Canada to Qatar, Scotland to Saudi Arabia - curling rocks!

Curling, once a fringe game played mostly by Canadians and Scots, will sweep onto the ice at next month's Pyeongchang Olympics with the proud boast of being the world's fastest growing winter sport.

The "roaring game" (so named for the sound of the rocks skidding down the ice), is now popping up in the sort of sunny places where ice usually comes in cubes to cool the drinks.

Qatar's men's team celebrated their first international victory in November, beating Kazakhstan on Australia's sun-soaked Central Coast. A few months earlier, Middle East neighbors Saudi Arabia secured conditional membership in the World Curling Federation, along with fellow-newcomers Kyrgyzstan, Afghanistan and Portugal.