Calgary Curling Club

WOW, this place is AMAZING! Really friendly, staff, large, well staffed pro shop, great café, ample comfortable seating, and the nicest curling ice I have ever been on! I dropped in from out of town today and they made me feel at home, I will be back again!

The Calgary Curling Club was founded in 1888 and opened its first rink in 1892. They sold that one, moved to Victoria Park in 1909, and then later moved to its current location in Sunnyside in 1953. The old club, which sits north of the Bow River and Prince’s Island Park in the city’s centre, was rebuilt following a fire in 1976. I passed by and stopped in on my way towards (and up) the McHugh Bluff stairs.
Curling is a sport in which players slide stones across a sheet of ice towards a target area which is segmented into four rings. Two teams, each of four players, take turns sliding heavy, polished granite stones, also called «rocks», across the ice curling sheet towards the house, a circular target marked on the ice. Each team has eight stones. The purpose is to accumulate the highest score for a game; points are scored for the stones resting closest to the centre of the house at the conclusion of each end, which is completed when both teams have thrown all of their stones. A game may consist of ten or eight ends.
The Curler can induce a curved path by causing the stone to slowly turn as it slides, and the path of the rock may be further influenced by two sweepers with brooms who accompany it as it slides down the sheet, using the brooms to alter the state of the ice in front of the stone. A great deal of strategy and teamwork goes into choosing the ideal path and placement of a stone for each situation, and the skills of the curlers determine how close to the desired result the stone will achieve. This gives curling its nickname of «Chess On Ice». Bocce also comes to mind, with both allowing the consumption of adult beverages during play.

i’m a complete curling novice, but i had a blast when i was here.
you rent curling lanes by the hour, and equipment as well. you get a broom, and a smooth, custom made piece of plastic that attaches to the bottom of your shoe to slide across the ice. that’s all there is to it! get out there and curl! it helps if you have a friend or two that knows what their doing, or at the very least look up the rules before you get there.
this place is also within walking distance of downtown (just north, over the center street bridge) which makes it logistically practical.
i’ll also suggest you get one of the lanes on the sides… for no reason other than it’s easier access to the bar and to your drinks. drinks and glass bottles are for obvious reasons not allowed on the ice, and the side lanes are right next to the doors/​ledges for your drinks.