Curling Club brings post-Olympic excitement to St. Joseph
ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (KQTV) -- The sport of Curling receives an increase in attention every four years. Due partly to the winter Olympics. However, in St. Joseph, there is an opportunity to continue the excitement of the sport year-round with the St. Joseph Curling Club's spring and fall leagues.
For those who are not familiar with this sport, league members call it a game of strategy.
"They call it chess on ice because it's a strategy game," said Patrick Turner, president of the St. Joseph Curling Club.
Thad Chapman, who has been a member of the Curling Club since November, compared the sport to bowling on ice.
"You know, the iMessage game where you hold the little penguins back and you try to know the people out? It's that, but in real life," Chapman explained.
It's easier said than done, though.
With four members to a team, each person throws two stones, known as "curling rocks".
The goal is to get the closest stone to the house, the colored circular targets on the ice. The team with the closest stones to the house scores the highest points.
"It's complicated, but it's fun," Turner stated.
The sport is not just about throwing the stones; another key component of the competition is sweeping. The other teammates use their brooms to sweep ahead of the stone, which melts down the ice before it passes, altering its path and speed.
During each throw, curlers can be heard yelling at each other.
"The people on TV yelling, 'curl, curl, curl, hard,' that just means they need to press harder and do a certain direction to make the rock curl a certain way," Turner said.
Even with all the yelling, league members agree curling is a sport that brings an incredible sense of community.
"I've met a lot of new friends. Everybody's pretty well laid back," Turner said.
"They're so kind, and it's a competitive atmosphere, but it's also just really, really chill," Chapman said. "I think playing sports with your friends, especially once you get out of high school and college, it's like the best thing to do. It's really good camaraderie, and it's just good problem solving."
League members said curling is for everyone, and they are there every step of the way to help newcomers learn and love the sport.
"It's a sport that you can learn, and anybody can do it," Turner said. "It's for anybody, all ages."
Anyone interested in curling in St. Joseph can stay up to date with the latest league information at the St. Joseph Curling Club's website.
