The Albany Curling Club

The Albany Curling Club is opening its doors to introduce kids as young as 6 to 80 to the ancient sport of curling. In Albany, curling dates back to the year 1866 where, according to records and historical pictures, a curling club played on the frozen lake at Albany’s Washington Park until it disbanded in 1902.

The Albany Curling Club Open House

The Albany Curling Club will be having an open house at their location on McKown Road in Albany. (117 West McKown Road, off Schoolhouse, off Western.) Introduction and instruction will be available for free for children, teens, and adults.

The basic idea behind curling is to roll a stone across ice into a target area, strategically placing your stones and knocking out opponents’s stones. (By turning the handle on the stone, or “curling” it, you can actually make the stone curve around an opponent’s blocking stone.) The speed and direction of the stone is partially controlled by the person rolling the
stone and partially by his/her teammates, who make a path in front of the rolling stone with brooms which quickly wipe away tiny upraised dots of ice to make the ice smoother. (This is a very quick explanation. They’ll make it easier to understand at the club!)

No special equipment is needed to show up, although brooms and sliding attachments for one of your shoes are provided there. (One foot sometimes gets to be slippery and one stays non-slippery. It’s not exactly part of the game, but kids and adults enjoy “scooting” across the ice by pushing with the non-slippery foot and sliding on the slippery foot!) The sport is done indoors on ice, and the room needs to be cool enough so the ice doesn’t
melt, so you should dress as you would for a cool autumn day. (e.g. long sleeves plus sweatshirt, gloves, warm socks, fairly clean sneakers or shoes)

For those who end up being interested, there are leagues for children, teens, and adults.

Upcoming Events:

Open House: Saturday, January 5, 2013, 10AM-4PM, and Sunday, January 6, 2013, Noon-4PM.

Individuals wishing to visit the curling club are encouraged to call the club, or send an e-mail and ask about scheduling a visit.

Go See It!

Albany Curling Club
117 W McKown Road
Albany NY 12203
(518) 456-6272

Interested? For more information, you can phone the club at 518-456-6272 or visit
the web site at www.albanycurlingclub.net.