Riverside open house a success

Guy Minnich surveyed Riverside Arena Saturday afternoon and was pleased with the way things were going. A few dozen people had already shown up in the first half-hour to learn a little about curling, and he was expecting several more groups of eager learners throughout the day.

“This is nice,” he said. “I was worried I’d have 200 show up right away.”

The Austin man was the catalyst behind a curling open house at Riverside over the weekend. Minnich is a fan of the Olympic sport, which involves throwing a heavy stone on the ice and guiding its trajectory using specialized brooms.

“It’s a great sport,” he said,

Minnich has a hockey background, but he used to fish with a member of the 2010 US Olympic curling team. When Minnich finally took the time to watch the sport, he decided he wanted to try it out and he’s been curling for the past four years with other leagues in places like Owatonna, though several organizers Saturday had also curled in the Twin Cities area and in Iowa.

Minnich remembers playing Pee Wee hockey when Riverside Arena first opened and he also knows there is an area for curling ice underneath the bleachers at Riverside. He’s hoping that area can be used to host a curling league in the near future.

That’s what the open house was for, as Minnich hoped at least 50 people would sign up to learn more information about curling and eventually form a beginner’s lead. Residents like Jason Schreiber, who went to the open house with his three sons, were excited to pick up the sport and follow through on league play.

“It feels like it’s something our whole family can learn to do together,” Schreiber said.