Curling captures Warren High student

If you were among those who flocked to a television to watch curling in the Winter Olympics, Max Armstrong would have been a good viewing companion.

Armstrong, a junior at Gurnee-based Warren District 121, has become proficient at curling. He competed in January in the United States Curling Association Junior National Championships in Minnesota.

"I've always enjoyed doing things a little bit different, not the mainstream sports," said Armstrong, 17, of Wildwood.

To curl, a player only requires loosefitting layered clothing, ice-gripping shoes and mittens or gloves. Clubs typically provide brooms, stones and sliders for competition that's been compared to bowling or shuffleboard.

Gripping a handle attached to a 42-pound granite stone, a player slides it down the ice toward a target for scoring. Players use brooms to sweep in front of the stone in an effort to slightly melt the ice for less friction, creating greater control and distance.

Armstrong began curling when he was 8. He got into the sport through his father, Russ, who has participated in national and world curling championships.

Based at Exmoor Country Club in Highland Park, Armstrong has the lead position on his four-member team. As the lead, it's Armstrong's job to throw the first two of eight stones toward the target while his teammates sweep.

"It's all about touch and feel," said Armstrong, who also works the broom. "The technique of throwing (the stone) is very finesselike."

Russ Armstrong said he's impressed how his son has progressed on the curling rink.

"Very focused, tenacious and he listens and learns," Russ Armstrong said in describing his son.

Curling matches were first documented in Scotland and Holland in the 1500s. Rules were formalized in 1807.

America's first curling match was played in the 1830s at Orchard Lake near Detroit, according to the sport's governing body. It was a medal sport at the first Winter Olympics in 1924.

NBC reported men's and women's curling were the most watched Vancouver Olympics events on its cable coverage Feb. 16. United States Curling says the sport drew more TV viewers than all other events in the 2002 and 2006 Winter Olympics.

Armstrong's peers at Warren High's upperclassmen campus were among the viewers.

"It's crazy," he said. "I've been talking to friends and people at school and I've never had this many people come up to me and say they watched curling."