The Tampa Bay Curling Club was started by a small group of curling enthusiasts who wanted to bring this northern winter sport to the Florida Gulf Coast. What began with a handful of people on borrowed ice grew into an active club with recreational leagues, regular Learn to Curl sessions, and a steady stream of new members who had never touched a curling stone before. Today we play on indoor ice at a local rink in the Tampa Bay area, so the heat outside never gets in the way of a good game.
Our mission
Our mission is simple: to promote, support, and grow the sport of curling in the Tampa Bay area. We do that by teaching newcomers from scratch, running friendly recreational leagues, and welcoming anyone who is curious about the game, regardless of age or athletic background. Curling is a sport you can enjoy for a lifetime, and we want as many people as possible to discover it. One of our founders once put it best in a national radio interview, saying our members were already "good enough to dream" of someday curling at the highest level - the kind of optimism that sums up how we approach the game.
What is curling?
Curling is a team sport played on a sheet of specially prepared ice. Two teams of four take turns sliding polished granite stones toward a series of rings called the house. The goal is to finish each end with more of your stones closer to the center, the button, than any of your opponent's. A game is made up of several ends, a bit like innings in baseball.
Each stone weighs roughly forty pounds. After a teammate delivers it, the others sweep the ice in front of the moving stone with brooms. Sweeping warms the surface for a fraction of a second, which lets the stone travel farther and curl, or bend, less sharply. Good sweeping and clear communication can completely change where a stone comes to rest, which is why curling is so often called chess on ice.
A sport built on respect
Curling has a strong tradition of sportsmanship that players call the spirit of curling. Teams shake hands before and after every game, opponents are treated as friends, and it is customary for the two teams to spend time together once the match is over. That welcoming culture is a big part of why our members keep coming back, and it is exactly the atmosphere we work to protect at the club.
A club worth talking about
Curling in Florida is unusual enough that the wider world has taken notice. Our club has been featured on NPR and WBUR's national program Only A Game, profiled in The New York Times Magazine, and visited by Tampa television stations WTSP 10 News and WFLA News Channel 8. See the highlights on our in the press page.
Who can play
Almost anyone. Curling does not demand great speed or strength, and players of many ages and abilities compete on equal footing. If you can walk on a sheet of ice and you are willing to learn, you can curl. The best first step is a Learn to Curl session, where we cover everything you need to get started.