Olympic hopefuls needed a house. A retirement community has been staged.

“We’re walking off the ice and they say, ‘Why did you play that shot?’” said Mr. Sargon, 30.

They nitpick because they care. That became clear to Mr. Sargon a few weeks ago when he competed with Mr. Hood in a curling tournament in Okotoks, about 25 miles south of Calgary. As soon as their match started, Mr. Sargon and Mr. Hood realized they had their own fan club. Fourteen residents, armed with packed lunches and homemade signs, had driven to the island by charter bus encourage them in a loss to a team led by Mike McEwen, one of the best curlers in Canada.

“They put on a great show,” said Linda Smith, 74, who sat in the front row. “I mean, Mike McEwen really could have beaten them.”

‘Playing against the big boys’

On a recent weekday morning, the New Zealanders piled into their service vehicle, a 2012 Dodge Grand Caravan with more than 60,000 miles on the odometer, for the short drive to the curling club for a practice session. Mr. Hood, the captain of the team, got behind the wheel.

After some light stretching, the team took to the ice wearing matching sweatshirts that read “Team Hood: A Bunch of Kiwis Trying to Fly.” Greeted by a series of ’80s power ballads blaring from the club’s speakers, they began working on their throws.

For those unfamiliar, Curling is a winter sport that involves pushing heavy granite rocks along a long sheet of ice toward a target. And while curling is extremely popular in Canada, it also has some historical ties to New Zealand. Miners from Scotland brought an outdoor version of the game to the country during the gold rush of the 19th century, and it has remained a popular activity. the ponds on New Zealand’s South Island are cold enough to form a thick ice shelf on the surface.

“It’s more of a traditional game,” Mr. Hood said. ‘There’s some drinking going on. The skips are grumpier.