Curling club to begin season with open house

   The Dallas/Fort Worth Curling Club begins its second season with an open house and clinic Sunday, 4-6:30 p.m. in the Dr. Pepper StarCenter in Duncanville.
   The open house will have instructors from the club and will include an orientation on rules and terminology, an overview of sliding and delivery techniques and instruction on sweeping and strategy.
   Club members believe the sport will grow in popularity when more people understand the fundamentals of the game.
    Included will be a curl to the button contest where participants can win a prize for delivering a stone with accuracy.
   The club was formed following the interest aroused during the 2002 Olympics. The local group now has approximately 45 members.
   The group recently sent a men's and women's squad to the National Championships in Utica, N.Y., where the men beat the first-seed defending national champions.
   Curling has been described as chess on ice and involves two four-person teams who alternate sliding rocks down a 146-foot sheet of ice.
   The team that places the most rocks nearest the center of a circular target at the end of the match wins. The game is an ancient Scottish sport and was a medal sport for the first time in 1998 at the Nagano winter Games.
   Admission to the event is $10 for adults. Children under 12 are admitted free with an adult.
   For more information, call the group's spokesman at 469-939-CURL or visit the Web side at www.dfwcurling.com.