Members of the Pittsburgh Curling Cub stand by the stones at the Robert Morris University Island Sports Center. Several Butler County residents participate in one of the Olympics' most unique sports. The organization was founded in 2002 and now includes 80 members and 16 teams. The rules of the sport are slightly different from the Olympic version that has increased its popularity. The Pittsburgh club is open to men and women of all ages.

It's a sport that gets decent exposure in this country every four years when the Winter Olympics roll around, but for members of the Pittsburgh Curling Club, it is never a bad time to take to a sheet of ice with rocks and brooms in hand.

Founded in 2002, the PCC currently fields 80 members and 16 total teams. The club currently plays its matches at Robert Morris University's Island Sports Center. The PCC was designated as a charitable organization in 2007.

“We have a mission and it is to promote curling in the Pittsburgh area,” said PCC president Steve Buffington. “We make our club open to anyone — youths and adults, men and women, and wheelchair curlers — who want to participate.”

Several factors keep the club's members coming back.

“I play for the fun of the game, but also for the camaraderie,” said Cabot resident Jim Meyer, who has been involved with the PCC since 2007. “We often go out together after playing.”

Competing teams alternate turns sliding polished granite rocks weighing 42 pounds across the ice toward a circular target, referred to as the house, nearly 40 yards away. Two sweepers stay just ahead of the sliding stone, manipulating the ice with brooms in an attempt to affect its speed and direction. Each team uses eight stones per end, which can be thought of as an inning in baseball. In Olympic curling, each match consists of 10 ends.When each end is finished, a team scores one point for each rock closer to the center of the house than their opponent's closest rock. Therefore, stones used during the match can be used to guard another stone already used by the same team or to knock a competitor's stone out of scoring position.“I see curling as a combination of bowling and bocce,” said Grove City resident Dan Edmonds, who joined the PCC in 2007.Rules differ a bit between curling at the Olympics and that which is done recreationally at clubs like the PCC. In the former, teams consist of five-members, with one being an alternate. The active positions on each team include the skip, the vice-skip and two sweepers. In the event of an injury, the alternate will finish the match.The skip's role is very important. He or she gives directions to the sweepers as to where the stone needs to end up.Meyer, 60, has embraced the role as skip for his team.“The key is knowing the strategy involved,” he said. “You have to know how your team throws.”The skip also delivers the team's last pair of stones in each end. During this sequence, the vice-skip takes on the responsibility of giving orders to the sweepers.

The history of curling is not as well-documented as other sports.“It's a bit of a mystery,” said Buffington, “but from what we can gather, it started in Scotland in the 1600s when granite rocks fell from the fjords onto the ice.“We know there was organized curling in the 1700s. It spread to the New England states, then across the United States and Canada.”There are also conflicting theories as to how the sport got its name.“One is that curling comes from the Gaelic word for growling because as the stone slides toward the house, it makes a lot of noise,” said Buffington. “This comes from the water drops, called pebble, that are applied to the top of the ice and freeze before each match. Without this, the stones would not be able to travel as far as they do.“The second theory is probably more accurate and that is the curling motion the rocks make on the ice.”It is in Canada where the sport enjoys a widespread following.“It's the recreational pasttime up there,” said Buffington. “I've been on fishing trips to Canada and have driven through small crossroad towns. I'd see barns that had the town's name written on them, followed by “Curling Club.” It's a sport the whole family can take part in and gives them something to do during the winter months.”

The PCC offers Learn to Curl lessons whenever ice is available. Each regular lesson lasts two hours.Both Meyer and Edmonds joined the club after taking part in one of these lessons.“We go through the basics of the game, like how to put the right rotation on the rock,” said Buffington. “Those lessons fill up fast, especially in years when the Olympics are held. It's the best time for non-curlers to be exposed to the sport.”Curling begins at the Sochi Olympics on Monday.“During the Olympics, we get a lot of emails from people who are interested in the sport. It could take someone a lifetime to become Olympic-caliber,” said Buffington, “but to become a good, recreational curler, it takes between one and two years for most people.”Edmonds, 30, has seen a lot of improvement in his game, especially with the lunging position needed before the release of the stone.“Sliding out of the hack has become a lot easier,” he said. “Learning the stability and form you need to have takes a while.”Buffington's own introduction to the sport came almost two decades ago.“My wife, Marie, and I were skiing in Canada,” he said. “The house we rented had a television that received just (Canadian Broadcast Company) programs. We watched the Canadian men's national championship. I thought it was a fascinating sport and a very good one to watch on television.“We actually got involved in curling several years later.”For Meyer, the release of the stone was the most difficult aspect of curling.“It's tough to make a smooth delivery,” he said. “People have a tendency to want to put a lot of weight on the stone as they are releasing it. That's exactly what you do not want to do. Most of your weight should be on the lead foot.”

The PCC may one day call Butler County home.One of the club's founding members is donating land on Myoma Road in Adams Township once the financing is in place.“We are trying to secure a financial package that would allow us to build a curling rink there,” Buffington said. “For the past 12 years, Robert Morris University has been a wonderful partner for us. There is no way we would still be in existence without them.“The advantage of having our own rink is that we wouldn't have to compete for ice time with hockey teams,” he added. “And we would be able to control the quality of the ice, providing a surface that is more conducive to curling.”