Curling 101: What you need to know about the Olympic sport that's (much) harder than it looks
— -- As someone who has almost exclusively rooted for the halftime performer for the past 20 Super Bowls, I totally understand what it means when someone says that watching a sport is so much more fun when you actually understand how to play it.
So while we’re in the throes of the Winter Games in South Korea, I figured now would be a good time to learn what curling actually is. Typically I watch curling while it’s splayed across a big screen at the local bar, while I’m earning the gold medal in margarita-drinking.
But this year, I headed to Ardsley Curling Club in upstate New York to get a crash course in the hottest sport on the ice. Here’s what I learned:
The goal of curling is to slide, or "curl," a 40-pound stone across an ice rink into the center of the target on the other end. Those rings making up that target are called the house, and the center of the rings is called the button.
If it seems like your stone may not make it all the way to the button, that's where the brooms come in. Your teammates sweep the ice to melt it in an effort to help the stone go further and straighter.
The team with the stone closest to the button after each round wins the point.
It may seem simple and it may look easy, but there's a lot of core strength and athleticism needed to curl a stone successfully. Take a look at my adventures at Ardsley Curling Club, and next time you're at the bar and curling is on the big screen you can impress all your friends.
Oh, and invest in a pair of snazzy curling pants. That'll impress your friends as well. Guaranteed.
