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Forty teams participated in the National Collegiate Curling Championship in Chicago this weekend. One of those teams was a first-time entrant from Ball State University, formed just seven weeks ago after being influenced by the Olympics.
"I remember watching the [2002] Olympics and just being enthralled with it," said Adam Bouse, who is the team's skip. "And so I watched them again this year and had people over and we pretty much watched every American match there was."
For only having two three-hour practice sessions at Bowling Green State University, the Ball State curling team, comprised of Bouse, Steve Garst, Tyler Crandall and Alex Beeman, did surprisingly well. The team went 1-2, earning a 10-4 victory in its last match Saturday night against Illinois.
"It was great to win a game against a reputable school," vice skip Garst said. "It just felt great to win a game because it's the national tournament and there were a lot of respectable teams there, because we didn't really have that much experience going in."
Fans even came with the team from Muncie, as they took a crew of about 20 people to help cheer them on. The fans were of no help in their first game on Saturday though, as the rookie curlers were humbled by Northwestern 13-4.
"We got crushed," Bouse said. "They were definitely the most experienced team we played. We couldn't hit the broad side of the barn."
STARTING THE TEAM
Bouse didn't have to look too far, as all four members of the team all attend the same church, The Revolution, which is on Ball State's campus.
There was one minor detail though. None of them participated in curling before.
"When we formed the team, we had no actual activity experience," Bouse said. "But I feel like we have extensive sense of theoretical knowledge."
On Feb. 25, the team headed up to Bowling Green State University for the team's first-ever attempt at curling. The team's acting manager, Darbi Strahle, has some friends that go there and got them ice time at the facility.
Bowling Green provided the materials for Ball State's first trial experience. Proper materials to round out a curling team include sliders (shoes), a broom and the stone, which weighs 42 pounds.
"They were sort of reluctant to let us try because we had never touched curling stones before," Bouse said. "But I felt pretty confident with the knowledge that we had."
Sliders run anywhere from $95-$340. Cheap brooms (or brushes) can be purchased for $20, but decent ones run around $50. What's the cost of brand new curling stones? Winning the lottery would help. It could cost $40,000 to outfit a club with all the stones necessary to compete.
Using Bowling Green's equipment, it was rough at first, as it took Ball State many throws to be able to consistently get the stone to the button.
"We started out mostly on getting it straight because if you can't get it on the sheet, you can't do this," Garst said. "And then we just worked on getting it narrower and narrower to get it right on the button."
When not getting practice time on Bowling Green's ice sheet, there are other strategies the foursome is using to learn how to play better. They include watching games, taking notes, analyzing shots, getting strategy guides online and downloading simulation games.
FUTURE
The team will practice a couple more times this year before taking a break over the summer. With the team's skip, Bouse graduating in May, the future of the team is uncertain. They will come back in the Fall Semester and see if there are enough people interested in forming a permanent club sport.
"It seems like there are a whole lot more people interested in it," teammate Tyler Crandall said. "I'd like to have a whole group to go Bowling Green in a few weeks. I think the future is bright. We're going to continue on. Hopefully Adam will be around, if not, we'll fill the void. It won't be an easy thing to do but we'll try."
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