The spirit of the Wikimedia movement united through curling

Curling is considered the pinnacle of winter sports, gripping everyone’s attention so intensely it’s nicknamed “chess on ice.” It’s famous for its slippery ice, the nail-biting tension as the stone teeters on the edge of going further, and the frantic sweeping. 

As part of the 2026 Winter olympics editathon in Korean Wikipedia, we are currently improving the content and photos of documents related to this Olympics. We believed that an offline curling experience gathering would provide a valuable opportunity for neurodiverse individuals and general users to participate together while gaining hands-on experience with curling. Therefore, we gathered at the Uijeongbu Curling Arena with ten neurodiverse editors and general users to participate in this event to get some curling experience, and contribute in curling related Korean Wikipedia articles.

Before the event began, all participants first met at a cafe for a warm-up. While the Wikipedia editors quickly started editing on their laptops, the neurodiverse editors were unable to do so. This demonstrated that the future direction of the neurodiverse photo walk should focus less on overly exploration-based programs and more on linking the experience and its results to editing on Wikipedia.

We met Referee Shin Mi-seong, who would be assisting us with the curling experience. While the curling rink was being prepared, Referee Shin explained the theory of curling. Despite the rules potentially being somewhat challenging for neurodiverse individuals, one participant persistently asked questions to confirm their understanding, ultimately grasping the curling rules almost perfectly. It was a scene where the deep focus characteristic of neurodiverse individuals truly shone. Based on this interest, we hope the curling rules will be reborn through the hands of neurodiverse individuals, from a neurodiverse-friendly perspective.

After the ice resurfacing, we gathered our rental equipment and headed down to the rink. Even after stretching beforehand and wearing rubber bands on our curling shoes and knee pads, I felt a bit dizzy. Especially since ice skating involves intense light reflection and requires excellent muscle coordination, I imagine it was incredibly difficult for everyone. However, the neurodiverse individuals followed the referee’s instructions without showing any signs of struggle and took breaks on their own when they needed to. It was the moment that shattered the stereotype that ice skating is dangerous for neurodiverse people.

This event has enhanced the main image for the Uijeongbu Curling Arena article. We anticipate that more articles will be enhanced with these photos going forward. Furthermore, over 80 photos have been uploaded, compared to the previous state where no photos of the Uijeongbu Curling Arena existed. Five neurodiverse contributors made an impressive 56 uploads to Wikimedia Commons. Regular users also contributed to Wikipedia articles such as the 2026 Winter Olympics and Uijeongbu Curling Arena. True to the spirit of the Curling Contribution Challenge, many curling-related articles about events, arenas, and athletes have been significantly enhanced.

As neurodiverse individuals, this photo walk was an opportunity to shatter the prejudice that neurodiverse people face risks, to mingle freely with general editors, and to take and edit photos together. We also aim to gain opportunities to experience more sports. Through this, we hope to bring Wikipedia users and neurodiverse individuals together, taking a step closer to the goal of diversity—one of the core values of the Wikimedia movement.