LRCA celebrates 10 years of curling

WOLFEBORO — The Lakes Region Curling Association recently wrapped up its 10th year as an organization.

The association got started by a group of five friends, fresh from watching the Winter Olympics in Socchi, who decided starting a curling club would be a cool thing to do.

They talked to existing clubs in Conway and Plymouth, wrestled with the minutiae of organization and finances, and – since they had never curled in their lives – signed up for a league at Plymouth State University, where they learned the ups and downs of playing a medieval sport without a clue about strategy or style.

Fast forward 10 years and most of those early enthusiasts have moved or passed away, but the fledgling club – dubbed Lakes Region Curling Association for its central location in the Granite State – thrives today.

Nowhere is that more evident than when the club offers a learn-to-curl clinic for residents and visitors of the Lakes Region.

Whether to see the event first-hand or to check off LRCA's clinic requirement before officially joining the league, 24 hopeful and curious participants gathered at Pop Whalen Ice & Arts Arena in Wolfeboro on a recent Sunday afternoon.

Attendees learned the basics of the sport including trying their hand at shoving 40-pound granite stones down a 125-foot sheet of ice and sweeping like mad while chasing someone else’s rock down that same stretch.

The learn-to-curl event kicked off the LRCA’s fall 2024 season.

A few weeks later, LRCA's official season began on Oct. 13 with nine teams and 43 members. The nine-week fall season runs until mid-December with matches on Sunday afternoons at 4:30-6:30 p.m.

Following the season's first matches, LRCA members gathered for the 10th anniversary cake and tribute to the club’s longest-playing curlers: Carl Crosley, Susan and Peter Goodwin, Roger Murray, Mike Turner, Andrea Dudley, and Rich Masse.

For more information on LRCA, visit lakescurlingnh.org