Wausau Curling Club hosts first curling lesson of the year

WAUSAU, Wis. (WSAW) - Glide, release, curl, and sweep are all terms new curlers are learning today at the Wausau Curling Center. Sunday marks the Wausau Curling Club’s first lesson of 2023. For many, the lesson was their first time ever trying out curling. Skills that may seem basic to some are not so easy for newcomers. The first thing on the agenda was balance. It’s a crucial part of curling basics.

“We kind of get into like a, you know, kind of a lunge position, so like we’re getting kind of low trying to deliver this stone, and then we’re going up and down the ice sweeping the stone as well. Trying to get the rock to further down the ice or trying to get it to curl a little bit more, " said Wausau Curling Club Developmental Coordinator Tucker Diedrich.

Diedrich said anyone can learn this Olympic sport and enjoy it too.

“We get people of all ages who come in for our ‘Learn to Curl’s.’ We get kids as about as young as ten, we get people, you know, who are young professionals new to the area. We have like seniors even who are learning how to do another activity because we have leagues for all ages,” said Dietrich.

Once the basics are understood, then comes forming a team to play the real thing, either competitively or just for fun.

“One of the leagues that I play in, one team that is in it, there’s a grandpa, his son and his grandson all playing on the same team. I think that’s the great thing about curling because you can form all these teams across so many generations and everyone has different skill levels,” said Dietrich.

Some learn to love the sport so much they choose to share their passion with others by teaching.

“Everyone who is helping instruct here at the curling club today are volunteers and members of the club,” said Dietrich.

Recently, the Wausau Curling Center hosted the High School Curling Championships. They will be hosting another big event in March, The National Curling Championships. Another ‘Learn to Curl’ lesson will be taught in the spring.

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