TEMPE, Ariz. — The Winter Olympics are in full swing, which means the world is getting its quadrennial exposure to the niche sport of curling, including locally at Arizona State.

ASU student Andie McDonald founded the curling club in 2021. Following in the footsteps of her Paralympian father, Patrick, she created a space in Tempe for a sport that has shaped her life. Over the past five years, the club has created a tight community with diverse backgrounds and qualified for the 16-team College Curling National Championship in each of the past two seasons.

Andie spent most of her childhood in Wisconsin, a state with a much larger curling culture than Arizona, she says. After moving to the desert during high school, she found there wasn’t nearly as large a curling community as she was used to, prompting her to establish a team after enrolling. 

“When I found out that college curling was such a big thing around other states and other schools, it made me want to start the club even more and get more people interested in it and passionate about curling as much as I am,” Andie said.

As her curling coach competing at the junior level, Andie said her father’s unwavering support inspired her to keep practicing and competing at a higher level.

Yet, Patrick’s love for the sport came out of turbulent times.  

According to the Defense Visual Information Distribution Service, Patrick was paralyzed due to an accident in 1991 while serving in the military and now uses a wheelchair. 

As a way to continue serving his country, Patrick said he turned to athletics, excelling in various wheelchair sports — none more than curling. 

Patrick found great success on the ice, qualifying for the 2010 and 2014 Paralympics and making five appearances at the World Wheelchair Curling Championship, according to World Curling. 

Growing up with a Paralympian father, Andie said curling encompassed her life as long as she could remember. Out of a profound love for curling, she wanted to share that feeling by building a like-minded community in Tempe.

After functioning as a recreational activity for the first few years of its existence, Andie said she felt the team needed to step up its game in 2024 and attempt to qualify for nationals.  

In January of 2024, ASU participated in a regional qualifying event in Lincoln, Nebraska.

The group entered the event hoping for the best, Andie said.  

“We’re going to do the best we can, and we’re going to see how this goes,” She said.

It went pretty well. 

The Sun Devils qualified for the 2024 Nationals after just one year of fielding a competitive team, and they returned to the big stage a year later.

The club has come a long way in such a short amount of time, and Andie said she’s optimistic about the future.

“I’m hopeful that we’re going to get a lot of new members in the spring and hopefully we’ll get people that want to stay and come back,” she said. 

Andie believes the club will remain small in the near future, but she hopes the number of people who curl at ASU will grow over the long run.

Although the club’s early success is a big plus, Andie said her favorite part is the diverse community she’s built.

“I think it brings a lot of different ideas where people can grow as people and then share how to make the club better,” Andie said. “Without each individual’s opinions, the club wouldn’t have grown as much as it has.

“Curling with people you like and people that you’re friends with makes the experience 10 times better.”

Not only does the club provide a community for experienced curlers, but it also offers newcomers an opportunity to learn the sport, she said. 

ASU sophomore Matt Hand decided to try it in the spring 2026 semester and said it worked out well.

“I’ve always watched it on the Olympics and I always thought it looked fun, but I never had a curling facility around me,” Hand said.

Hand, like Andie, said he points to the club’s community aspect as the best part of the experience.

“It’s a great experience all around and everyone’s encouraging,” he said. “We all talk about where we’re from, what we do and how life is going right now.”

Although Andie said curling is easy to learn, she made it clear that succeeding still requires a high level of skill and effort. 

“I definitely come across a lot of people who either say that curling’s not a real sport or curling’s not super athletic,” Andie said, “but it definitely is.”