If you think curling is just something you watch once every four years, think again. Kansas City Curling Club’s new dedicated ice facility — at 2525 NW South Outer Rd. in Blue Springs — is opening very soon.
And because we never disappoint, we went out on the ice to bring you the scoop.
🥌 Curling? Like a salon?
OK, we admit that we didn’t know a ton about “The Roarin’ Game” at first. Luckily, the lovely folks at KC Curling are excellent teachers, and they helped us out with some of the lingo.
The goal of curling is to get the stone (the smooth, 42-pound rock with a handle on top) into the house (the bullseye-looking marks on each end of the ice). You get one point for each stone closer to the button (the bullseye) than any opposing stone.
What’s up with the sweeping? Because the ice is a little rough (pebbled), sweepers clear a path. This reduces friction, but also alters the path of the stone: a straighter line, or a tighter arc, called a curl. Hence, curling.
🥌 Sounds complicated…
It is. Knowing when to sweep a line, let it curl, throw up a blocker, or knock opposing stones out of the house is part of why curling is called chess on ice.
But the heart of the game is sportsmanship. For example, “broomstacking” is a tradition where the winning team buys the losing team a drink after the game — which is why KC Curling’s new facility will have a full bar + taps.
🥌 I’m in.
KC Curling offers everything from Learn to Curl events to competitive bonspiels (curling tournaments). Since it’s the only curling ice in 350 miles, participants come from as far as New York and Canada to participate in tournaments like the Barbecue Bonspiel.
First things first: sign up, follow the club on socials to know when the ice opens, and drop by to watch a game for free.
