This isn’t the game your grandmother used to play.

Forget the images of overweight old women playing ‘shuffleboard on ice.’ More strategic than football and less wishy-washy than NHL hockey representatives, curling is experiencing a revival in popularity. Fun-but deceptively difficult-the sport has had a long and successful history in Canada.

“Canada has been a powerhouse in the world of curling for many years,” says U of T varsity curling coach Tara McAninch.

But what about at U of T? It’s a fact that curling at U of T is hotter than ever. Varsity players and curling club members are taking to the ice in record numbers.

U of T boasts two well-respected curling teams, in addition to a curling club. This past year, the Varsity Blues men and women’s curling teams played some quality curling, resulting in mixed success.

The 2005 women’s curling team consisted of skip Bhadra Sthankiya and vice Tanya Courchesne, with Kellie Flynn and Kate Farnell rounding out the roster. The 2005 men’s team consisted of skip Kevin Flewwelling, vice Scott Jenkins, second Matt Glenen, and leads Ben Dachis and Allan Braido.

Many past and current varsity members are also part of the U of T Curling Club, which is a group amateurs and experts that hone their shot-making skills at the East York Curling Club in Toronto.

The first of the three big Ontario University Athletics (OUA) curling events took place on January 22. The East Sectionals, hosted by Trent University, ended in a split for the men’s team, who finished 1-1 after a 10-3 victory over Queen’s and a 10-8 loss to Trent.

The women went 0-2, losing 8-1 to Queen’s and 10-8 to Trent on the other side of the draw.

The next curling event was the OUA Crossover in Waterloo, Ontario. This tournament featured East division teams (Laurier, Queen’s, Toronto, and Trent) battling with West division teams (Brock, Waterloo, Western, Windsor) for OUA playoff berths. The men’s team fared well versus the West division, outscoring Windsor 6-4 and Western 7-1. They suffered hard-fought, heartbreaking losses to Waterloo (8-7) and Brock (8-6) as well, which put a damper on the event for the Blues.

The women’s team experienced a variety of ups and downs at the Crossover as well. They were defeated 7-6 by Laurier in their first match and thrashed 11-3 by Brock in an ugly game later on. Refusing to back down, the Blues women did some thrashing of their own by defeating Windsor 9-1 after the difficult defeats, which was a bright spot for U of T in the tournament.

Despite valiant efforts by the Blues, neither the men’s team nor the women’s team qualified for the OUA curling championship, which was hosted by U of T on Feb 20, 2005. The Waterloo Warriors capturing both the men’s and women’s titles-a feat U of T first accomplished in 2001.

While U of T varsity curling fans may be disappointed, there’s still plenty of brushing going on with the U of T Curling Club. As coach McAninch states enthusiastically, “There are more clubs in the GTA than in most of Europe combined and more players in Canada than in the rest of the world.”

There’s also more than enough room for optimism about the future of U of T curling, especially since more university students are getting involved than in past years. It will be interesting to see if this rise in popularity translates into greater success in years to come.