Left knee bent at a 90-degree angle, right sneaker pressed against the black foothold beneath her, a young blond woman crouches above the glittering ice and attempts to push off, sending a 44-pound disc spiraling down to the other side of the rink. But as the stone rumbles away from her outstretched hand, her body teeters like a Weeble wobbling, and within seconds she’s face down, fanned out like a gingerbread man.
Welcome to curling.
“I had only ever seen curling on television, during the Winter Olympics,” says Averi Harris, 21, who took the spill. “I wiped out — really, penguin-slid on my stomach — a few times while I was getting the hang of throwing the stone. But once I got it, I was ecstatic!”
Harris is part of a class of first-timers who brave chilly temperatures and bruised egos to participate in a new introductory league from Brooklyn Lakeside Curling Club in Prospect Park. The program, which launched in mid- November, is part of a burgeoning curling scene sliding into NYC.
The obscure winter sport, invented in medieval Scotland and beloved among Canadians, features two teams of four people who take turns sliding polished granite stones toward a goal, or “house.” One teammate pushes the rock. To help it reach its destination, two others dash in front of the stone with brooms, sweeping the ice to create a path with as little friction as possible. The fourth teammate, called a skip, shouts directions. For the uninitiated, it’s a slightly kooky spectacle.
Sena Sato, who traveled from Elmhurst to try his hand at curling, also credits his curiosity to the Olympics.
“From the beginning, what really got my attention was the good sportsmanship and teamwork among the athletes,” says Sato, 21. “As I began to watch more matches, I was surprised by how calculating and strategic you need to be in order to win.”
Others were surprised by the workout they were getting. “I’m breaking a sweat out there,” says Omoy Hall, 37, of Lefferts Gardens, running back and forth trying to outpace the rocks.
Instructor Kendall Speten-Hansen, 34, keeps the curlers encouraged, offering high-fives and shouting enthusiastic calls to brush “harder! Harder! Harder! Harder! Sweep! Sweep! Sweep!”
While none of the students admitted a secret desire to compete on a professional level, aficionados say one of the boons of curling is that there are no age or physical restrictions to the sport. Those who put in enough time to hone their skills might even find themselves in an international tournament, known as a “bonspiel,” says Wendy Peace, program director at Lakeside.
“I started the curling club because, as a native of Canada, I know how fun and cool curling is,” she says. “And Brooklyn is fun and cool, so it seemed a perfect fit.”
In fact, the first three instructional leagues at Prospect Park sold out so quickly that the program is expanding in January, notes Peace. (The program also offered a handful of pop-up classes at the South Street Seaport rink last month.)
Whether you’re a pro or a face-planting first-timer, the classes come with two guarantees: a complimentary beer at Lakeside’s Bluestone Cafe after every session and an automatic membership in the Grand National Curling Club (which means you can technically represent Brooklyn all over the world).
Just be sure to dress appropriately.
“I didn’t realize that the rink was outdoors,” laments one shivering student standing to the side of the ice. “I really, really should have worn gloves.”
The next round of six-week instructional leagues from Brooklyn Lakeside Curling Club (lakesidebrooklyn.com) begins Sunday ($295, equipment included). Enthusiasts with chops can sign up for the experienced Curling League ($240-$295), also a six-week commitment.