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Olympics draw the curious to curling

Lance Prokopec of Janesville takes aim with a curling stone during a match last week at the Blackhawk Center on the Rock County Fairgrounds. Eric Steurer/staff.

JANESVILLE — It weighs 42 pounds, is made of granite and slides across the ice with ease.

It’s also the source of a lifetime of cheap thrills for members of the Blackhawk Curling Club.

Ryan Spielman of South Beloit grew up two blocks from a curling club and has been sliding the round stone for 25 years. Age is no boundary, he said, noting his 9-year-old son and step-daughter also enjoy the sport.

“For me, it’s the camaraderie and the fact you can do it forever,” Spielman said. “I curl with my (nearly) 70-year-old father. Any sport where you can go hang out with dad every Monday night is pretty cool.”

The game, back in the limelight, thanks to the Olympics, is appealing to newcomers. Spielman also curls with his wife, and they run the junior league on Saturday mornings. First-timers can catch on easily, he said.

That was the case for Shawn Genung and Lance Prokopec, who attended Janesville Parker High School together. Genung and Prokopec both played traditional sports in high school. Now they find themselves on opposite teams in a Thursday night men’s league at the Blackhawk Center on the Rock County Fairgrounds.

“We had a couple of other buddies that did it last year for the first time that told us about it,” Genung said. “We figured we’d give it a try.”

They’re enjoying their first season, but were surprised by the difficulty of the sport.

“This is nothing like other sports,” Prokopec said. “You don’t have to be in great physical shape. It’s a lot more technique.”

Added Genung, “It’s harder than it looks.”

For more information, visit www.blackhawkcurling.com

Read the full story in the e-edition of The Janesville Messenger, HERE.