Wednesday, October 18th marked the formal interest meeting for the new Behrend Curling Club. Curling is an uncommon sport on this side of the Canadian border, so it’s nice to see some representation here on our home campus of Behrend.

       

Curling is a sport which first became popular in the 1500’s in Scotland. The objective is to slide your “stone”, which is a hunk of granite weighing approximately 40 pounds, across a stretch of ice so that it lands on a ring in the center, while also positioning them so that they block your opponent’s stones from accomplishing the same task. Two sweepers brush the ice down to keep the stone from deviating from its path or slowing down. Considered by many to be “chess on ice”, this unique sport consistently captivates audiences at the Winter Olympics.

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Curling teams consist of four players: a “skip” who determines the path that the stone should follow, a thrower who is responsible for sending the rock down its 150-foot path, attempting to do so with the right speed and trajectory, and two sweepers who affect the rough surface of the ice so that the stone slides to precisely the right location on the “house”, which is the target at the other end of the ice. After each team throws its eight stones, the team with the closest stone to the center of the target (called the “button”) wins a point, and a new end begins. Typical games consist of eight to ten ends, with the winner being the team with the most points once all ends are complete.

       

I had the unique opportunity to interview the Curling Club’s President, Wade Schriner, concerning his reason for starting the club. In his words, “Curling is a really popular sport, but there are no curling teams within 150 miles of here, so I thought it would be fun to start a team”. Schriner felt that, since Behrend is the unofficial “winter sport campus” of Penn State, a curling team was conspicuously lacking. He felt that, since curling is such a bizarrely popular sport to watch, it would be a lot of fun to actually play the legendary sport.

       

The club is currently in the developmental phase. While still in the process of securing SGA funding and a feasible venue, the team is also hoping to start its one-hour curling sessions in early December. No prior knowledge is necessary; this club is largely inexperienced curlers looking to have a little fun sweeping the ice. According to Schriner, “Even though curling is an ice-based sport, you really don’t need to be able to skate or anything like that. You could curl in your tennis shoes if you wanted to.”

       

As the club is just starting, now is the best time for interested parties to throw their hats in the ring! If you’re interested, contact Wade Schriner at wts5073@psu.edu or Don José Wassmer at jgw22@psu.edu for more information or to join Behrend’s most uniquely absurd sports team!