An ancient sport first developed in Scotland in the 1500s is alive in well in Cook County.

Curling, which was first “imported” to the U.S. in 1830, according to the on-line encyclopedia, Wikipedia, has Olympic status these days and is attracting more and more young people to learn about the sport.

Longtime curler Rory Smith among the rocks.

That’s certainly the case for the Grand Marais Curling Club, which boasts of more than six new curlers this year, joining up with experienced teammates and becoming “hooked” on the game played at the curling rink at the Cook County Community Center every week.

Anton Moody, who started curling last year and convinced two of his buddies, Dan Johnson and Dan Schueller, to try it out, is satisfied with the results. They play on Mark Pederson’s team and are having a great time.

Sweeping in front of a rock to keep it straight and moving is a critical skill in curling. Here Anton Moody, left, Dan Johnson and Dan Schueller sweep in front of Skip Mark Pederson

“It’s been a lot of fun,” Moody said. “They (Johnson and Schueller) didn’t think it would be, but now they’re hooked.”

Getting hooked is common parlance in the curling world, if the veterans who talked about the game are any indication. The attraction is the challenge of good strategy and finesse as well as the skill of being able to throw a 40-pound rounded piece of granite called a stone or a rock down a 150-foot piece of ice and placing it where you want it, Pederson said.

The ice has circles at each end, somewhat like a shuffle board, and the object of the game is to get as many rocks in the “House” as possible, canceling out rocks of the opposing team by proximity to the center.

The ice is temperamental, one might say, and is sometimes fast or slow, and the stones can drift or curl across it, making it hard to hit the target. Enter the brush/brooms, which, in the old days were like house brooms, but are much more efficient today.

Sweeping in front of a rock can really change what it does, said Rory Smith, who has been curling for more than 25 years.

“It makes the rock go faster and straighter,” he said. “It melts the ice a little bit so it glides easier.” Good sweepers can really make a difference in the direction and speed of a rock, he said.

Curling is a sport accessible to everyone, too, regardless of age.  Veteran curlers, like Tofte’s Ron Gervais, 72,  are still going strong, said Bob Spry, who played with Gervais when they won the Senior National Championship. Gervais still curls about three nights a week, Spry said, traveling to Two Harbors and Duluth to play in clubs there, and they’re planning on competing in the nationals again this year.

Women are also great curlers, Pederson said, noting that he has played against some pretty tough competitors in past years.

Pete Gresczyk, who has been curling since he was in high school, said “I used to really like the competition. Now I like the camaraderie.” He said he and Brian Olsen used to play five nights a week, driving to Duluth and Silver Bay and then competing in tournaments or bonspiels on the weekends.

For rookies like Emily Entrikin, who works for musher Robin Beal, curling is a great way to meet people in the community as well as get a workout.

It’s also just plain fun, said John Mianowski, who has returned to Grand Marais to live. He played in high school and now he’s playing again. “It’s a lifestyle,” he said, and he’s glad of it.

The league curls every Monday and Tuesday nights and the public is welcome to come watch. This next bonspiel is Feb. 26-28, and will feature mixed teams. The last bonspiel of the season is the second weekend in March.