Curling: a majestic winter sport that evokes images of middle-aged men and Scandinavians in colorful pants. The mere mention of this noble activity elicits heartfelt responses such as “What?” and “That’s a sport?”
For the benefit of the uninitiated, curling is that strange sport you see in the Olympics every eight years where people slide circular rocks called “stones” across long stretches of ice and try to get them into a set of colorful circles called “the house.” Curling competitions are called “bonspiels” and are divided into matchups referred to as “games,” which are further divided into eight to ten rounds, called “ends”.
The University of Denver is fortunate enough to have a curling club of its own, though it was in grave danger until very recently. Though the odds have been stacked against them, DU Club Curling accomplished an incredibly improbable comeback in their first bonspiel since Winter 2020.
“When I joined club curling my freshman year, we had about 20 people on the team, and most of them had been curling since their freshman or sophomore years,” said DU Club Curling President Kate Pletcher. “It was a well-established club at DU and had a lot of returning members. When COVID-19 hit in March 2020, that killed much of the momentum and legacy that club curling had established at DU. All of our older members graduated in 2020 and 2021, so we were left with a team of three to four people during my sophomore and junior year.”
Like many clubs, the pandemic’s effect on travel made club activities extremely difficult. According to Pletcher, many respected collegiate curling clubs could not weather the storm and ended up dissolving.
“Even the clubs that did make it through had similar struggles as ours: low membership, lower funding and becoming isolated from College Curling USA,” she said. “However, curling clubs are on the rise again, and the world of college curling is more active than ever. It is definitely an encouraging trend in the right direction.”
The revival was not achieved without a good deal of blood, sweat and tears. As the sole officer of Club Curling, Pletcher wears a number of hats. Her responsibilities include managing and leading practices, recruiting, coordinating travel, managing the budget and working as a liaison between the club and organizations like College Curling USA and the Denver Curling Club.
This hard work recently paid off. After heavy recruitment work this past fall, membership numbers are back up for the club, and travel has resumed.
“We were able to send two teams to a bonspiel in Nebraska last weekend, and [we] are sending two entirely new teams to Minnesota this coming weekend for another bonspiel,” Pletcher reported. “Our team is now mostly new members (and new curlers), but they are learning really quickly and show a lot of enthusiasm and excitement for the sport. Club curling has officially been revived, and I am just so happy that we can resume normal club operations.”
The club members who attended the Nebraska bonspiel were determined to revive the club’s reputation as well. One of the two DU teams competing in the bonspiel won two of their games, securing a spot in the finals and placing 6th overall –– an astounding success for such a new, inexperienced team. The message was clearly sent: DU curling is back, and it’s here to stay.
So, what comes next for DU’s curling club? Pletcher stated that, after she graduates this year, she wants to see the team built back up to its old ways. She also believes that some other improvements, including having some coaching staff, could “help them become more competitive with other schools.”
As the DU Club Curling team rounds out its competitions for this quarter, they still seek new membership and fresh involvement with the sport. For more information about the club, check out the official website and social media.
