LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Most curlers at CurlVegas trace their start to the same source: the Winter Olympics.
Kim Strong said she and her family decided to try the sport after seeing it on television.
“Same as a lot of curlers do. We watched it during the last Olympic cycle and the one prior to that and just came upon the discovery that we could actually do this locally here in Las Vegas,” Strong said. “We… were kind of hooked from the very beginning.”
WATCH | Olympic buzz brings new interest to Las Vegas curling rink
She was stunned that the desert had its own rink.
“Vegas is a hot desert. This is an ice sport, and who knew?” Strong said, calling the venue “kind of a hidden gem of the valley.”
Zach Altman had a similar reaction after watching Team USA.
“Olympics, watching… they won the gold medal… that really got me in and then… I eventually felt like I had to try it myself,” Altman said.
The more he played, the more impressed he became with elite competitors.
“The more you play, the more difficult you realize what they’re doing is,” Altman said. “You realize how good… the men and women’s teams are when you actually see how precise they are.”
Both said the sport’s social side keeps players coming back.
“It’s a really social sport,” Altman said. “Part of the sport is hanging out afterwards… I think it’s a really cool community.”
Strong pointed to broom stacking — when teams gather after matches.
“You play your game, you play hard, and then… you sit around a table, and they're your friends for the rest of your curling career,” she said.
CurlVegas President Brad Whitlock said his own journey began after the 2010 Olympics.
“I took the lesson and there was 200 people there and I was hooked,” Whitlock said.
He said dedicated curling facilities remain rare in Southern Nevada.
“Having a dedicated curling club is really in a sense a luxury, but… it also gives a lot of opportunity to people that would never get a chance to use the sport,” Whitlock said.
With the 2026 Games approaching, Whitlock expects renewed interest.
“It creates a boom,” he said. “It gives us a chance to introduce the sport to a whole bunch more people than we would otherwise.”
To handle that surge, CurlVegas is offering “Try Curling” experiences — under an hour and priced at $35 — and 90-minute “Learn to Curl” lessons costing $45 for adults and $40 for youth. The club will also host free Olympic watch parties in February on Feb. 7, 14, 15 and 21 at 10 a.m., where fans can watch Team USA and ask curlers questions.
Whitlock said visitors do not need special equipment. The club provides stones, brooms and sliders, and offers adaptive devices for participants who cannot bend or lunge.
For longtime curlers, the Olympic spotlight is essential.
“It’s the one time where curling is watched… outside of the curling community,” Altman said. “A really good chance for us to… say, hey, come on out, try it yourself.”
Whitlock said that first step onto the ice often turns into something lasting.
“Once you've tried the sport, you become a curler and then you become our friend,” he said.
For more information on trying curling or attending Olympic-related events at CurlVegas, visit curlvegas.com.
