As the ice begins to form outside the Superior Curling Club, curlers begin to sweep the ice inside.
UW-Superior’s Curling team is one of the weekly club members who also compete nationally.
At the Superior Curling Club, teams of four students compete against Superior locals in between their college tournaments.
Junior Bryce Waino sends down a stone for UWS.
“The social aspect, it’s a good time to get together with friends and just play games, especially if there’s a big bonspiel and you’re together all weekend,” said Waino, a member of the UWS Curling Club and a junior at UWS.
The college season is picking up as UWS’s first bonspiel was in Massachusetts, where they were crowned champions over Princeton on Nov. 13.
Over the weekend the team competed in Rice Lake, where they took home first place, defeating Notre Dame, Green Bay, and Minnesota.
Last year the team went all the way to Nationals in Fargo, North Dakota. There UWS placed third overall and earned a bronze medal.
“The goal right now is to just make it to nationals, get in, and see what happens,” said Waino.
Waino grew up with the game through his father and grandfather who both played the sport before him. “Having three generations of our family on the ice at the same time was really fun,” Waino said.
Hailey Miller and Korey Garceau sweeping a stone in the Superior Curling Club.
Hailee Melgeorge, another member of the curling team has a longtime connection with Superior’s curling club.
She started curling at Superior’s Junior Curling League when she was in fourth grade.
Now, in college she has found a home within the curling club.
“You can make what you want of it, you can come on Sunday nights and try it or you can be more on the competitive side, go to bonspiels on weekends or play league on weekdays,” Melgeorge said.
If you’re looking for a way to follow the team, find them on Instagram, @uws_curling.
They currently have a link to their newly dropped merchandise where orders will be taken until Dec. 25.
