The popular Canadian ice sport of curling has made its way to Austin.
The Lone Star Curling Club formed to satisfy the urge of transplanted curlers and curiosity seekers. Many hadn't heard of the sport until it debuted in the Winter Olympics. After that, curling’s popularity began spreading nationwide.
Dallas and Houston have curling clubs, but until now Austin has been left out of the mix.
The Lone Star Curling Club held an open house on the ice rink at Northcross Mall on Sunday to recruit members. Kids and adults, mostly men, tried their hand at pushing a 40-pound granite stone down a block of ice. Some were motivated by love of the sport, others by curiosity.
"A lot of people had their interest piqued by the Olympics and so they know a little bit about the sport, at least enough to know that they want to come out and try it," Stephen Thorne of the Lone Star Curling Club said.
So far, curling isn't popular enough in Texas to entice sporting goods stores to carry the equipment. Curling supplies have to be ordered online.
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Curling
News 8 Austin's Bob Robuck gets a piece of the action at Northcross Mall.
 
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The game is so much harder than Olympians make it look, but it's also a lot of fun.
"It's very much a team sport. It's great for kids. It's great for adults, and you can play it all your life," expert Anne Rolison said.
The trick to curling is a matter of reducing friction. There are two basic pieces of equipment - the slider that goes on the foot to help keep up with the stone and the broom that reduces friction in front of the stone.
Most everyone trying out for the team busted their butts on the ice.
"One particular time I did bust the buttocks, but it's all about balance and hand-eye coordination, and there's a lot of mental challenge to it," novice Frank Jones said.
