The Winter Olympics highlights sporting events rarely seen in the South, mesmerizing those in warmer climates every four years before disappearing after two weeks.
But for a group of LSU students, two weeks is not enough. They’ve accomplished a mission to bring a great Canadian tradition to Baton Rouge.
Curling has come to LSU.
The process of bringing the sport to campus has been long and taxing. The idea got rolling in February when Curling Club President Jim Flenderson and club Vice President Don Cooper went to the UREC to ask how they can bring their sport to light.
“Some people watch a funny winter sport, I see an opportunity to bring a new culture to the state,” Flenderson said. “A lot of people love curling here. It was only a matter of time until it came to LSU.”
The UREC demanded a display of proper participation, so the duo rounded up 20 students within the week, ready to learn the sport. Awaiting the proper equipment, the students have reverted to mops and large rocks for their practices at Leo’s Iceland and Hockey Complex.
Despite setbacks, Flenderson said the students were not only able to learn the rules of the sport, but found a way to become successful.
“You would be surprised how well mops replace curling brooms,” Flenderson said. “Who knows what we can become once we actually have proper equipment.
The search then began for a new coach, with Flenderson and Cooper putting out a Craiglist ad hoping to find a leader. Two weeks later, they received a call from infamous coach Jesse Goodman, a curling mastermind who had been blacklisted by most of the sports community.
Goodman became a legend after leading the Icelandic national team to multiple World Championships in the ’90s. But after his involvement in the Copenhagen scandal of 2001, in which he allegedly supplied his teams with anabolic steroids, human growth hormone and deer antler spray, he was barred from coaching almost all curling competitions.
The World Curling Federation’s rule book failed to specify that Goodman could not play in Louisiana, believing no team would ever think of playing in the state. This loophole has helped Goodman come back into the game.
The team’s first match showed promise for the future, as the Tigers nearly took down curling powerhouse Upper Minnesota State, losing 9-7. Goodman said the result was tremendous considering UMSU’s superiority in talent and experience.
Flenderson and Cooper will present their plans to make curling an official LSU sport next year, but for now the two dream of what the sport can become.
“Everyone says the debate is whether LSU is a football or a baseball school,” Cooper said. “I like to believe that within five years, LSU will be a curling school. There’s no telling how far this sport can go.”