To Celebrate Winter Olympics Spring Lake Man Builds Backyard Curling Rink
Some people love the Olympics more than others, like this Spring Lake man who built a curling rink in his backyard.
When I first saw the photos of the curling rink, I was truly impressed with the detail that was put into building it, plus, it looks pretty fun as well.
WOOD reported that Spring Lake High School teacher Aaron Andres said, "I think I'm the only backyard curling rink in the West Michigan area. I got to believe that."
Andres's inspiration for building the curling rink came from the 2018 Olympics and the United States pulling down the Gold Medal.
This wasn't Andres's first attempt and building a curling rink. Last year he built one on the bayou but lake ice is not as dependable to maintain.
The wasn't a lot of information online on how to build a curling rink, so Andres got creative and turned a little project into a big one.
The curling rink is not Olympic size but still pretty darn big for a backyard project. The rink is 8-foot by 38-foot. The rink has lights for night games at each end. It is not a short process to get the ice to freeze. It takes roughly two weeks to complete since the ice has to be frozen in layers. Plus it takes a lot of water to make nine inches of ice.
The pucks used for Andres's curling rink were made from dog bowls and concrete. This rink is used more like shuffleboard than actual curling but you can use the broom if you like.
Andres has nicknamed the players on his curling rink the Laker Curling Association. At the start of each game, you will hear the "Star-Spangled Banner" and "O Canada" to keep with the tradition that comes with the game.