First-Ever Minnesota Curling Day Set For Saturday, January 20th

If you've ever watched curling in the Olympics and thought that you might want to give it a shot, Saturday might be your best chance. The first-ever "Curling Day Minnesota" is set for Saturday across the Land of 10,000 Frozen Lakes.

There are over 20 curling clubs in Minnesota. The closest to us here in central Minnesota is the Glacial Ridge Curling Club in Willmar.

Others near central Minnesota include the Brainerd Lakes Curling Club and the Cambridge Curling Club.

According to Wikipedia, curling was invented in Scotland in the early 1500's. A stone was found in a drained pond dating back to 1511.

The game itself involves sliding stones on ice toward a circular target area. Two teams of four slide heavy granite stones toward the 'house,' each team with eight stones, trying to get the highest score.

Sweepers using modified brooms are able to help dictate the spin and trajectory of the stones toward its target, whether it is the 'house' or toward an opponent's stone in order to knock them out of the 'house.'

Curling has been an Olympic sport since 1924, although it took a hiatus from 1932-1988.  The United States famously took home the gold medal at the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea, a team skippered by John Shuster. Shuster is from Superior, Wisconsin but trained at the Duluth Curling Club en route to the gold medal.