St. Cloud Has Its Own Curling Club!

A few days ago I published a story about the upcoming "Curling Day Minnesota" that included several curling clubs hosting events this weekend. However, that list omitted St. Cloud's very own North Star Curling Club.

According to an article on St. Cloud Shines, two neighbors founded the club in 2022. They found out that the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center at St. Cloud State University had some availability on Sunday nights, and the North Star Curling Club was formed.

The North Star Curling Club will be a part of St. Cloud's new Bold and Bright festival from January 25-28 on St. Germain Street, offering folks a chance to try the sport.

The club also offers leagues for anyone from beginner to pro!

There are over 20 curling clubs in Minnesota. The closest to us here in central Minnesota besides North Star Curling Club 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.