Grab a rock and a broom, find a sheet of ice, and you have got a game to play.A Little Historynutmegcurling.com.

That is just about all that is needed for the sport of curling, although it is not quite that simple. The rock, a granite stone that weighs about 40 pounds, has a handle for participants to slide the rock across the ice and toward a target with a center, called the house.

Perhaps you have seen curling during the Olympic Winter Games.

"We were watching it and both kind of got hooked on it," said Newtown's Kyle Slover, who started curling along with his wife, Amy, a decade ago, after seeing the 2006 games in Turin, Italy.

"I remember CNBC and MSNBC provided television coverage of the curling events, and I started watching the games while sipping my coffee at 5 am, looking for morning news. Soon, I was hooked. Later that winter, the Ardsley Curling Club in Westchester County [N.Y.] advertised a learn-to-curl open house in our local paper, and my wife and I tried it. We joined the Ardsley Curling Club the next fall, and curled there that winter. We then joined the Nutmeg Curling Club after moving to Newtown in 2008," he said.

Mr Slover, 46, continues to play these days, and is a member of the Nutmeg Curling Club, based at Wonderland of Ice in Bridgeport. Mr Slover and his wife curled together for several years but, due to other commitments, Ms Slover has not had the time necessary to devote to the game.

"I would certainly encourage anyone and everyone to try it. It is a great way to stay active through the cold winter months, and is a also a great way to make new friends. Also, if you get involved in tournament play - a tournament is known as a bonspiel - you can travel to other clubs with your team, which further enhances the social aspect of the sport. There are tournaments around the Northeast and Canada nearly every weekend through the season," Mr Slover said.

The basic concept of the game is to score points by sliding a 40-pound rock across a long sheet of ice and into the house. Teams of four work together to strategize, placing rocks near the center or, when the situation calls for it, pushing teammate's rocks closer, knocking opposing team member rocks away, or setting up rocks as guards to protect teammate's rocks following a well-placed throw.

One the team members is the skip. He calls the shots from the house, directing the person throwing, and two players who sweep alongside the sliding rock. The sweepers actually melt the bumpy ice, pebbled to create less friction for the heavy game piece, allowing them to control the direction of the rock or allow it to go further.

"The conditions change throughout the game," Mr Slover said. "Predicting or controlling the rate of the curl is the job of the sweeper."

The other team members are called a vice, lead, and second. The vice helps call the shots when the skip has his or her turn to slide the rock.

Each team of four plays eight stones during eight or ten ends (like innings in baseball) to comprise a game.

Curlers have a gripper on one foot to give the curler some traction, while pushing off to deliver the rock. The brooms, some of which are now made of carbon fiber, can cost from about $75 to $300.

"Technology has hit curling like everything else," Mr Slover points out.

"Much like golf, you can learn it in an afternoon but it takes the rest of your lifetime to master it," Mr Slover said.

The curler has improved his game throughout the years and competes in the Nutmeg club's competitive Tuesday night league.

"For me, the hardest skill was, and still is, developing a keen and consistent feel for 'weight,' which is the overall amount of forward motion applied to the stone in the delivery, and controls how far down the ice the stone travels. Excellent curlers can not only throw the same weight over and over again on command, but can deftly alternate their weights, such as throwing an up-weight takeout on one throw and then throwing an accurate soft draw weight on the next. Also, part of the team communication involves the thrower asking for feedback from his sweepers on what they think the ice is doing, how fast it is down a certain line, is the line breaking, etcetera. Many sweepers carry stopwatches to time deliveries, which gives them an indication of how heavy or light the throw is. In responding to the thrower, a sweeper may say that a certain split time on the throw will achieve the desire result. Good curlers can accurately throw the desired split time on command, and usually within hundredths of a second," Mr Slover said. "I enjoy the people - everyone's really nice. It's a great social game. I enjoy the strategy and I enjoy sweeping, too. Curling is a good workout, especially if you sweep aggressively, which I enjoy doing. Effective sweeping can make a critical difference in the success or failure of a shot, and I like the physical element of this aspect of the game.

"Curling's combination of chesslike strategy and the graceful focus of the delivery motion was intriguing. I enjoy the teamwork aspect, and the sport also offered some anaerobic workout benefits through the sweeping aspect," said Mr Slover, who played soccer through college.

Outside of curling, Mr Slover enjoys working on classic cars and motorcycles, and describes himself as a bit of a car geek who enjoys watching auto racing, especially endurance events.

According to the World Curling Federation (WCF), "What may have started as an enjoyable pastime of throwing stones over ice during a harsh Northern European winter, has evolved into a popular modern sport with its own world championships, which attracts fans and large television audiences."

The first recognized curling clubs were formed in Scotland, and during the 19th Century the game was exported where Scots settled around the world in cold climates, according to the WCF.

Various leagues are offered for different skill levels, offering a chance for newcomers to the game to get their feet wet in an instructional league, and an experience for seasoned players to play on competitive nights. Curlers have their own equipment, but rocks and brooms are on hand at the Nutmeg club, which always welcomes newcomers to the game.

Part of the game of curling includes socialization on and off the ice surface. The Nutmeg club has a bar and curlers often hang around after their time on the ice.

Sharon Giese of Norwalk wears many hats at the Nutmeg Club, including providing instruction on ice and serving beverages on ice as the bartender. The thing Ms Giese likes most about the game of curling is the high level of sportsmanship.

"It's not a sport where you're yelling at people. You applaud everyone's good shot," Ms Giese said.

"I love the social aspect of the game and the teamwork. Everyone's involved with each shot," said Bethel's Ed Scimia, league chairman.

The fall season runs from October through December and the winter campaign picks up in January and continues through March. There are options for curlers to sign up individually, with partners, or as teams, and options to join partway into a season.

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