Granite Curling Club

My nerds* and I came here for a team morale event and it was actually enjoyable. I’m more used to morale events being corporate sponsored drinking events that start in the afternoon, so when I heard that we were having a morale event at 10am, I thought I was with a bunch of hardcore alcoholics. Granite Curling Club is in the middle of nowhere near Northgate. It looks sad and a bit shady on the outside, but is quite charming on the inside. The staff are genuinely nice, patient and thoughtful.
It was my first time curling and I’d been warned to wear something warm, so I wore a lululemon pullover that I would normally wear to go jogging in the winter. It was about the right amount of layer for me. The intro to curling video was (unintentionally?) hilarious and outdated. I’m still not 100% sure about the rules, but it was fun nonetheless. I spent some time just practicing flinging rocks across the sheet, because I was frustrated that something that *looked* somewhat easy didn’t end up being that way… sigh, story of my life. Anyway, we had two instructors assigned to our group (one for each sheet) and the instructor was very patient in coaching me on things to pay attention to, which I really appreciate.
My nerds got quite into it; I think it’s their competitive spirit or maybe their Canadian side, or both. If you’re looking for a fun team morale event that anyone and everyone can do, regardless of fitness level, this is it. I’m a sloth and I felt comfortable on the ice.
*endearing term for the engineers I work with

If you’re trying to «do something different» during the cold season, I recommend trying curling. It’s a lot safer than Broomball and there’s a BAR inside.
A girlfriend told me that she was on the curling league the year prior and asked me to do it this year. Sure, I said – sign me up! Mind you, I didn’t know what kind of gear I needed but was glad to see that the club provides everything that you need:
— Foot slider (so you can do the longest lunge you’ve ever had to do in your life)
— Shoe rubber cover (for the other foot, so you don’t lunge your way into the next city)
— Broom — (not a real broom, more like a small professional-​looking Swiffer mop)
— Booze (did I mention booze?)
Note that a league is a commitment. Being in Shoreline, you have early games at 6:30pm and sometimes getting there in time is a challenge. Tardiness is more than frowned upon, so be prepared to buy the teams – you guessed it BOOZE. The season is also long: Nov — Apr. If you’re used to playing quarterly seasons like me, then you’ll want to consider this.
But you don’t have to play in a league! Gather your most coordinated (or uncoordinated, depends on if you’re into Schadenfreude) friends and go for fun! It’s a great teambuilding activity (or a workers comp case if you’re unlucky.)

This review is really late, but I want to make sure it is shared! Granite Curling Club is awesome!
I hosted a corporate team event here for 40 people. We rented out all of the lanes of ice for the day. It was easy to coordinate with the manager the date I wanted and the logistics.
Each person is required to sign a waiver form since they are on ice. Each participant then has to clean the dirt/​pebbles off their tennis shoes (only kind allowed) with scrub brushes then attach special footgear so they don’t biff it on the ice every five seconds. Folks are split into teams per lane and then the instructors patiently, kindly and firmly teach them how curling works. After training and practicing, the teams then compete.
I set it up to have outside catering come in with soups, salads, sandwiches, cookies and drinks, all coordinated and arranged by me. The club doesn’t offer food, but they can arrange a bartender for you if you ask. They have an upstairs lounge with flatscreens and comfortable tables that we used for lunch. Then we hit the ice again for a few hours.
Everyone had a really great time. None of us had ever been curling before, and we enjoyed learning a new sport.
The place has the vibe of hanging out in a ski lodge. It’s freezing cold, obviously, so wear layers.
They have a big, free parking lot.
The Club’s website has a great FAQ that I would suggest reading through for planning a party, event and/​or just bringing the fam.

SO MUCH FUN!!! I went here for a company event, and everyone had a great time. The proces are reasonable, and very knowledgeable instructors. They give you about an hour of training beforhand. And in a few hours you can really get the hang of it. I also heard they have a great bar and curling league. Can’t wait to go back

Love, love, love. Hands down one of the best new things I have tried this year and i my life.
Every four years when the Winter Olympics swing around I get hooked on Curling and finally it was time to give a shot myself. I got together with a bunch of friends and we made reservations at the Granite Curling Club. It seemed pretty busy so I would definitely recommend reserving space. After a few words on what to do and what not to do on the ice we got started. The instructors explained every step and it might look easy and smooth on TV but curling involves a lot more coordination than one would think. Once we all got the basics we played a game with two rounds which was a blast.
I wish I could do this on a regular basis but club membership is a little steep.

