Who else misses curling? Most of our clubs shut down during the first wave of lockdowns in March, and in some parts of the country those that tried to re-open in the fall only got a week or two in before having to shut down again.

Curling, we miss you!

One of the bright spots through this whole pandemic has been watching the creativity and dedication of many around the world who have installed curling rinks right in their own backyards. From the finest athletes in our sport to the average Monday night curler we are seeing rocks being thrown on frozen ice outside of curling clubs, like never before.

As reported by CTV, Glenn Buchanan was ahead of the curve when he first built his backyard rink 4 years ago, and it’s morphed into a bonified league, socially distanced of course.

Others were quick to get in on the fun, with Amy Redding and her husband Darcy Gares of Indian Head SK finally building the rink they had been planning for years. Pop over to CTV for the details.

Originally coming to our attention from the CBC, Andy Mead from Manitoba built a full 10 by 40 foot curling rink for his six-year-old son Bennett.

It’s not just recreational curlers getting in on the backyard curling action either, according to CBC’s Devin Heroux, high-performance athletes are also taking up backyard curling. With the curling bubble in Calgary quickly approaching, many elite curlers see backyard curling as their best opportunity to get some much-needed practice in!

This appears to be confirmed by Rock Solid Productions, who spotted this TikTok from @TeamGalusha highlighting their outdoor preparation for competition.

We’ve also spotted some of our Team Goldline players taking to the outdoor ice, with both Eve Muirhead and Rachel Homan getting in on the action.

There’s still plenty of winter left, so if you’re looking to get in on the backyard curling fun, Redditor Theonlykd documented his entire backyard rink project. Scroll through his imgur post and check out the entire process from start to finish.

The lockdown in many provinces and countries has the curling community craving the ability to play the sport we know and love. We have hope for 2021, but realize most clubs won’t be able to re-open until the fall. In the meantime, if you’re looking for a cost-effective way to add curling to your existing backyard ice rink, our friends at Rock Solid have a kit available! Check them out at streetcurling.com.

You can even save 10% with coupon code GOLDLINE10, valid until Jan 31st, 2021.

If you’re short on space for a full curling rink, check out this cool crokicurl alternative, sent to us by our customer Roch Boivin from Massachusetts who used our 3.5″ miniature granite curling stones.

outdoor crokicurl

Have you seen any other backyard curling rinks? Drop the details in the comments below.

Keep up the good work, and Good Curling!