Curling Coming To St. Cloud

(KNSI) –

A hole in the St. Cloud winter sports scene is about to be filled.

North Star Curling President Nathan Lee says he was shocked to find out there was no club operating locally when he first moved here from out of state.

“I moved away from the state for a number of years. And when I came back, I thought, ‘Oh my gosh, this is gonna be great. It’s been, you know, 10 or 12 years since I’ve curled and I’d love to pick it up again.’ And I was moving to the St. Cloud area and I remember distinctly typing in St. Cloud curling club and nothing showed up and I just scratched my head. I’m like, ‘Well, that can’t be.'”

Lee says he grew up in Hibbing in the Iron Range where much smaller cities supported a club and he knows the sport can work in central Minnesota as well.

North Star Curling will begin operations next month in St. Cloud at the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center. Lee says play will happen on the facility’s practice rink. He says it takes a lot of preparation to turn ice into a curling sheet.

“It’s not smooth ice, it’s pebbled ice. So, it’s got a rough texture to it. Prior to gameplay we have to get out and texture the ice after the Zamboni comes through. We will texture the ice and we’ll freeze in our footholds or our hacks and bring our scoreboards out and then when we’re done, we take everything down and the Zamboni goes over it again and it’s ready for hockey.”

The club will host six learn to curl sessions in January. Lee hopes experienced players will sign up for their mailing list through the North Star Curling website and register to help out with the introductory practices.

Lee says it is a game that is tough to master, but easy to pick up. Still, some skills take time to develop.

“When you get out there the first few times, your delivery won’t be as smooth and we expect that. It’s something that you get with practice. Usually one curling season and you’re doing pretty good.”

Two 10-week leagues will start after the introductory sessions.

Lee says the club was only officially formed over the summer but already has significant corporate sponsor support. The dream is to eventually build a standalone facility specifically dedicated to the sport of curling.

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