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The 2026 Olympic Games begin in February, which means we’re only two months from curling fever infecting the Front Range. To help you get ahead of the crush, we asked Mimi Stevinson, co-owner of Rock Creek Curling in Lafayette, for tips on wringing gold from these stones.
Read More: 4 Places to Start Your Olympic Career in Denver
1. Wear comfortable, casual layers that will keep you warm on the ice but can be easily shed as you break a sweat. Contrary to popular belief, curling can be a workout: “We get a lot of people out here who go, Wow, this is harder than it looks,” Stevinson says. She suggests dressing as you would for a jog on a cold, sunny day.
2. Competitors slide a 42-pound stone toward a target, called a house, 150 feet away. Matches consist of eight or 10 ends (think: innings). Each squad throws eight stones per end and earns a point for each one that’s closer to the center, aka the button, than its competitor’s best attempt.
3. The Olympic Games have two-person and four-person competitions. In the latter, which is more common, every member throws two rocks per end; two sweepers maniacally scrub the ice with special brooms, which reduce friction and guide the stone to the target; and a skip stands in the house calling out instructions.
4. Correct form requires lunging low on your front foot while sliding at the correct speed to give the stone the momentum it needs to land in the house. Curlers wear a gripper sole to anchor their lunge foot, while the other gets a slippery Teflon bottom. (Rock Creek provides the necessary kicks to new curlers.)
5. The sport is accessible to almost anyone. “Kids can curl, 90-year-olds can curl, wheelchair users can curl,” Stevinson says. Mastering the finer points can take decades, however. Sign up for an hourlong open house session ($50 for adults; $25 for youth age 10 to 14) at Rock Creek to begin your journey to the 2030 Games.
