Every year, the family band together any purchase the 6 Lindsay teenager cousins a collective Christmas present – ‘an experience’. Last year it was clay pigeon shooting. This year, on Sunday, we all went curling at Murrayfield Curling Club, in Edinburgh.
The Origins of Curling
Evidence suggests that curling originated in Scotland in the 1500s. A game played initially only by men it was introduced to Canada by Scottish immigrants in 1800’s. It spread to the USA, Switzerland and Sweden by the end of the 19th Century and is now played throughout Europe and around the world.
This ‘roaring game’ as it can be known as, for the sound the stone makes as it travels down the sheet (ice), is rather like a game of chess. Cunning and strategy, leaving a guard, taking out opponents etc. Of course this is all irrelevant if one is just trying to stay upright and get the stone down to the end! What is fantastic about this sport is you can play at whatever age, altogether. It’s a very levelling sport where novices can get a lucky knock and suddenly their stone is lying closest to the button. Old can take on young, where experience can out play physical ability
Where can you play?
Edinburgh Curling Club is based at Murrayfield Curling Rink beside the famous Rugby Stadium https://www.edinburghcurling.co.uk/. They are home to more than 80 curling clubs, and host a variety of beginners sessions, competitions, group experiences and youth coaching. The ‘Try Curling’ sessions, from aged 8 and above, will cost you £10 for 2-2.5 hours. We opted for the Starter Package – £200, which included a 2-hour session with a certified coach for 10 of us. Suitably togged up, it was as cold outside due to Storm Ciara as it was inside, we spent the 2 hours learning basic techniques and terminology. A bit of sliding and learning how to sweep – a whole workout in itself – and then a game. Girls v boys. Result…disappointing!
Future Olympians?
It’s a whole day out for the family, doing something totally different and really rather cool. The kids want to form a curling club at school, and why not? This is an accessible and sociable sport, that can be found in clubs and rinks all over Scotland. My parents curled for years. My mum aged 70 something, still does, and far better than me. We even have an East v West curling cup in memory of my Uncle Pat – time to revive the competition I think.