US men’s Olympic curling team wins first game against Russia

The U.S. men’s curling team won its first game in Beijing Wednesday, defeating Russia 6-5. The nail-biter game went into an extra end when Russia scored a razor-thin point after the 10th end to tie up the scores. But U.S. team captain John Shuster landed a stone right in the center to clinch the victory for the reigning gold-medal team.

Wally Henry is a member of the Madison Curling Club in McFarland who coached the U.S. women’s team at the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver. He said the neck-and-neck play is typical at the Olympic level, and it’s part of what makes the sport so exciting.

“You never know who’s going to win until the game is over,” Henry said.

And what makes the game even more exciting for Wisconsin residents is that half the players hail from the Badger State.

Shuster, who was also selected to be the flag bearer in the opening ceremony, lives in Superior. And McFarland resident Matt Hamilton throws second for the men’s team. Both were part of the 2018 gold-medal team in Pyeongchang.

McFarland resident Becca Hamilton — Matt’s younger sister — throws second for the women’s team. And Nina Roth, another McFarland resident, throws third.

“It’s really neat having people that you know and play with and against — you know their families, you’ve known some of these folks for years. Just to be able to watch them on TV representing the U.S. is just fantastic,” said Dave Podratz, a member of the Superior Curling Club.

The U.S. women will play their first game Wednesday at 7 p.m. against Russia.

As a former women’s coach, Henry said he expects big things from this year’s team.

“The women’s team is right up there with any of the best teams that are at the Olympics,” Henry said. “I would be a little surprised if they didn’t get to the podium and even medal.”

With three hometown heroes representing Team USA, Henry said everyone is glued to the Olympics.

“It’s on our TV sets here at the club every time that the U.S. teams are playing,” Henry said. “Even the novice curlers are interested in it. It’s very exciting here.”

While Wisconsin has a long and loving relationship with curling, Henry and Podratz said there is a surge in interest every four years when the Olympics roll around.

Podratz said the Superior Curling Club ran a four-week youth clinic with John Shuster that sold out in days.

“It was just great seeing the kids out there just having a good time, learning a little bit about the game and just really having fun out on the ice trying something they’ve never done before,” Podratz said.

Podratz started curling when he was a student at Wausau East High School in the 1970s.

“I’m just naturally a competitive person. But I don’t have the body for football or basketball and that sort of thing. And curling is a game where anybody can be competitive,” Podratz said.

He said that recently, the Superior club has been attracting new curlers from out-of-state contractors working in the refineries around Superior. He said its Wednesday night league has five teams from Texas, none of whom have ever curled before.

“They are just having the time of their lives and several of them were thrilled to find out that there’s a curling club in Houston, not too far from their office,” Podratz said.

There is a camaraderie to curling that Podratz and Henry said makes the sport special. Every game starts and ends with a handshake and opposing teams often sit down together to socialize after games.

“There’s really no interference from one team to another,” Henry said. “When a team has the play, the opposition can’t do anything about what’s going on until they get the right to play next.”

It could be the beer drinking and socializing, but there is a common misconception that curling is not an athletic sport. The reality, said Henry, is that Olympic-level curlers go through a lot of training both on and off the ice.

“Even at the novice level, it takes a lot of skill and muscle tone to be able to do this well,” he said.

All you have to do is try to get into the iconic curling crouch and you’ll know what he means.

“Sometimes getting up is a harder thing than delivering this stone,” said Henry.

“Make sure you stretch, or you will pull something,” Podratz added.

Follow Team USA curling

The women’s team plays their first game Wednesday at 7 p.m. against Russia, followed by Denmark on Thursday at 6 a.m. The men’s team plays Sweden Wednesday at midnight, followed by Great Britain on Thursday at 7 p.m. All games can be watched live and as replays on NBC or streamed on Peacock.

How to play

A curling game is played on a long sheet of ice with targets on both ends. Each game consists of ten rounds, called “ends,” in which teams take turns sliding their stones down the ice towards the target. Players use brooms to sweep and melt the ice ahead of a stone, trying to make it slide further. Each team throws eight stones (two per player) and after each end, the team with the stone closest to the center of the target (the button) wins a point. Teams earn an extra point for every stone they have that is closer to the button than their opponent’s best throw. If neither team has stones within the target area, no points are awarded for that end. If the score is tied after the 10th end, teams play additional ends until one team breaks the tie.

Henry said one of the best ways to learn to play is by watching games on TV. Players are wearing microphones that allow viewers to hear them strategize and communicate with each other.