A few months ago I was on 17-mile mountain run with my friend Josh, and while climbing up a steep ravine we were discussing our goals and Josh shared his lifelong aspiration:
He wants to be an Olympian. Win a gold medal. Podium and everything.
And Josh could do anything; I could see him being an Olympian. He’s the kind of person who thrives at almost everything he puts his mind to. He shared he was thinking about curling, arguably the most approachable Olympic sport. It’s just shuffleboard on ice, right? His thesis was that it was the best shot at hitting Olympic glory for someone who decided they wanted to start their Olympic journey in their mid 30’s.
Curling traces its origins to 16th-century Scotland, where players slid stones across frozen ponds. The sport grew in popularity, with formal rules established in the 19th century. Curling made its Olympic debut at the 1924 Chamonix Winter Games but wasn’t officially recognized as a medal sport until 1998 in Nagano. Since then, it has captivated audiences with its unique blend of skill, strategy, and sweeping theatrics.
Probably like you, every time the Olympics are on we have been captivated by the sport. Why do they sweep? Is it an actual broom? How do you get points? Are there different positions?
So naturally Josh put together a team, with the hypothesis that if he got four highly driven, athletic people who are just a little crazy, we could make a run at the 2034 Olympics.
And I was invited to the team. Here’s how it went:
Joining the Utah Olympic Oval League
Our handpicked team showed up for our first Thursday night game at the arena where the 2002 Olympics were held in Salt Lake City. We had watched some YouTube videos, followed some Instagram accounts showing curling highlights, and had read the rulebook.
Here’s an overview of how curling works:
Objective: Curling is played between two teams of four players, aiming to slide granite stones across the ice toward a target area, called the house. The team with the closest stones to the center (the button) scores points.
Gameplay: Each team delivers eight stones per end (similar to an inning in baseball), alternating shots with the opponent. There are four positions, with slightly different roles but all throw two shots and sweep.
Scoring: Only one team scores per end, and points are awarded based on the number of stones closer to the button than the opponent’s closest stone. In our league we play 8 ends, and in the Olympics they play 10 ends. For us a game lasts about 2.5 hours.
Sweeping & Strategy: Sweeping reduces friction, helping the stone travel farther and straighter. Teams use sweeping and shot types—draws (precise placement) and takeouts (removing opponent stones)—to control the game. Curling is a mix of precision, physics, and strategy. There are tons of different strategies to win a game.
We were matched against a team who had been playing together for over 10 years. They were amazingly good and very patient with us. Here’s some highlights from that first match:
- We mostly all fell over with our first shots. That ice is slippery! Plus you wear something slick on one shoe to help you slide better.
- Our shots were terrible. Most went too far. A stone is 42 pounds and once it gets going it’s hard to slow it down.
- The court is huge! Trying to communicate across a 150-foot field is difficult. You have one player at one end trying to say where to throw it and it’s impossible to hear them. We started by running back and forth with instructions, and then developed hand signals.
- Knockouts. We were pretty good at knocking out opponent’s stones, but getting any of ours in to count for points was near impossible.
We ended up winning a couple of rounds with our knockout strategy, but the team we were playing solidly beat us.
We started studying the sport more and showing up each week with an effort to work on something new that game. It was incredibly fun. We are carpooled to the rink and would discuss strategy as we drove down, and on the way home we would dissect our recent loss.
And we lost every single game in the regular season.
We kept improving, but there’s a huge gap in skill from a beginner to an advanced player. It’s like showing up to the PGA tour without ever golfing before. But Josh’s hypothesis was right. We were driven, all athletic, and competitive. And most importantly, we were getting better…
When it was time for the tournament, we were ready. We gave it everything we got, and played two near-perfect games. It was incredible. We were calling plays and executing them. Knock that rock out? No problem. Curl around this rock and land it in the center? No problem.
Because of our seeding and who we beat in our first match, we competed for bronze in our bracket and ended up winning by one point. When it was clear we were going to win I was shocked. “This is impossible,” I kept saying. And I wore that medal that whole night, leaving it out on my kitchen table that night so my kids could see it when they woke up.
Lessons Learned
As I have reflected on this experience, here’s three lessons learned:
Commitment. My life is incredibly busy, and to commit to weekly practices and games is a huge commitment. But it’s temporary. The league was 10 weeks, and I told myself I could try anything for 10 weeks. Most of my hobbies are like that (e.g., teaching at a university ends up being 14 classes in a semester, coaching my son’s basketball team is only 12 games, etc.). Looking at opportunities as tests or temporary experiments rather than life altering events unlocks a lot more you can do. I figured if I didn’t like curling I would only be sacrificing 10 weeks to find out.
Teamwork. This feels obvious, but being part of a good team matters. After every shot we would fist bump, give words of encouragement, or crack a joke. And realizing that YOU are part of the team to foster that culture is everything. I am ¼ of the whole curling team. Similarly at work it helps to zoom out and realize that. If you want to change your team culture, it can be you!
Study. How many of us just show up and work, without studying our industry, job, or company? What made our team better was studying each week. I try to do the same in my job – I read pricing articles, industry trends, and have RSS feeds set up about my company. I proactively reach out to pricing experts. I’m all-in on my job. You can be too. Start working on that certification, talk to others in your field, and work a little harder than your coworkers. You can read more about this in The Unwritten Guide On How to Become An Expert In Your Space.
Now, will we be Olympians one day? Hopefully. I’ve certainly enjoyed curling enough in my “first experiment” to continue with it moving forward. Regardless, the lessons learned have been invaluable. Like me with curling, I hope you’re inspired to try something new, which could be in your personal life or at work.
