Curling slides into Hawaii

Curling in Hawaii.

Who knew?

The rest of the world found out the same time as those in the islands when watching last weekend’s telecast of curling in the Winter Olympics. Pro Bowl tight end Vernon Davis of the San Francisco 49ers, USA Curling’s honorary captain, mentioned that last year Hawaii became the 45th state to hold a curling event.

Davis is among the high-profile athletes who have given one of the world’s oldest team sports a boost of legitimacy outside the hotbeds of Canada and the United Kingdom.

Add Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers to the growing fan base; during an interview at NBA All-Star Weekend, he mentioned he was as fascinated with the sport as he was confused by it.

Join the club.

Actually, the Ice Palace across from Aloha Stadium plans to create a curling club after its hockey season is done in May. Ice Palace owner Doug Taylor said that during the resurfacing of the rink in December the decision was made to add curling sheets under the ice.

"We brought people down from Canada to paint the ice," said Taylor, who opened the rink in 1982. "It struck a chord with a lot of people who saw it when coming in to skate.

"We already run tournaments for hockey teams from Canada and I see curling having the same promise for tourism. We’ve already had a curling equipment supplier interested in helping us acquire stones. It’s going to be an expense, but we’re committed."

The only complete set of 64 curling stones in Hawaii belongs to American Savings Bank, which hosted the event mentioned by Davis last October.

Bank executives wore jackets embroidered with "Hawaii Curling Club" at its "Charity Curling Classic," which saw various Hawaii corporations enter teams. ASB exceeded its fundraising goal of $50,000, raising $70,000 to donate to Kapiolani Health Foundation.

The event also included a clinic earlier in the day for fourth- and fifth-graders from several of ASB’s Bank for Education Ohana schools. Tracy Sachtien and John "Nilla" Benton, two members from the 2010 U.S. Olympic curling team, conducted the clinic and later coached at the evening fundraiser.

"It’s an easy sport to pick up, hard to become good at," said Jon Whittington, president of American Savings Bank’s American Home Loans division. "I think the universal appeal is that when you watch it, you say, I could do that.’ But they have skills.

"I’ve been a fan for a while. I caught a bug when on a ski trip a few years ago and Olympic curling was the only thing on the TV."

"Before I was just watching the sport," added Gabriel Lee, ASB’s executive vice president/commercial markets. "Now that I’ve done it, when you’re watching you’re cheering for them. You understand how hard it is to block stones, to curl around the stones. It’s not that easy."

But it is fun.

"The only complaint from people was they didn’t have enough time on the ice," Lee said. "It’s great for team-building."

ASB’s stones each 42 pounds of Scottish granite are stored in a secure, secret spot. Prior to use, the stones have to be cooled for 72 hours so as not to melt the ice.

The event came about when ASB CEO Richard Wacker and Hawaii entrepreneur Chris Dey were discussing a fundraiser. Dey had a connection with USA Curling and the rest truly was history.

"Believe it or not, it has long been a goal of ours to bring the Olympic sport of curling to Hawaii," Rick Patzke, USA Curling chief operating officer, said in a press release. "The 50th state of the United States has now become the 45th state with curling activity."

That Nevada also is one of the states might surprise some. But last month, Las Vegas hosted the Continental Cup, curling’s version of golf’s Ryder Cup.

It was the first time the Cup was held outside of Canada, the last stop before Sochi for nine of the 12 Olympic teams. It drew an event record 51,215 at the Orleans Arena, including a record 4,823 on the final night.

For information on local programs, contact the Ice Palace at 487-9921.