A few dozen veteran and new curlers took the ice with brooms in their hands and stones at their feet.

For the past few weeks, the Lake Placid Curling Club has hosted training sessions at the Saranac Lake Civic Center.

As the leads sent their first stones down the sheet, skips stood at the back line, yelling “HARD,” which indicates to the sweepers that they should sweep faster.

Curling has become one of the most popular winter Olympic sports in the past decade. It’s one of those games like bowling, or pool or darts. It’s more skill-based than strictly athletic. Whereas events like ski jumping and bobsledding require tons of equipment, training and bravery to face huge ramps and high speeds, curling is a sport the average person can pick up and possibly even excel at.