New club team sweeps campus, literally

In only its second year of existence, the IU Curling Club already notices an increased interest in the unconventional sport.\nThe club is the brainchild of junior Ryan Brown. Growing up in a curling family, Brown experienced the game at a young age and eventually shared his love of the sport with his long-time friend and fraternity brother, junior David Krasny, now the vice president of the club.\nThey began organizing the club two years ago, with Krasny taking care of the business aspect.\n"(Brown) knows how to play. I get things organized," Krasny said. \nLast year, IU's team progressed to the medal round of the Big Ten Tournament. The team hopes to bring the championship to Bloomington this year and continue to be a contender in the club curling circuit.\nCurling is a sport played on ice, with four members to a team. The goal of the game is to slide "stones" down a 146-foot-long alley, getting the stones as close as possible to the center of the target. Two members of the team "sweep" a path in front of the stones to create friction and melt the ice, causing the stone to slide farther.\nPractices are held at the Indiana/World Skating Academy in Indianapolis. The team carpools to practices weekly, and the I/WSA offers a few club teams that are open for students to join. The team also competes at this arena against other club teams, including teams from Butler, Ball State and Purdue. \nBecause of Brown's influence, Krasny has taken up playing on the team and hopes to recruit more members this year. There are six players on the team currently, but the club already had a call-out meeting last week and plans to have more meetings after it gets more equipment.\n"(The next meeting) is going to be specifically (for those interested) to be taken to Indianapolis to try the game for free," Krasny said. "We feel this will be the best way to recruit, as people will have the chance to try something new and decide for themselves if it is something they would be interested in."\nBrown and Krasny are looking for people of all ages for the co-ed team.\n"Curling is for everyone from 8 to 80," Brown said.\nBecause curling isn't a widespread sport, the founders understand many do not know how to play, but they said the lack of knowledge isn't important.\n"You can learn everything you need to know about the game in half an hour to an hour," Brown said.\nKrasny said he is a prime example.\n"The first day I was slipping and falling on the ice, the next I was playing," Krasny said. "It's an easy game to pick up but hard to master."\nThe faculty adviser to the group, business professor Steven Kreft, said he agrees.\n"The nice thing is I think it can be fun at a beginner level and challenging at an expert level, so it appeals to all," he said in an e-mail.\nKreft became involved with the club after having Krasny as a student in his G202: Business and Economic Strategy in the Public Arena class last spring.\n"We were talking before class one day, and he mentioned the idea of a curling club," Kreft said. "I don't think he knew I was a curling fan, but I am happy he talked to me."\nAs much as the team loves to win, Brown acknowledges it's not everything -- even losing can have its benefits.\n"Curling is a very social sport," Brown said. "After a game, the teams will go to a pub where the winning team will buy the losers a round -- so it's not always so bad to lose"