Curling, explained

Like many of us, Jeffrey Enchura watched curling events during the Olympics with great fascination. It wasn’t until his wife signed him up for a league as a Christmas gift one year that it became his hobby. “I was immediately hooked and have been curling now for the past six years,” he says.

Enchura, who is the Food & Beverage Director at Meadow Ridge, a continuing care retirement community (CCRC) in Redding, belongs to the Nutmeg Curling Club in Bridgeport where he plays three nights a week. While he lives in nearby Trumbull, some members come from as far as an hour away to play. “Our club’s membership has had very steady growth post-pandemic, and Olympic years always generate more interest.” He also mentors the juniors program which hosts an annual weekend tournament, or “bonspiels.” “We turn our ice into a glow-in-the-dark curling experience with black lights for the kids. We’re one of the only clubs to do this and it’s very popular.”

But what exactly is curling? Enchura describes it as “a cross between shuffleboard, hockey and chess,” with three key pieces of equipment: the stone, special shoes (one with a gripper sole and one with a slider sole) and the broom. The ice is sprayed with water droplets to create a pebble effect, generating friction to help the stone move. By sweeping the ice in front of the moving stone, curlers manipulate its path—it either stays straight or “curls” toward the spot where it’s supposed to land.

Enchura has found the curling community in Fairfield County is closer-knit than he ever expected. In fact, he once noticed a couple’s name engraved on one of the club’s stones. “It was familiar, but I couldn’t put my finger on it,” he recalls. “When I went to the dinner reservations book at Meadow Ridge that night, I saw the names that were on that stone!” He immediately sought out the couple, who’d recently moved to the community and had belonged to the same club. They now regularly bring other Meadow Ridge residents to the rink to support Enchura and his teammates.

The Olympics always spur increased activity around curling, even in Connecticut. Last weekend, 2018 U.S. gold medalist John Shuster is in Stamford working as a curling analyst for NBC Sports and stopped by a recent bonspiel at the Nutmeg Curling Club. “He surprised everyone and came by Saturday night, hung out for four hours, talked to everyone, took pictures, and stayed to watch the glow-in-the-dark curling, which he thought was amazing,” Enchura said.

This year’s Olympics have been historic for Americans in the sport, with the first U.S. medals in mixed doubles, the first medal for an American woman, the oldest U.S. Winter Olympian to compete, and the first time the American women’s team beat Canada. While all of that is both exciting and impressive, Enchura says, “most people come for the sport but stay for the community.” The ‘spirit of curling’ is a fundamental code of conduct emphasizing sportsmanship, integrity and respect over mere winning.”

Whether he’s on the ice or in the dining room at Meadow Ridge, Enchura knows these values are worth more than gold.