Curl Up

with an Olympic Playbook. Get Ready for Action on Ice

Four years ago, millions of Americans watched intently — night after night — as the Winter Olympics spotlight was focused firmly on a relatively unknown sport.

Curling was suddenly hot.

Fast forward to February 2014. The Olympics are returning — and so is curling. Will the drama played out on sheets of shimmering ice attract the devoted attention of 2010? Will chatter around the office water cooler once again center on the chess-like moves of Olympic curlers?

Only time will tell.

But if the 2010 Games piqued your interest, and you want to get in the mood for the 2014 events beaming to your television from Sochi, Russia, you’ll find just what you need here in Johnny Appleseed Country.

A visit to the Petersham Curling Club will get you up to speed on this age-old sport, giving you an edge over your Monday-morning quarterbacking friends when Olympic fever hits.
In curling, you may recall, four-player teams —the ‘Skip’, the ‘Lead’, the ‘Second,’ and the ‘Vice’ — work strategically to deliver a set of granite stones to the center of the “house.” Once set in motion, the stone is fine-tuned on its way by two team members serving as sweepers, armed with brooms.

Ready to see the sport up close and personal? Head out on Route 122 to Petersham. Just five minutes off Route 2, the club is easy to find, and club members welcome visitors interested in learning about their pasttime. There’s plenty of league play — with men’s, women’s, mixed and junior teams competing — to watch, and there’s no charge for spectators.

And if you get hooked on the action, you can even take curling lessons, and become a player in this increasingly-popular sport!

And anticipating that interest may swell once again as the Olympics hit TV screens, the club is planning a series of open houses to introduce newcomers to the sport. You can check out the schedule of league play and open houses — and learn about curling basics — at the club’s website,www.petershamcurling.org.

The Olympics are coming! Get ready to be swept up in the excitement with a visit to the Petersham Curling Club!