MONROE — Even before it was an official Olympic sport, young people in Monroe have been partaking in curling.

In the 1980s, boys from Monroe High School won a state contest. In the early 1990s, another group of students from MHS competed throughout the state. But engagement in the sport fell, Alpine Junior Curling coach John Bazley said.

“After that, there has not been a junior, or youth, curling program in Monroe that has ever gone out and done anything,” Bazley said.

Until early within the past decade, when former curler Todd Schluesche saw his son Henry take an interest in the sport. Bazley’s son, Kieran, and Henry recruited other students. The group competed in 2013, traveling as far as St. Paul to compete in a reputable and large bonspiel. Because they were not well-versed in the activity, the group competed in the developmental division rather than the competitive.

“Well, our kids won the whole darn thing,” Bazley said, noting the bonspiel was attended by roughly 60 teams.

While the success was positive, Bazley said the students who started in Monroe were beginning the program at an older age than necessary to fully develop their abilities. The group disassembled after Kieran graduated high school and Henry lost interest. There were only two junior curlers within the area in recent years.

But instead of allowing the program to end, Bazley convinced fellow physician and curler Joseph Ehle to help him run the program. They set up a table at the Monroe Middle School open house in August 2017. 

“I made up some flyers and I put a big bowl of candy out and I said … come learn how to curl,” Bazley said. “And we ended up with 13 kids.”

The junior curlers attended their first camps and bonspiels and though six curlers left at the end of the season, Bazley said the open house worked again in August. There were now 20 in the program. 

One of those young people was Taylor Jay, 8, who said she learned a lot in her first year with the club. 

“The coaches were really nice and curling is really fun,” Jay said, adding that working the broom, which is used to sweep the ice to ensure the stone arrives as close to the target as possible, can still be a bit of a challenge.

Her mother, Laura Doll, said Jay was led to curling because she wanted to know more about the sport her older brother, Oliver, took part in. She added they “had a whole family of curlers” this year after finding the social aspect of curling to be especially positive. Jay improved “a lot over the season,” Doll said.

“We keep saying once she weighs more than the rock, she’ll be even better,” Doll said with a laugh.

Ethan Towne, an MHS freshman, started the sport two years ago because he had found little else that had piqued his interest, he said. 

“A very good friend roped me into it,” Towne said, referring to Bazley’s daughter Ellery, who no longer curls for Monroe, but has joined a competitive team made up of curlers from throughout Wisconsin.

Towne wasn’t sure what to make of the sweeping and yelling and sliding around on the ice.

“At first, I thought it was interesting and odd,” he said. “(Now) it’s interesting, but less odd. More intriguing.”

The 15-year-old said he has enjoyed befriending teammates and traveling, meeting other curlers from different parts of Wisconsin along the way. Towne said he plans to continue the sport throughout high school and is excited to see the program growing.

Bazley said much of the growth of the program has been thanks to the athletes themselves. 

“A lot of it has been the kids telling each other,” he said. “That’s been a huge help. … A lot of people didn’t even know it existed here.”

Though the season ended in March, curler Max Petitjean can’t wait to get back on the ice. 

Petitjean, 14, said he started because his mother encouraged him to ask questions of Bazley at the open house. He hasn’t regretted it, and looks forward to curling for years to come, noting he has made friends in Minnesota, Portage and even in Monroe. 

“I love curling,” Petitjean said. “I want to do it for the rest of my life.”

He referred to fellow curlers as “good people” who cheer for opponents rather than being “sore losers.” 

Bazley said that is another social element of the sport; support from all sides.

“You want to win, but you don’t have to feel like you beat somebody up to achieve,” he said.

Bazley said curling is a tough sport to engage in because there are no coaches yelling from the sidelines. When curlers take to the ice, there are just the four teammates working cohesively while coaches stand behind glass spectating. 

“Win, lose; you’re on your own,” Bazley said. “…You only get those two timeouts and you have to make your own decisions.”

It encourages confidence, Petitjean said, echoing Bazley’s sentiment.

It’s also a physical sport, Bazley said. Athletes cover hundreds of yards while performing strenuous tasks throughout each match. 

Bazley said local support has been positive, with sponsors like Klondike Cheese Co. using their Odyssey brand to fund the beginning of the program and Kwik Trip recently lending financial support. As the numbers grow, Bazley said it may be a question of how to establish ice time for the interested athletes in the future rather than worrying the program may dwindle again.

“If they work at this, there’s a chance to become an Olympic athlete; that’s pretty cool,” Bazley said, adding that curling is inclusive because it doesn’t exclude due to physical type. “You can be anybody. And size, gender, doesn’t really matter. … Everything equalizes out there on the ice.”