It’s like high-stakes shuffleboard using granite.” That’s how Scottish-American comedian and actor Craig Ferguson describes curling, and his description of the sport is pretty accurate. But no matter how you define it, curling has become a wintertime favorite across Michigan.
“COVID boosted interest in a lot of sports,” says Gary Lassila, president of the Copper Country Curling Club (CCCC) in Michigan’s Keweenaw Peninsula, “but there’s a coolness quality to curling. People watch competitions, with the sliding stones and the sweeping brooms and the teammates yelling commands. And they say, ‘Oh, that’s crazy. I want to try it.’
Curling pits two teams of four at either end of a 140-foot stretch of ice, called a sheet. Players take turns sliding 42-pound granite stones (more than 95 percent of which are crafted in Scotland) toward a target on the opposite end. Teams alternate shots with each team delivering eight stones. The team with the rock(s) closest to the “button” scores. If the three rocks closest to the button are all red, the red team scores three points. Sweepers polish the ice ahead of a stone’s path with a broom, accelerating the stone’s movement and influencing its direction, improving its location, and, if all goes according to plan, knocking their player’s opponents’ stones out of play.
Curling was first mentioned in writing by a Scottish notary in 1541, making it the oldest team sport in the world. The pastime shows up in historic written documents, paintings, and even poetry — all linking the sport to Scotland, where players tossed stones across frozen lochs. Curling became increasinglly popular through the 18th and 19th centuries. Even Queen Victoria is recorded as having had a go in 1842, sending polished stones across a gleaming wooden floor before declaring the activity too strenuous for her delicate arm.
Perhaps the queen would have fared better had she tried curling on ice, as the sport was meant to be played. But CCCC’s Lassila warns that not just any ice will do when it comes to modern-day curling.
Despite the sport’s connection to natural waterways in Scotland, Calumet’s contemporary curlers wouldn’t consider playing on the ice of nearby Lake Superior, Slaughterhouse Creek, or Calumet Lake. Nor would they want to play on local hockey or figure skating venues that have been cut up by blades and repaired by Zambonis. To the naked eye that ice may look perfect, but even slight variations can ruin a game.
“If the ice is carved by skates or slanted even just a little, the rocks will find those imperfections and they’ll drift,” Lassila says.
Instead, curling enthusiasts insist on a dedicated rink that’s been carefully frozen and shaved by an ice technician, as is the ice at the CCCC. Perfectly frozen sheets ensure good conditions for members and attract distant clubs for competitions, called spiels.
The CCCC’s building is itself an attraction. The club occupies the Drill House, constructed in 1885 for the manufacture and maintenance of copper mining drills. A unique red-and-black exterior of Jacobsville sandstone and basalt houses an uninsulated interior space, allowing curlers the rare experience of playing indoors on unrefrigerated ice.
Calumet resident Tyler Hosking became intrigued by curling after watching broadcasts of the 2018 Winter Olympics, when the U.S. won its first gold medal in the sport. Hosking took a Learn to Curl class the following year at the CCCC and quickly became hooked. He’s been a member of the club and has played in various leagues ever since.
“Curling is really approachable,” Hosking says. “There’s not a lot of startup cost, because the club provides the stones and the brooms. You play in tennis shoes, so you don’t need to invest much money to try it. And there are different adaptations that people can do for curling, so teams can span a lot of generations.”
The CCCC’s 85-member roster ranges from high schoolers to 70-somethings, and it’s not uncommon to see the spectrum represented within a single team. Furthermore, while most players crouch deeply and slide into their delivery, league play allows the use of a stick to launch a stone — a plus for those with limited mobility.
“Being athletic certainly helps improve your curling,” Lassila says, “but you don’t have to be a super athlete. The biggest, strongest, and fastest isn’t necessarily going to be the best in curling.” Rather, the sport favors nuance and strategy.
The Copper Country Curling Club offers a unique playing venue, but would-be and experienced curlers can find opportunities for play across the state.
The Traverse City and Kalamazoo Curling clubs rank as two of the state’s largest, each with five sheets of ice. Their facilities offer play for all ages and abilities, including those with physical disabilities, and each has hosted USA Curling National Championships.
The Lewiston and Greater Midland Curling clubs both date to the 1960s and provide two and four sheets of ice, respectively. Michigan’s oldest club — and one of the oldest in the nation — is the Detroit Curling Club in Ferndale, which traces its roots to 1885, back when Calumet’s Drill House was still a drill house. All clubs offer lessons.
Regardless of where curlers take to the ice, Tyler Hosking thinks they’ll discover within the sport an incredible sense of camaraderie.
“Curling is one of the most community-based sports there is,” he says. “People are there to encourage and to help, whether you’re on their team or not. We all just really love curling and want to bring others in.” 
Plan It!
sites.google.com/site/coppercountrycurlingclub
tccurling.org
kalamazoocurlingclub.com
lewistoncurlingclub.com
midlandcurls.org
detroitcurlingclub.com
