Curling is a sport that has approximately 1.5 million participants worldwide with the majority located in Canada. In the United States, some 23,500 people associated with 185 clubs participate in the sport.

While avid followers enjoy curling on a regular basis, most of the world has no idea what the sport entails - and only becomes aware of curling when the Winter Olympics take place. 

At the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy, the U.S. Mixed Doubles Curling team comprised of Cory Thiesse and Korey Dropkin (who grew up in Southborough before moving to Minnesota) made history by becoming the first U.S. athletes to medal in the event, winning a silver. Thiesse, as part of the team, became the first American woman to win an Olympic medal in curling.

The sport originated in 16th century Scottland when farmers would slide stones on frozen lochs. “The real question is why? And this is something that no one knows,” said Scott Ennis, president of the Petersham Curling Club.

It evolved into an organized sport in 1838 when the Royal Caledonian Curling Club established the first official rules. It found its way to North America alongside Scottish immigrants. “It happened to progress through the centuries with a lot of factories having teams,” explained Ennis, “and the workers would play during their lunch breaks.”

The earliest appearance of the sport in the U.S. was on frozen lakes in Detroit in the early 1800s. Curlers played outdoors until refrigeration was invented, which allowed the game to be moved indoors, away from inclement weather and temperature swings that affected lake ice conditions.

“Getting to play inside was the biggest change of the centuries,” Ennis said. “Some still play outside for special events, but it’s on an outside rink that is temperature regulated.” In 1924 it became an Olympic demonstration sport and then a medal sport in 1998.

Curling is played on a rink with two sheets of pebbled or textured ice that are 146 to 150 feet long and 14.5-16.5 feet wide. Players glide heavy granite stones, also called rocks, on the ice toward the house – a circular target area that is segmented into four concentric circles. Two teams of four players each take turns sliding the rocks across the ice toward the house. 

According to Ennis, the stones, which are between 38 and 44 pounds each, are concave with a running band in the middle, which is the only part that touches the ice surface. The maximum circumference of the stone is 36 inches with a minimum height of 4.5 inches. A standardized “broom” is used to sweep the ice to help guide the stone over the surface.

“The stones grab onto the pebbles as they move down the ice,” Ennis explained. “The [broom] sweeping helps to keep it moving straight and go further. However, once a stone picks a path, that’s the way it usually goes.”

The Petersham Curling Club was formed in 1960 and is one of four clubs operating in Massachusetts. The founders of the club were, for the most part, employees of the Union Twist Drill Company (UTD) in Athol. The president of UTD, Stanley Holland, was brought in from a plant in Rock Island, Quebec, to run the firm’s Athol operations. In 1950 they purchased land from the Petersham Country Club to build the curling club on North Main Street.

The club boasts 105 members, who are part of the Grand National Curling Club, which has clubs from Maine to Alabama as well as a few in Florida. The stones that the club uses today originally came from Wales and are the ones that the club started with.

No one owns their own stones. Not only are they too heavy to lug around to matches, but a typical set costs about $1,800. The clubs own the stones and prior to a competition, teams toss stones to pick the stones for the event. The handle colors are then changed out so each team knows which stones they will use. 

The Petersham Curling Club offers learn-to-curl classes, an intense instruction over two hours to learn all aspects of the sport. Unfortunately, its class on March 14 is full. During the Olympics, the club hosted watch parties, especially of the finals. Visit the club’s website at petershamcurling.org to learn about upcoming events, competitions, or open houses. Or visit the club’s YouTube channel to watch matches.

“The sport is fairly easy to learn, and it is very family friendly,” Ennis said. “During a typical match there is barely any talking and the game is self-governed. It teaches sportsmanship and if you make an error, you are the only one who can call it out.”