You might be familiar with the Olympic sport curling, where you scoot a 40ish pound circular piece of granite on ice toward a target, has finally been updated to modern times. Well maybe not too modern, but it’s (arguably) better than using rocks. The game was developed by an auto insurance agent over in Russia, who came up with the plan after witnessing a lot of crashes on icy roads. Hoping to expose the need for car insurance in a comical way, Galina Kirkach organized an exhibition tournament in which four 10 member teams competed for a day of crazed fun involving cars, ice, and a cash price.
The idea is pretty much on par with regular curling, but this time we’re using a car, driver, and running start. Game rules are extremely simple, with the ten person teams running and pushing (or slipping, and sliding) old Oka cars. The Oka is a small two door car made during the late ’70s and early ’80s in Russia. Originally the Oka was very affordable, and provided free of charge to many wounded and disabled veterans of past wars. The combination of Oka’s mass production and their aging status make them great volunteers for such a sport as car curling.
Allegedly the goal of the game is to get your curling car as close to a target on the ice as possible. Unfortunately, the other teams can and do crash into your car which can slow them down while pushing you away from the target spot you want to be at. The game appears to be a lot of fun, and you’re almost guaranteed to fall down since it’s typical to have one of your teammates fall which inevitably causes the rest to go down like bowling pins. Oh, and there is a driver sitting in the car as it’s pushed whose sole job is steering–but it seems like they’re more along for the slide and reasonably soft crash at the end.