All the curling clubs we’ve featured so far on Throwing Rocks: The Curling Clubs of North Dakota have had one thing in common: they're located within 80 miles of the Canadian border.
That's because curling came to North Dakota and other states from Canada, and it came to Canada by way of Scottish immigrants in the early 1800s, when it was an outdoor sport played on frozen ponds. The stones they used back then to slide down the ice resembled a tea kettle, and nowadays those stones are made of polished granite. They come from one or two quarries in the entire world — one in Scotland, one in Wales — and the sport is played on a flat sheet of ice indoors.
A lot has changed about the sport of curling over the years, but the enthusiasm and dedication for it has only grown. And last year, curling became the official sport of North Dakota, which was celebrated with a ceremony at the Capital Curling Club in Bismarck.
In this Throwing Rocks segment, Roger Smith, curling historian and certified curling instructor at the Capital Curling Club, talks with host Tom Brosseau about the club's history. Listen to their conversation above.