Derek Rau of Omaha is a curling kind of guy.
"I started out when I was about years old. My family curled, so I started out curling."
Now, the Askarben Curling Club member says in months, he'll be reunited with friends from the competitive curling community, while introducing the sport to others.
Curling, briefly put, is a game where players slide stones on a sheet of ice towards a target area segmented into four concentric circles. USA curling said it in 2015 more than 20,000 members make up the sport. Curling is also getting close to having clubs in all 50 states. The Aksarben Curling Club in Omaha has been around since 1958 and has nearly 200 members.
This weekend tickets went on sale for the Olympic Curling Trials, to be held in November 2017 in Omaha.
"We've seen success with three consecutive summer trials, and this will be Omaha's first shot at a winter trials event," Wes Hall, Executive Director of the Omaha Sports Commission said. "And its an interesting sport. So you will have the opportunity to watch and actually try to curl if you want to."
That's right. You can try curling during the trials. Baxter arena's two sheets of ice means fans and visitors can curl in the adjoining rink when competitors are in the arena.
"Hopefully it will enthuse this community to come out and curl," Rau said.
Upfront at 4's Lindsey Theis tried the sport of curling. Watch live at 4 PM to see how she did.
