Curling! Have you heard of it?

The Winter Olympics are going on at the moment, bringing into our sight sports we’ve maybe never paid attention to before. One that’s being talked about a lot right now is curling! And I can’t believe I just had the opportunity to practice it with the whole ambassadors team of Study in Sweden in Stockholm. 🥹

In this post I’ll tell you a little bit about my experience, because honestly, I didn’t expect to enjoy it this much.

What is Curling? ❄️🥌

That’s the question every single one of us had when we saw it in our calendar. I’m not a huge sports fan, so it was obvious I wouldn’t know… but I was surprised when no one else really knew either 😂

Curling is actually a very old sport that originated in 16th-century Scotland. It’s played on ice, where teams slide heavy granite stones toward a circular target (called the “house”) while teammates sweep the ice in front of the stone to control its speed and direction. Yes — the sweeping is intense and very serious!

The goal is simple in theory: get your stone closer to the center of the target than the other team’s stone. In reality? Not simple at all.

And here’s the interesting part: Sweden is very good at curling. The Swedish national teams have won multiple Olympic medals and world championships, and curling is actually quite popular here compared to many other countries. So practicing this sport in Sweden felt very on brand for my life here.

Playing the game

We were very excited to notice that the place we went to is actually used by the Swedish national team for their practices. So yes… we were basically playing where the pros train. No pressure, right? 😅

As we listened to the rules and watched the demonstrations, we all felt… confused. It looks slow and calm on TV, but when you’re the one holding that heavy stone and trying not to fall on ice, it’s a different story.

We started by practicing how to slide the stones. Let’s just say… we also practiced sliding ourselves. Lots of falls. I fell twice! 🫠

At first, it felt impossible to control anything. But after some practice rounds, the actual game between teams started, and that’s when things got better. Well… better for the others 😂 I was still being very cautious because my main goal was simply not to fall again.

Even though we couldn’t make points easily, it was actually so much fun. I’m proud to say that at least my team made one point, which is a LOT when you realize how difficult it is to aim properly. We all ended up super tired, which I did not expect from a sport that looks “slow.” Curling is secretly a workout!

What did I enjoy the most?

Sweeping. Definitely sweeping.

You use these special brooms, and you basically scrub the ice very intensely to help the stone glide further and straighter. It felt like I was aggressively cleaning the ice with a purpose 😌

One curious thing that happened was that I realized I couldn’t do the initial sliding movement as a left-handed person… even though I am left-handed. I completely lost my balance every time I tried. But when I switched and did it the “right-handed” way, suddenly I could maintain enough balance to release the stone properly.

So yes, apparently I’m left-handed for life, but right-handed for curling. Who knew? 😂

Would I try it again? Yes.

Would I fall again? Probably.

But that’s part of the experience ❄️

What do you think about curling? Is it something you would like to try one day? Let me know in the comments! 🥌✨