usual pastime by 1638 (www.usacurl.org/history.htm). Today, more than 1.5 million people, including 15,000 U.S. citizens, play the sport in more than 33 countries. More than 135 clubs in 26 states in the United States play curling. Curling is making its second consecutive appearance as a medal sport in the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City.

The object of the game is to get 42-pound rocks closest to the button, which is the center of the house. The house is 12 feet in diameter with concentric circles of 4- and 8- feet wide in diameter inside. The teams, or rinks, of four players take turns curling and use various strategies to get their rocks closest to the button.

The teams each have eight rocks per end, which is similar to an inning in baseball. Only one team can score per end and after eight ends, or 10 in championship rounds, the team with the highest score wins.

Keith Nusbaum, a sophomore at Bowling Green, said he has curled for the past three years and competes on a junior men’s and a co-ed team.

“ I just saw it on Canadian television and thought it was something fun to try,” Nusbaum said.

Paul Haas, president of the Bowling Green Curling Club, said he thought curling would be silly and uninteresting the first time he tried the sport. But Haas said strategy and simplicity make curling an enjoyable sport.

“A friend said why don’t you come out,” Haas said. “They got me out on the ice, and I started to learn very quickly that the game took agility and strategy. It’s definitely a team game, and I like it a lot.”

Bowling Green plans to host the Regional College Spiel Feb. 23.

Mary Glowacki, a member of the Bowling Green Curling Club and USWCA club representative, said high costs and low local knowledge of the sport inhibits the spread of curling.

“ In Ohio you don’t have the interest, and people don’t know what curling is,” Glowacki said. “They’re not going to spend $1 million for a sport that no one knows about.”