CURLING: LIKE A ROLLING STONE SPORT PICKS UP SPEED WITH EFFORTS OF LOCAL CLUB AND OLYMPICS - The Boston Globe (Boston, MA)

WAYLAND - Coming to the last throw, it looked like JoyanceMeechai's team was beaten.

The other team was up, 7-6, and had two stones near the center ofthe target, which would give them two more points. But as shesurveyed the situation, she sized up a difficult shot, then flung herstone along the ice.

Slowly, but inexorably, the 42-pound granite stone curled towardthe small space between the two stones closest to the target. In aone-two punch, it hit the first stone, then the second, knocking eachoutward, away from the target.

When the ice had settled, Meechai's stone was alone near thecenter, not far from another stone belonging to her team. The twostones amounted to two points, for an 8-7 victory.

It's the sort of classic bottom-of-the-ninth drama that localcurlers are looking forward to in February at the Winter Olympics inUtah, where curling will be an official sport for only the secondtime.

But it's also the sort of skill and strategy they enjoy every weekat Broomstones Curling Club in Wayland, one of only three inMassachusetts.

For club president Herb Kupchik, a Natick resident who playsMonday Wednesday, and Friday nights, and Saturday mornings, curlingis a way of life during winter.

'I love it. I can't get enough. My wife never sees me,' Kupchiksaid.

Curling theory gets complicated, but the basics are as follows.

A game features two teams of four vying to end up with one or moreteakettle-shaped stones closest to the center of a target that lookslike a bull's-eye.

Each player begins by crouching on the ice with one foot in a'hack' (which looks like starting blocks on a track). Using the hack,the player propels himself along the ice while keeping one hand onthe handle of the curling stone. After sliding for some distance, theplayer releases the stone with a slight turn, which causes the stoneto 'curl' slightly to the left or the right.

As the stone slides along the ice, two teammates judge whether itis traveling far and fast enough. If they decide it needs help, theybegin sweeping with a broom in front of it, which melts a tiny bit ofthe rough ice surface and thus reduces friction between the bottom ofthe stone and the ice.

Staking a claim on the target isn't enough, as other players areallowed to knock opponents' stones out of the target area (called'the house') by flinging their stones into it. So, skilled playersoften try to claim the center of the target with one or more stonesand block their opponents' access to the center with others.

'It's not a game of standing up there and throwing stones,' saidJohn O'Day, a Framingham resident, who started playing nearly 50years ago. 'You've got to do some thinking, too.'

Still, while they marvel at the skill and strategy of the bestplayers, local curlers tout their game's accessibility.

'You can reach a level of mediocrity pretty quickly,' said FredTheiler, a Sudbury resident who started at Broomstones last year.

'It's a game that people of all ages can pick up rather quicklyand enjoy. And even if you're a beginner, there's a place for you onthe team,' Theiler said. 'It's almost like a folk sport. Anyone canplay.'

Curling is also known for its sociability. By tradition, thewinning team buys the first round of drinks.

The club has four 'sheets' that resemble bowling alleys on ice, soat any one time four games can be going on. During the curlingseason, between the end of October and the beginning of April, theice is busy just about every day, and the regulars do a fair amountof socializing.

'There's competition and playing, but there's also realcamaraderie,' said the club's publicity coordinator, Tracy Russ.

'Broomstones is a real family. There's a lot of pride in thisfacility,' said Rob Simpson, a Needham resident originally fromCharlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada.

Simpson is hoping the United States contends for a medal duringthe upcoming Winter Olympics, so that American television viewers aremotivated to watch it and find out what the sport is like.

According to Simpson, there are about 1.5 million curlers inCanada, and only about 17,000 in the United States. Most of thosecome from Wisconsin and Michigan, but the sport is growing in thisarea, aided by Broomstones Curling Club's aggressive recruiting. Theclub has about 320 members, including about 60 children, Kupchiksaid.

Normal membership costs $420 a year, but Broomstones offers aspecial half-year rate for new members for $50.The club plans to holdan open house from 1 to 3 p.m. Jan. 5. For more information, call 508-358-2412.