Hurry hard!

The rush of stones. The swish of brooms. A thud. A cheer, then laughter in the cold.

“Last winter, we decided that we didn’t want to be hibernating anymore,” 29-year-old Zack Sandor-Kerr says. So, to stay active this winter, he built a miniature curling rink in the narrow backyard that stretches behind the Junction home he shares with his wife.

“It’s really all about just getting outside and having some fun.”

Sandor-Kerr, who works as a digital strategist, says he was inspired to build the rink after seeing archival photographs of people curling on the frozen Don River in the early 1900s.

“Prior to building the rink, I’d never thrown a curling stone before,” he says with a laugh.

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Sandor-Kerr framed and lined his rink with plastic in November. Measuring about nine by three metres, it’s roughly a fifth of the size of an official curling surface (a “sheet”). When the weather finally got cold enough in late January, Sandor-Kerr flooded the frame.

The target (known as the “house,” for those unfamiliar with the sport) was then painted on. To give the ice a pebbled texture, Sandor-Kerr periodically sprays it with a garden hose. He has even rigged up reams of Christmas lights for atmospheric night games.

Since becoming an official Olympic event in 1998, the sport of curling — whose origins date back to 16th-century Scotland — has been dominated by Canadians. In it, two teams of four take turns sliding heavy granite stones on a sheet of ice toward a target. The aim of the game is to get those stones as close to the centre of the target as possible. The more unobstructed stones in the target, the higher your score.

The stones can be steered by spin and the curlers’ teammates — sweepers, who rush ahead of a hurtling stone, using brooms to smooth the rink’s pebbled ice to influence its trajectory.

In pure DIY fashion, Sandor-Kerr has completely forsaken store-bought curling accoutrements. The brooms come from his kitchen. For sliding shoes, duct tape is placed on the sole of sneakers. Sandor-Kerr even made his own curling stones by screwing mixing bowls together, filling them with concrete, then adding PVC pipe handles and foam bumpers.

“We initially got some curious looks over the fence,” Sandor-Kerr laughs.

“A couple of our neighbours told us that when they were kids, they used to build rinks in the backyards of this neighbourhood too. They said, ‘You know what? I haven’t seen something like this since the seventies. This is really cool.’ ”

Jacob Smit stopped by with a handful of friends for a pick-up game on Tuesday evening.

“Better than air hockey, better than pond hockey, better than backyard hockey — we have backyard curling,” Smit said with a grin. “It’s going to be a thing . . . and I love it.”

Curling accoutrements

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Got ice? Then you'll also need . . .

Curling stones — Official stones are made of granite. They’re circular in shape and must have a circumference of up to 91.44 cm, a height of at least 11.43 cm and weigh between 17.24 and 19.96 kg (including the handle). Each team uses stones with different coloured handles. You’ll need 8 per team. DIY curling stones can be made easily with mixing bowls, PVC pipe, foam and cement. Search online for instructions.

Curling brushes — You’ll need one for each player. While you can buy fancy fibreglass curling brushes, household brooms will do in a pinch.

Curling shoes — One shoe needs to slide, the other needs to grip. Sliders typically have Teflon soles while grippers usually have rubber soles. If you’re looking to save money, just put a layer of duct tape on the bottom of a sneaker to slide to victory.

Curling pants — The stretchier the better for delivering stones. Take a cue from Team Norway and make a statement.