MIT Students Bond Over Curling and Figure Skating Passion

When the Winter Olympics come around, MIT's ice rinks transform into gathering spots where engineers and physicists become the loudest sports fans on campus.

The university's Curling Club and Figure Skating Club are hosting watch parties throughout the Milano Cortina 2026 Games. It's more than just cheering for medals—it's about celebrating the sports that brought these students together in the first place.

Curling Club co-president Polly Harrington traces her love of the sport back to the 2010 Vancouver Olympics. Her family bought the most affordable tickets they could find, which happened to be for curling. "Seeing it live was really cool. I was hooked," she says.

The sport turns out to be perfectly suited for MIT minds. Co-president Gabi Wojcik explains that curling is deeply analytical and strategic, and physicists still debate exactly why the 43-pound granite stones behave the way they do on ice. She'd never played before joining the club and learned everything from scratch.

One common myth? That curling is easy or played on ice skates. It's neither, and those Scottish granite stones make sure players know it.

The Figure Skating Club draws an even bigger crowd with 120 members ranging from complete beginners to former international competitors. Current president Eleanor Li started lessons at age 14 and never looked back. Former president Mandy Paredes Rioboo has been skating since age 5 and still practices at dawn because "there is no better way to start the day."

For Li, skating means "the freeing feeling of wind coming at you when you're gliding across the ice." For Paredes Rioboo, it taught discipline, patience, and embracing failure as part of growth.

The Ripple Effect

Both clubs welcome newcomers without hesitation. The Curling Club practices from late September through mid-March and competes in regional tournaments. The Figure Skating Club offers free Saturday group lessons for anyone curious about trying the sport.

The Olympics spark fresh interest every four years. Li hopes the games will bring more students to those Saturday lessons, giving them a chance to experience the community that makes these sports special at MIT.

As the competitions unfold, Li is cheering for Japanese skater Kaori Sakamoto, while Paredes Rioboo is watching Alysa Liu and Ami Nakai. Harrington will root for U.S. curlers Luc Violette and Ben Richardson, whom she met while skating in Seattle. Wojcik is torn between Team USA and Scotland.

The stones will slide, the skaters will leap, and somewhere in Cambridge, MIT students will gather to watch, cheer, and remember why they fell in love with winter sports in the first place.