Can Curling Actually Catch On In The U.S.? Rocky Mountain Fans Say Yes

MISSOULA, Mont. — The Indian summer brought near-record highs to the region is over and cold and snow are setting in across Montana and Wyoming, which is good news for a group of diehards.

The countdown to curling season is on.

The winter sport that’s wildly popular in the Great White North has been migrating south in recent years, and Missoula has been caught up in the curling craze.

In other places across the United States, curling becomes popular once every four years with the Winter Olympics. Here, it's year-round all the time.

At more than 200 members strong, the Missoula Curling Club is now the largest in Montana and the broader inland Northwest, said Lee Banville, who has served on the club’s board since its beginnings about 15 years ago. 

If the Winter Olympics of years past are any indication — which they probably are — come February, when the games kick off in Milan, Italy, that will likely bring out the curling curious.

People become intrigued by the sport while watching it on TV, and the club’s “learn to curl” workshops have attracted more than 250 people who want to try their hand at it. 

What these newbies will find is that curling doesn’t fit in one neat box, which is what makes it fun, Banville said. 

“It’s not an elitist sport,” Banville said. “Whoever wants to play this weird Scottish game is welcomed.”

The Curling Community

Indeed, more Americans have taken to curling in recent decades and there are nearly 200 clubs around the country with more than 20,000 members among them, according to USA Curling.

Wyoming doesn’t yet have a club, though there is one in Victor, Idaho, near Jackson, in addition to a few nearby in Montana. 

Curling offers something that feels somewhat novel these days: Between the mix of seriously competitive, beer league, and family curlers, the sport is an opportunity to hang out with people from all different walks of life. 

“I play against people who are radically different from me, in all senses, and there isn’t a lot of stuff where you do that,” Banville said. “Curling is for everybody; it’s a weird subsection of everybody who plays.”

In Missoula, the club counts among its members curlers who range in age from 9 to 84. And underneath their winter woolies, curlers are as likely to have a beer belly as the ripped abs of an athlete.

But don’t let the physiques of curlers deceive you: The sport’s physicality is no joke. After a recent weekend of 12 hours spent curling, Banville said he could barely manage to sit up come Monday morning.

‘A Very Social Sport’

There’s also a healthy dose of strategy involved — Banville said it’s not so much chess as checkers on ice — and curling is as much social as it is a sport. Consider this: What other sports have a tradition similar to “broomstacking,” in which winning teams treat their opponent to a post-match beer or perhaps a shot of whiskey?

“It’s a very social sport,” Banville said. “It’s not for everybody—my wife doesn’t like it—but for those people who really enjoy it, it becomes this real community.”

Finding Dedicated Ice

The curling community in Missoula has grown so much in the past 15 years, in fact, that the club long ago outgrew its home at the Glacier Ice Rink on the Missoula County Fairgrounds. 

Now, the club is focused on building a dedicated curling ice facility to accommodate even more of the curling curious. That’s because the club is currently limited by the only dedicated ice time it has carved out on the rink from 9 p.m. to midnight on Saturdays.

The club has been working with a local architecture firm to build a dedicated curling facility and, lest you question its dedication, it already owns a “big ol’” machine that’s used to freeze ice and make curling sheets and that machine needs a home, Banville said.

“It’s just a matter of when and where,” he added.

As the largest club in Montana, a dedicated facility could help it expand even more — including its annual Big Sky Bonspiel, a tournament that already draws 32 teams from Canada and the Mountain West to curl on what’s historically been “pretty sketchy ice,” Banville said.

What’s more, the club could expand its youth program, extend its season, host more adaptive leagues like its current wheelchair league, host more tournaments, use the space for other purposes, and ideally double the club’s membership, Banville said. 

“There are a lot of opportunities that are just economically impossible when we need to rent ice whenever we want to do anything.”

For the Curling Curious

If all this chatter has made you curling curious, Banville offered a few tips for first timers: You won’t need ice skates, but rather shoes with a decent sole and some warm clothing. 

On the ice, you needn’t worry about flailing about as the ice isn’t as slippery as you’re probably imagining, but don’t let that distract you from the real task at-hand. The sport also isn’t as easy as it may appear, Banville said, and requires balance, focus, a good aim, and the physical endurance for sweeping.  

“If you want to try it, try it,” Banville said. “It’s probably the most welcoming sport I’ve ever encountered.”