When I was first invited to go curling, I felt a mixture of excitement and confusion. I was pumped to try something new, but soon realized I knew nothing about this “sport.”

All my knowledge was gleaned from the grand total of 2 minutes I’d seen on TV (usually when I didn’t have control of the remote).

It always seemed super boring to me. You push some rock forward, then other people sweep in front of the rock. Cool. But this tournament had been organized by the Toronto Sport and Social Club, so I was hoping there was a little more to it than that.

As I walked up to the East York Curling Club, I nearly stopped in my tracks when I looked up and saw 4 people in matching tie-dye print onesies. Apparently people took curling seriously. Teams upon teams were congregating in the lounge, waiting for their turn to get out on the ice and play. People were stretching. They had brought their own brooms. I had no idea that every day in Toronto I was walking amongst curling enthusiasts. My friends and I, on the other hand, were more like “BEEEERR!!”

When I first got on the ice it was cold, slippery and awkward. As our opponents taught me how to move that giant rock forward, I quickly realized that this wasn’t just a matter of pushing something. People were launching themselves off a stationary pad, gliding gracefully across the ice in perfect form, and then slowly releasing the rock. Moment when I realized this:

It is a LOT harder than it looks. And so is the ice. I fell about 6 times that day, and walked away with a nasty bruise on my knee.

In fact, I celebrated every time that I didn’t fall on my ass/elbow/knee/back, while curling veterans all around me soared across the ice effortlessly.

Look at me go! This was probably riiight before I fell.

Bruises aside, it was actually a lot of fun! And seeing as my entire body was one giant sore muscle the next day, I can assure you that curling is most definitely a sport.