OAKLAND (KCBS RADIO) – The hottest new sports venue in the East Bay is actually very cold.
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I'm not sure I've ever pulled a ski jacket out of the closet in August before.
The San Francisco Bay Area Curling Club's beautiful new facility in East Oakland is the only venue of its size in Northern California.
Adriana Camarena is a board member of the San Francisco Bay Area Curling Club. "I think people just fall in love with curling," she told KCBS Radio. "It's love at first slide." She showed me step-by-step how to glide across the ice – curling stone in one hand, learning support crutch in the other.
Getting new people like me into the sport is what they are all about here, said Club President Kate Garfinkle. "In the first three months that we were open, we tripled out membership, which is amazing" she said. "We have 'Learn to Curls' every weekend."
With this beautiful, new home base next to the Oakland Coliseum, Garfinkle said it's also about expanding who is curling. "Curling itself has a challenge, and that is to grow the diversity of the people who curl. So we're making an extra effort to be inviting and welcoming to those who are underrepresented in curling. Precisely, our surrounding neighborhood allows us that opportunity."
They've put their message under the actual ice with the houses, or areas where the points are scored, including messages like Black Lives Matter, a Pride flag and one that reads "This is Ohlone land."
Along with leagues and athletes training for national teams, Camarena plays for Mexico, while another man working on his form nearby wore a jacket emblazoned with India on the back.
The facility is entirely run by volunteers and has courses for absolute beginners, like me. Camarena later said I was "a quick study."
Check out their schedule here.
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