Thought I would try this sport out after watching the Olympics. Also thought that it would be way easy-​I was way wrong. You really need to be coordinated and steady and have stamina. That sweeping is tiring. And getting that stone to the other side is very very hard if you want it to land in a certain spot. I certainly would need a whole lot of practice. The staff are all volunteer and just the nicest people. The season ends soon but sign up for a time and give it a try!

Holy cow. This place is awesome.
I’d always wanted to learn how to curl; I mean, come on, you’ve seen it in the Olympics, and it always has a certain mystique to it – the sense that «this is a crazy sport, and we know we’re crazy, but we’re going to have an awesome time doing it.» I saw that Granite had open houses for people who wanted to learn how to curl, and I thought, hey, I’d give it a go.
They recommend reservations — while they were able to get everybody in on the visit I, um, visited, it just works better with reservations — plus, they’re free. The open houses are $ 25 per person, and include a couple of hours on the ice.
The club itself is arranged more like a social club than what you’d expect — there’s a little kitchenette on the main floor — a lounge area and observation room on the upper floor, and a fully-​stocked bar on the upper floor as well. These folks definitely believe in socializing with sprits (there were several kegs on the «sidelines» during our visit — they weren’t being used, but their presence was enough to know).
The killer part of this experience was the instruction itself. The volunteer teachers were patient with those of us who couldn’t quite grasp the concept at first — and showed us exactly what to do, start to finish. They described it as a social sport — and I can definitely see that.
I’m not an Olympian by any means — but — the enthusiasm laid out by the staff and the atmosphere in general definitely wants to make me learn more.

We went here for a team event yesterday and had the entire place booked. The instructors were extremely friendly and really took the time and effort to teach everyone properly how to play and then walked us through the entire game. They had lunch and a nice bar upstairs along with a pool table and a shuffle board.
We had an absolutely splendid time curling here and I can’t wait to go back for some more intense fun.

Just went to Granite Curling Club this weekend for their open house… we had a group of 18 for a birthday party. I suggest getting there early on open houses because there was a huge line outside. We got checked in and paid, only $ 20 btw, and were told we would have an hour wait and to go upstairs. Upstairs is super sweet! Free food! And there is a bar which isn’t free but cheap $ 11 pitchers! There are windows upstairs to look down on the ice and watch what’s going on. It indeed did take about an hour for our turn to come.
The staff, which maybe are volunteers? Were all super nice. They taught us how to curl and then we got to play two games. It’s harder than it looks! I was a horrible shooter and fell on my face spread eagle in front of everyone, haha. I was quite good at sweeping however :)
Overall great place that I suggest checking out during their open houses which is the only time the public can play unless you rent out the place for a $ 1000 minimum.

A group of us go here annually to play some curling. We rent our the whole place and included in that cost every lane has an instructor to go over the basics of the game and help while we play the game to make sure everyone is understanding the rules and give suggestions to improve our curling.
Bring gloves/​hat/​clean shoes/​layers of clothing because it’s 40 degrees on the ice brrr!
This sport will make you sore the next day! From all the vigorous sweeping and lunges you do from curling and from falling over while doing said lunges ouch! So being in decent shape helps, and don’t wear your tightest pair of jeans they might rip!
I like that they have water easily available and Kleenexes on each side of the court because your nose does get runny from the cold!
They do have try curling days check their website out for the dates. They also have a curling league to join if you want to get serious about your curling.

I wanted to go on a little cousins only outing and have been wanting to trial out curling for awhile. They’re only open to the public during their open house events which are fairly limited during the winter months.
We went as a group of 6 and had a great time! The instructors were all very patient and you could tell that they are all really passionate about the sport.
After a couple rounds you can even watch from above and enjoy complimentary wraps and cookies!

Love Love Love this place!!! I just joined but you would of thought I was a member for years, the way the people are overly friendly and very willing to give you tips.
Did I mention that if you lose your curling match the winning team buys drinks!!!

I’ve been here once with a group of friends to learn how to play. If you have the right group of people with you, it’ll be a blast.
So when my manager at work wanted me to find an event for team building, I chose to bring them curling here and it was a lot of fun but also gave everyone a chance to meet people.

My first visit to Granite Curling Club was about two years ago. While I did really enjoy the afternoon, the sport was a little slow-​paced for me. But there were a few in my group that enjoyed it enough, they ended up joining leagues soon after trying it out.
The club has a bar on-​site upstairs, where the folks in the various leagues can socialize after curling. And there are a number of leagues you can join at various levels — a lot like bowling… but on ice, with brooms. In that sense, I think the camaraderie in the ongoing activities is great for getting to know people. They frequently have open houses at the club in North Seattle, so there’s lots of chances to try it out before committing to a team.