I guess I’m getting to be an old hand at ferreting out curling clubs on my meanderings around the northeast.

The symbol on this sign was instantly recognizable as I drove along Route 3 in Belfast Maine. Very similar to this one I’d seen in Petersham, MA, last year.

According to its website, the Belfast Curling Club claims to be the only one in Maine, but in truth, there is one over in Portland, the Pine Tree Curling Club.

Purists, however, would argue that the facility is Belfast is a true club, boasting its own, three-sheet facility (and all the various ‘speils’ that are part of the curling tradition), while the group in Portland is a mere arena curling club, using shared ice at a public ice arena, in this instance the William Troubh Ice Arena.

One huge difference in the two concepts appears to be administrative ease. The folks in Belfast are in the midst of a huge fund-raising drive for major renovations, while the group in Portland is full-up and accepting newcomers for a ‘substitutes’ list, all ready to train members how to get ice ready for curling.

See this Smithsonian article for way more than you want to know about all that.