Minnesota Curling Clubs

Find Minnesota's Curling Clubs and Discover this fascinating game

What is the first thing that pops up in your mind when you hear the word “Curling?” Whatever crosses your mind as an answer to the question, you should stop by any ice rink in the state of Minnesota that is holding Curling practice as soon as possible. If you thought it is a sport than your right, it’s actually an Olympic Sport.

Players slide stones across the ice towards a marked target area. Two teams of 4 players are involved and points are scored for stones-8 in number-coming to rest closest to the center of the ‘house’ or marked target. First introduced in 1541 by Scottish friars, Curling is one of the oldest sports in the world.

Minnesota being the home of hypothermic winter chills, curling naturally takes a place in the legion of local sports. Large swathes of ice tempt even the unenthusiastic to take up skimming rounded stones down the ice. By some accounts, it is the second most practiced sport following Ice Hockey, when it comes to sports on an ice rink, that is. Several curling clubs exist including the Burl curling club, Cambridge curling club and the Quartet of Gateway, Edina, Dakota and Chisholm. It would be criminal however to mention Curling clubs without including the 3 principle ones namely, the Saint Paul curling club, Dakota and Bemidji Curling clubs.

The Saint Paul curling club founded in 1888 has the largest active membership in the nation with 1,200 hardy souls counted at the last census. With a home base situated on Selby Avenue in St Paul, the club has participated in a number of different curling leagues. So large, that the club had several minor associations spring up, including but not limited to the Business Woman Association (open on Tuesdays only), the Monday Ladder-open to both sexes and the Mixed Association that meets at the end of the working week.

Several famous curlers have bobbed up from the ranks of the Saint Paul club including John Denton who was the 2009 US men’s national champion. The club is also unique in hosting a heated club room and bar area where spectators can watch league games from Monday-Sunday 4p.m-11p.m.

Another noteworthy Curling club is Bemidji. Situated in the northern city, the club has produced a long line of champions in different competitions. Men and women from this reservoir of talent represented the United States in the 2005 World Curling Championships and the 2006 Winter Olympics.

The 75 year old club as mentioned earlier is rich in talent, with players such as Pete Fenson, Cassandra Johnson, Scott Baird-regarded as the oldest Olympian ever at age 54, plus Joe Polo and Tyler George. In the 2006 games, Bemidji provided upcoming stars Shawn Rojeski-now the 2010 USA National Curling Champion and Natalie Nicholson, who is 2010 Women’s national Curling team.

The Dakota Curling club is fascinating in origin. This mom and pop affair was built up from the ground up by the efforts of Paul and Darcy Ellaby- a husband and wife curling couple. Founded in 2006 when the Ellaby’s found their current club to large and impersonal, the club has grown to house 150 members. They play at the Burnsville Ice Centre where the ice rink is rented by the hour. Permanent markings and vinyl material on the rink ensure that no other sport gets preference over Curling.

The Dakota club has in the short span of 4 years grown to be the 4th largest in the State. Touchingly, the club is probably the sole provider of support for the Deaf Curling community. It provides training and moral support to these marginalized groups who have reciprocated by winning silver medals at the national Championships.

Curling as a sport isn’t complex, but there are several rules that contestants need to be familiar with. Among these rules are:

• The Hit and Stay rule, which prohibits players from tampering with the projectile after a throw. The played stone stays in the spot where it made contact with the stationary stone.

• The Hit and Roll where the played stone is allowed to remove an opponents’ stone and roll on to a new position.

• The Split rule differs from the rest by allowing a played stone to displace another and send both into opposite directions while moving as close as possible to the painted target.

You should never feel out of place, even if you’re a novice at the sport, ‘Curling’ in Minnesota, has clubs which admit amateurs into their ranks. These include the Thief River Falls Curling Club, Saint Paul Stephen Curling club, Hibbing International Falls Curling Club, and the Owatonna Curling Club.

So whatever your desires, if you wish to play, then take a note and get involved. Who knows, you could be the next Olympic Curling medalist. Otherwise if you prefer to watch and cheer the players on, then dress warm and have an amazing time.

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