Chess on ice?

Curling has been described in many ways, according to Gretchen Pietruszewski, the manager of the Frogtown Curling Club at 743 Western Ave. N. in Saint Paul. “It’s been called chess on ice or shuffleboard on ice, but it is just a game of skill on ice.”
The sport began as early as the 16th century in Scotland, as a game to keep busy in winter, according to Pietruszewski. “The players threw rocks on the frozen rivers,” she said.
In today’s version of the game, a heavy stone made of granite is thrown out on the ice. Players using brooms sweep ahead of the stone, making its path smoother as it heads toward a target. “You deliver the stone, your teammates sweep ahead of the stone and your captain directs where it should go,” Pietruszewski explained.
She said each player has a role on the team. “There is the leader, the second, the third, the vice skip and the skip,” she noted. “The skip is the captain, one of the stronger people on the team.”
Curling reportedly was a part of the inaugural Winter Olympic Games held in Chamonix, France, in 1924, but that event was not considered official by the International Olympic Committee until 2006. Curling did become a medaled sport in the Winter Olympic Games in 1998.
Pietruszewski said she is from northern Minnesota, and took curling as part of gym classes. “When I came here, it was hard to find a club. There was only one, and it was always full. But then this club opened up 11 years ago, and I heard about it and jumped right in. Now there are six clubs. The Saint Paul Club has over 1,200 members, and we have over 650. The clubs in Chaska and Blaine have about the same number as we do, and the clubs in St. Croix and Richfield are a little smaller.”
The curling clubs hold bonspiels, or tournaments on a frequent basis. Different leagues complete. “You pay a fee, play throughout the day, and you are in it until you lose three games,” Pietruszewski said. She said most rinks are indoors, because it gets too cold in Minnesota to play outside during the winter. However, some breweries are setting up rinks in their parking lots. “Curling is really growing, especially in the Twin Cities,” she said.
COVID-19 did affect the Frogtown Curling Club, and its doors were shut for a while. Then the club re-opened with restrictions. “It was not very fun,” Pietruszewski said, “but we’re back in action now, with everyone vaccinated.”
The club is open through the week and offers group clinics to people who want to try curling. “We offer them the basics, but by the time you leave you will want to come back and learn more,” she said.
The sport is something the whole family can enjoy, and Hamline-Midway resident Tracy Lindgren can attest to that. She was curling at a recent bonspiel wearing her grandfather John’s curling sweater with a trophy patch on it. Her grandfather was on the winning team that was awarded the Lemont Winter trophy in Virginia, Minn., where he lived.
Lindgren, who now is a member of the St. Paul Curling Club, said, “When I was growing up on the Iron Range and in high school, I played on a curling league with my grandma, Lorna.” Her father and brother play the sport, as well.
She said curling offers an opportunity to meet nice people and have fun. “I like the sociability of it,” Lindgren said.
“It also offers you the opportunity for self-competition,” she added. “You want to see if you can make that shot.”
Pietruszewski said what she likes about curling is that it is a sport you can engage in all your life. “I didn’t start playing until I was in my early 40s,” she said, “and I hope to continue well into my 80s. There are ways to continue playing with no barriers, really.”
She said curling has senior teams, junior teams, deaf teams and wheelchair teams.
Pietruszewski has managed the Frogtown Curling Club for the past 10 years. “It’s a great job for me, because it’s seasonal, and I have a landscaping business so it works out well,” she said.