APPLETON, Wis. — Participation in the year-round sport of curling picks up every winter in Wisconsin, thanks to places like the Appleton Curling Club. It’s a place where people just trying the sport can meet international champions of curling, who grew up in Wisconsin.
Curling is a team sport, played on ice, where two teams take turns sliding stones toward the center of a 12-foot-wide scoring circle. The team that gets their stones closer to the target wins.
Greg Johnson is a member of the Appleton Curling Club. He’s been curling for most of his life. The sport has taken him around the world, competing in national and world championships. But his favorite is playing in his hometown.
“It was the first love of my life,” said Johnson. “I’ve curled with my brother since I was 14 years old. In fact, he drives from Waupaca to curl with me every Monday night here. The friends that I’ve made over the years, it’s like a home.”
A home that’s growing. There are dozens of curling leagues, every day of the week, for all ages at the Appleton Curling Club, including for those just learning the sport.
Johnson has loved witnessing the sport gain a much broader appeal over the past few years.
“When I was curling competitively, when we won the national championship, there were like seven people in the curling club watching us play,” said Johnson. “Today, because of technology, web streaming, TV coverage and the Olympics, curling has grown leaps and bounds.”
Kendall Behm is also a member of the Appleton Curling Club and a national curling champion. She said the beauty of it is that anyone, at any stage of life, can pick up the sport.
“There are people from all different walks of life doing the same as the young people,” Behm. “Some older people, you’re going to see families belong together for multiple generations. It’s just a really fun environment.”
The building that houses the Appleton Curling Club was built over 60 years ago. Johnson has dreams of raising enough money to build a larger one to accommodate the growing participation.
“But the cost can be astronomical,” said Johnson. “So, for now, you know, this building will suit us well until something comes along where we’re able to afford a new curling club.”
He said the building may be old, but that’s part of the charm. It’s the interaction with others, and the camaraderie, that are most important.
“Curling is very sociable, and all curlers are friendly and nice. Like, if you are a curler, it doesn't matter whether you're in Appleton, Wisconsin, or whether you're in California or New York or anywhere in between," said Johnson. "If you are at a curling club and you say you are a curler, you are always welcome with open arms.”