Sweeping stones

11/2/2022

Des Moines Curling Club promotes Olympic sport.

Older than baseball, football and basketball, nicknamed the “Roaring Game” and “Chess on Ice,” it’s America’s favorite sport — it’s… curling?

OK, it may not be on the forefront of every American’s mind, but if you’ve ever watched the Winter Olympics, you’ve probably come across this sport that’s been around since the 16th century.

Players throw a polished granite stone across the ice while positioned in a deep lunge, usually with a look of intense concentration. They call out instructions to their teammates, who use brooms to sweep the ice in the stone’s path — vigorously.

On its path toward the “house,” or the circular target area painted on the ice, the stone slowly rotates, or “curls.”

Teams take turns throwing stones, aiming to land perfectly in the center of the house or knock their opponent’s stone away from it. It’s a perplexing combination of bowling, shuffleboard and billiards that the average person may only hear about every four years. But not so for members of the Des Moines Curling Club.

The only one of its kind in central Iowa, the Des Moines Curling Club has been around for nearly a decade. Iowa congressman Nate Boulton started the group after curling in college, where he took his team to nationals.

The club’s current president, Christa Lautner, has been curling for five years now.

“I moved here from Atlanta, Georgia, and quickly realized there’s not much to do in the winter if you want to stay active,” Lautner said. One date night, she and her husband ventured into the club’s “Learn to Curl” open house. They were hooked.

While curling offers a great low-impact workout, Lautner said the sport’s biggest selling point was its community.

“I always describe it as kind of a goofy sport,” she said. “We compete, but nobody’s really talking trash or taking it too seriously.”

When Lautner was a new curler, she traveled to Minnesota with a group of Des Moines teammates for a “bonspiel,” or tournament. Their competitors gave her tips, even as they were playing against them.

And, per the tradition of curling, after sweeping comes “broomstacking.” During the club’s Sunday league nights, winners buy the opposing team a round of beers.

“Overall, the curling community — the people I’ve met here and in other cities — they’re just nice, laid-back people,” Lautner said.

Unlike the brawls and broken teeth of ice hockey, when it comes to curling, honor and etiquette is of utmost importance, Lautner added.

Also unlike hockey, curlers don’t need any equipment beyond stretchy pants and clean tennis shoes. Stones and brooms are provided by the club, and skates are irrelevant — in fact, they’d probably be dangerous. The surface of curling ice isn’t smooth, but “pebbled.”

“We have two different people who walk around with a backpack of water,” Lautner explained. “Basically, you’re squirting the ice with little droplets, and as that freezes, it creates a texture on it, and that’s what causes the stone to curl.”

The pebbled texture means that maneuvering on the ice is safer than the precarious winter driveway experience most Iowans would expect.

The Des Moines Curling Club currently meets at the MidAmerican Energy RecPlex in West Des Moines, where they compete with skaters and hockey players for ice time. The club’s long-term goal is to have their own dedicated ice in a separate facility. For now, they’re trying to get the word out.

“I think it’s a shame that we’ve been around for so long and a lot of people in Des Moines still don’t know about us,” Lautner said.

The club has about 80 members and welcomes those of all athletic abilities who are 16 or older. They have special sticks for those with back or knee problems, or anyone who is unable to bend down to throw the stone.

“I have four kids, and I’m a substitute teacher, so compared to any of that, it’s super easy,” Lautner joked. “As long as you stretch out a little bit before each game, be careful not to drink too much before the game so you don’t fall, I think it’s pretty easy. You just have to get started on it.”

The Des Moines Curling Club’s next “Learn to Curl” event is Saturday, Dec. 10 from 6-8 p.m. Winter League runs for eight weeks starting in December, meeting on Sunday nights from 5:45-7:45 p.m. or 7:45-9:45 p.m. Registration is open, and more information can be found at dmcurling.com or facebook.com/DMCurling or by emailing dmcurling@gmail.com. ♦