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Local curling club explains sweeping

The Great Smoky Mountains Curling Club teaches us about an important aspect of the sport - sweeping.

The Great Smoky Mountains Curling Club meets atthe Ice Chalet in Bearden on Wednesday nights. The sport is so popular during the Olympics that the club's three "learn to curl" events are fully booked. You can get on the waiting list on their website by clicking here.

We stopped in on Wednesday night to learn about the game.

The first thing you need to know is the leader of the team is called the "skip." That person is usually the last to throw a stone.

If you've been watching Olympic curling you might wonder what all the sweeping is about. Watch the video above for an explanation from Jeff Bunn, president of the Great Smoky Mountains Curling Club.

The goal of sweeping is to heat up the ice in front of the stone as it's moving. The point of sweeping is to make the stone go farther and straighter. You might hear the skip yelling to his teammates, instructing them when to sweep.

You can watch the U.S. men's curling team compete on NBCSN Thursday night at 11 p.m.

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