MARQUETTE, Mich (WZMQ) – Starting back in the 16th century in Scotland, curling is widely known as one of the world’s oldest team sports. Barry Greenleaf, an ambassador for the curling club in Marquette, has been instructing and helping out with the club since 2017. Although it appears simple, Barry said the sport is much more challenging than you may think.
It’s fun to create memories with on the family night, but also difficult enough to birth some strategy into your gameplay. “What can I do with that rock now that it’s there so there’s much more strategy involved than say shuffleboard where you’re just trying to hit another puck across the rink”, said Barry.
The goal or target is what’s called the house. The amount of force behind the stone isn’t really the focus, but instead, the direction of your curl, or sweep. “A rock that’s thrown too light you can actually carry 8-12 feet by sweeping it further than it would’ve gone had you not swept it”, Barry continued.
From the act of sweeping, players can remove friction between the bottom of the rock and the ice. Barry noted that as a game furthers, players are consistently tasked with thinking down the road or ice in this case.
On Sunday, February 12th, the whole community is welcome to their open curling event. Local businesses like the chophouse are helping out the club with an “adopt a rock” program. Organizations can pay to have their logos on the rocks for the season.
Curling will be at Olson Arena Friday, February 10th from 11 am to 4 pm for the Meijer State Games.
Click here for more information on the Curling Event for the Michigan Meijer State Games.
Click here for more on the schedule for the Michigan Meijer State Games.
