‘A lot of curlers are civil engineers’

In one of the most exciting moments in USA Curling history, Cory Thiesse took a deep breath and perfectly let go the final stone of the match that slid down the ice, knocked out the Italian stone, and scored two points for an 8-7 victory in the winter Olympics mixed doubles semifinal on Feb. 9.

Although the team of Thiesse and Korey Dropkin lost the gold medal game to Sweden the next day on the final stone, the duo won the silver medal, the first Team USA mixed doubles medal in the sport. Thiesse also became the first American woman to win a curling medal at the Olympics.

Before the competition, Jersey Pinelands Curling Club (JPCC) president Katie Kelly had a feeling they could succeed.

“Go Team USA,” she enthused during a club beginners’ training session at the Skate Zone in Pennsauken on Feb. 7.

Kelly also believes the U.S. has a good chance in the men’s and women’s team competition, which began its Round Robin stage on Feb.11. The men’s gold medal game will come on Saturday, and the women’s gold medal game the following day.

The Skate Zone parking lot was packed on a frigid, sub-freezing evening, with the JPCC training session on one rink and local ice hockey players on the second. Once inside, club member Erin Klim – along with membership chairperson Gina Boggs – were registering more than 20 new curlers.

Meanwhile, on the ice, club Vice President Debbie Kingsland and nine-year club member Mary Cleve were teaching beginners Rachel Deputy and Chris Mullen the basics of the sport, which began in Scotland in the 1600s.

“The 42-pound granite rocks we use are from a quarry in Scotland,” Kelly explained. “Curling is harder than it looks, but it is enjoyable. I have way more fun that you can imagine. These are the nicest people you will ever meet.”

A friend from a book club invited Kelly to an introductory curling class six and a half years ago.

“I had never curled before,” she acknowleddged, but she started playing regularly and continued to improve. “My women’s team qualified for the U.S. Nationals in Minnesota and we did better than expected.

“It was great.”

Born in Garrison, New York, Kelly graduated from O’Neill High School in 2011 and earned an engineering degree from Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Massachusetts.

“A lot of curlers are civil engineers,” observed Kelly, who became club president in September 2025.

Now 12 years old, the idea for the club came from a group of Medford residents who tried curling on one of the lakes, inspired by watching the sport during the 2014 Winter Olympics. By May that year, they had founded the JPCC as a nonprofit, and by summertime, 43 enthusiastic curlers played the first league games.

Since then, interest has grown every year. The big boost came when the U.S. men’s curling team defeated Sweden, 10-7, with an amazing five-point eighth end to win the match and the gold medal at the 2018 Olympics. The increased desire by members and the public to participate in curling prompted a move in 2019 to the Virtua Health Flyers Skate Zone in Pennsauken, where curling can be done year-round.

“Ice time is always an issue,” Kelly noted. “Our leagues now play twice a week.”

The 70 league players are proud that the Jersey Pinelands Curling Club is now a member of the Grand National Curling Club, USA Curling and the U.S. Women’s Curling Association. The club’s mission statement is to “promote and foster the sport of curling on a local, regional and international level; attract, support and train athletes in recreational and/or competitive curling; and provide programs designed to educate the community and to actively engage interested persons in the sport of curling, especially youth.”

Kelly said she hopes people enjoy watching Olympic curling this winter and consider trying it out for themselves. For information or to join, go to jerseycurling.org.