Chess on Ice

Mark and I moved here for the winter sports - skiing, climbing, skating - but who knew there was such a thing as "curling"?

Apparently, my yooper husband knew: growing up on Canadian tv channels, he was well-acquainted with the rock-throwing, shuffle-board stylings of cold-climate curlers.

Since moving here, I've heard plenty of talk around the fireplaces of new friends about the two kinds of granite used for the 44 lb handled-rocks (one kind of granite mined from a special underwater Scottish quarry), the special shoes one wears, and the fact that curling is more like chess on ice than shuffleboard.

But last night, as I went down to the Duluth Curling Club to watch some of the action, I was amazed by the skill and grace of these curlers. Delighted by the friendly banter on the sidelines. And intrigued that a sport as seemingly athletic as bowling would be reportedly as addictive as golf. "You can be having a great time today," one 25-year curling expert told me, "and tomorrow, you'll think you've never thrown a rock."

Dare I add a new winter sport to my growing list of fun things to do in the northland?

(Check out The Curling News for all the news that's fit to curl.)