Interest in curling grows at F-M Curling Club

It was added as an official Olympic sport in 1998 and here in Fargo the FM Curling Club has been fueling talent.

FARGO, N.D. (KVRR) – Curling has been a competitive sport since 1541 and over the centuries it continues to grow in popularity.

It was added as an Olympic sport in 1998 and here in Fargo the F-M Curling Club has been fueling talent.

“Curling is known as like a lifelong sport, so when we had such a growth of newer curlers like teaching traditions and passing that on, I feel like the community is growing around the Curling Club a little bit more,” Local curler Evan Workin said.

The FM Curling Club Facility has been in Fargo since 1938. Back in 2013 they hosted the Olympic trials.

Club members say that helped boost the popularity here.

“Around this area there is a lot of pretty good talent there are a lot of competitive curlers around the Fargo area now, so you can come here and play one on one against someone like Evan that’s had multiple nationals experiences too,” Local curler Ethan Sampson said.

The sport does require special shoes on the ice the sweeper have grips over their shoes for traction. The thrower has one shoe built with metal bottoms to slide on the ice.

Curling teams have four people. The lead, the second, the third, and the skip. They throw stones in that order while two team members sweep and a fourth rotates in after each throw.

The object of the game is to get the stone into the center of the target to score points.

Each team member throws two stones and the sweepers work to keep the stone’s speed up as it travels. It weighs about 42 pounds.

The most you can get is one point per throw, but you can knock the opponents stones off the target.

The U.S. has three teams competing in the Beijing Winter Olympics. There is a men’s team, a women’s team and a mixed doubles team.

Ethan Sampson was recently selected to the USA’S Junior Olympic curling team and they will travel to compete in the Junior Olympics in 2024.

“I’ve definitely had the dream since I was about five-years-old of going and being on the podium at the Olympics, so going to see Schuster do it in 2018 was definitely a huge inspiration,”  Sampson said.

They say curling is a sport that all ages can participate in.

If you’re interested in learning or competing in curling the club offers a range of leagues from youth to adult. Prices range from $50 to $250 depending on the league.