Curling. A sport that has immensely grown in popularity since the 2018 Winter Olympics. Although it has come to conversation as of late, some people have loved it for multiple years.
Appleton North does have their own curling club that consists of five girls. I was able to speak with senior Sarah Fleming who has curled on the team since her freshman year. First let’s take a deeper look at the sport that is often compared to shuffleboard on ice.

Curling originated in Scotland and it has a simple goal: get the stone closest to the middle. The team who gets their stone closest to the bullseye at the end of the ice gets a point. First team of four to eight points wins. There is a skip, who calls the shots using hand signals. and the vice that will switch positions with the skip. Finally there is the first and second, these are the players who throw the stone. Sarah explained it as something that seems simple but takes a lot of strategy and understanding of Newton’s first law.

The Appleton North Curling team is a part of an overall club that consist of teams from East, West, and Kimberly. Our very own team will be attending State this year in mid February. However, for Sarah and the rest of her teammates, it is much more than competing and going to state. She explained curling as a “social sport” and encourages teams to have good sportsmanship. She added on by saying you are encouraged to “sit down and have a meal with the other team.” In a phrase that perfectly sums it up “we are all bound by the love of curling,” it really does just seem like something they do to have a good time.