Step onto the ice. Step into Calgary’s story.
Before you throw your first rock, we’ll take you on a journey — from the frozen lochs of 16th-century Scotland to the ice of the 1988 Olympic Winter Games — before you ever step onto the sheet.
This is Icons on Ice.
| Presented by | Supported by | Hosted by |
| Lazy Day Adventures |
Tourism Calgary |
Calgary Curling Club* |
| *On occasion we host at another local Calgary curling venue instead — we’ll always confirm your location ahead of time. | ||
Experience a piece of Calgary history.
Icons on Ice combines storytelling, hands-on instruction and time on the ice in one uniquely Calgary experience.
You’ll discover how a game played on frozen Scottish lochs became part of Canada’s identity, hear the story of curling at Calgary’s 1988 Olympic Winter Games, and then step onto the ice to try it for yourself.
No curling experience is required. We’ll provide the equipment, instruction and encouragement — you just need to be ready to have some fun.
Approximately 2 hours | All equipment included | Beginners welcome
This is more than a curling lesson.
Icons on Ice isn’t a quick how-to. It’s a story you get to stand inside — of Scottish immigrants who carried curling stones across the Atlantic, of a Calgary club that’s been sweeping ice since 1888, and of the Olympic Winter Games that put this city, and this sport, on the world stage. Once you understand why this ice matters, you’ll pick up a rock and become part of the story yourself.
Then your host hands you a broom, and it’s your turn.
You’re not just learning a sport. You’re stepping into a living part of Calgary’s history.
From Scotland to Calgary
A 500-year-old game, a frontier city, and a friendship that stuck.
Circa 1500s, Scotland
Farmers and villagers, a frozen loch, and whatever stones were lying around. Curling was never about perfection. It was about belonging — and your host has a few favourite tales from along the way.
The Calgary Curling Club opened its doors and never looked back. Beginners, champions and Olympians have shared this ice ever since — and soon, so will you.
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Let us take you back to 1988.
The world was watching. Curling was fighting for a spot on the Olympic stage — and Calgary ice is where that fight happened.
Step onto that same ice, and your host will tell you the rest.
1st
Canadian women, demonstration event
3rd
Canadian men, demonstration event
1998
Curling becomes an official medal sport
— MEET THE EQUIPMENT
The rock, the broom, and the ice.
Three ordinary-looking objects, each with a story stretching back centuries.
A Stone with a Scottish Story
Every curling stone starts on Ailsa Craig, a tiny volcanic island off Scotland’s coast — quarried, shaped, and about 44 pounds by the time it reaches the ice.
How that rock ends up perfectly balanced enough to curl a straight line down a sheet of ice? That’s a story your host tells better in person.
From Straw to Strategy
Straw, twigs, corn brooms, precision push brooms — sweeping has come a long way, and it changes more about a shot than you’d guess.
Your teammate will yell “Hurry Hard” at some point. You’ll know exactly what to do — your host makes sure of it.
Not Your Ordinary Sheet of Ice
Curling ice isn’t flat — it’s pebbled, with tiny frozen droplets that let a stone curl. It’s one of the most carefully prepared surfaces in sport.
Temperature, humidity, pebble — an experienced ice maker has already spent hours getting it just right before you ever step on the sheet.
Three ways to step onto the ice.
Classic Icons on Ice
No experience required
Olympic or Elite Curler Experience
Special hosts, subject to availability
Private & Corporate Experience
Teams, conferences & events
Curl on a day we don’t have listed.
Tell us the date you’re hoping for and we’ll see what we can do — whether that’s at the Calgary Curling Club or one of our other local venues.
— THE CLOSING TRADITION
Become an Honorary Curler.
Calgary welcomes visitors as Honorary Calgarians with the White Hat.
Icons on Ice has its own version — the Oath of the Rings.
Brooms up, one last call, and you’re in.
Group photo included.