January 9, 2023

When the Rutland Rocks Curling Club was first formed in December 2007, organizers started with little more than a set of stones and a passion to learn the sport. This year, the club is celebrating its 15th anniversary and commemorating the major strides the group has made in that time.

With the season beginning in November and ending in February, the club meets twice a week for practice at the Giorgetti Athletic Complex and offers community learn-to -curl workshops throughout the season.

The club also regularly competes with clubs from across the U.S. and Canada and has even had a team win the Grand National Curling Club’s East Coast Championship twice.

Club President Dean Mooney first joined the group nearly 14 years ago and said, in that time, he’s seen exponential growth in membership, with the club now home to roughly 60 members.

“I think the first year, (the club) had six or eight people that curled and it has continued to grow,” Mooney said. “People just don’t come in, try it for a year and then leave. We have people coming back because it is such a fun sport and such a social sport. I think that’s the huge piece that connects the people — the socialization that takes place.”

Part of that growth is also in part thanks to the learn-to-curl events the club has put on since its inception for anyone interested in taking a shot at the sport.

After a quick meeting on safety and the basic rules of gameplay, new curlers take to the ice to practice sweeping and throwing the stone with proper alignment and balance.

Molly Grazin, a new Rutland resident and visitor to the recent learn-to-curl event on Jan. 4, said after her experience with the club, she and her husband will certainly be back for more in the future.

“We definitely came to get to know people in the community since we’re new here, but I think it was a great introduction. It’s a sport that most people could get into and (it’s) user-friendly,” Grazin said.

First added to the Olympic Winter Games in 1988, curling is currently considered one of the fastest growing winter sports and, according to Mooney, the demand is clear at all ages.

Beginning in the next couple of weeks, Rutland Rocks Curling Club will teach 52 students to curl as part of a collaboration with Rutland Middle School’s Lifelong Sports program. The six-week initiative is intended to expose students to recreational sports in the Rutland area.

Gary Watulak, a club member of 10 years and a lead organizer in the Lifelong Sports collaboration, said the club was originally only expecting up to 37 students, adding that the high demand is exciting.

“We’ve been wanting to do a youth program for several years and to have so many kids interested in it is encouraging. After this year, we are looking to expand the program to be a regular event on Sundays so that we can just keep teaching kids through the whole season,” Watulak said.

Also on the horizon for the club is the first “BocceSpiel,” a bocce tournament created in collaboration with Rutland’s Italian-American Club that Mooney is hopeful will become an annual event. The tournament will take place on Feb. 3-4 beginning at 9 a.m. at the Italian-American Club.

Mooney also invites all to attend the upcoming “VerSpiel” at the Giorgetti Athletic Complex on Feb. 25. The all-day tournament will feature Vermont’s three curling clubs, Rutland Rocks, Upper Valley Curling Club and Green Mountain Curling Club battling it out for “bragging rights of Vermont,” as Mooney said.

Looking further into the future, Mooney added that the club is in the process of finding a new home on dedicated ice — a space purely for curling — but the idea is still a few years out.

Above all, he hopes to continue to grow the membership of the club and get people involved with what he considers to truly be a lifelong sport.

“In many ways, (the club) is a social center. I have met so many friends who I don’t just curl with, but who have become lifelong friends — who I can rely on outside of the rink for help. Wherever I travel, I go into the curling clubs and it’s always instantly as if you have a family there,” Mooney said.