Tag Archives: curling

A Difference in Levels

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Last night I had an opportunity to curl with the manager of my club. Wow!
She is very, very good. She is, in fact, the person that teaches most people when they come to the club for lessons. I have also attended her lessons and spent the entire game trying to recall every pointer and direction she ever gave me. I desperately wanted to impress this person – viewed by many as one of the best curlers in our club.
This is not to diminish the skills of the other two players on the team. They threw shots I could only dream of – take outs the likes of which you see on TV. It was daunting, but also so wonderously incredible. I got to experience high level curling first hand. I was there to see the constant communication between the front end and the house. I was part of the amazing shots that resulted in a 7 end game with a final score of 11 – 4.
That it was a contrast to my usual social leagues could not have been more obvious. These women had skill and knowledge of each other only gained through years of experience. I even got to ask some questions that have always confused me; like what is the difference between control and normal weight. (Answer: normal refers to your normal take out weight and control is a little lighter.)
As for my own shots, well, I curled better than I had in several weeks – making one shot in two (generously). I don’t think I embarrassed myself for a beginner with three years’ experience. They even chanced a take-out for my last shot in the seventh end; which happily I made.
I was so nervous and so excited at the same time. I was terrified of messing up horribly and wonderstruck at how good the others work. It was both scary and amazingly fun. And for all I was worried, the others were very nice, friendly and encouraging. Even the club manager, who was skipping that night, as she teased me about the importance of lead rocks. I guess leads really do set up ends – at least when playing with skilled people.
It was totally exciting and an absolutely fabulous experience that I will remember for a long time to come.

Sticks & Stones

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The tournament of Hearts is on this week. For those unfamiliar with the sport of curling – this is the nationals for the women’s teams.

For those who have never curled, try not to judge the players too hard before you have spent two hours delivering and sweeping rocks yourself. It may look easy on TV but I can assure you – from experience – it is not. I am not referring to strength; anyone can through a rock the length of the ice. And many people can sort of sweep the rocks. However, it is difficult to through it exactly where you are supposed to and even more difficult to know how to call the ice and sweeping for the rock. Even sweeping is not as easy as it looks – you have to combine the right amount of pressure and friction along with a good sense of how fast that rock is travelling and where it will stop. Three years into the sport and I still struggle to make any of my shots.

However, even more interesting than playing the sport or watching the game on TV is learning about some of curling’s rich history. Recently, I was fortunate to talk with an older gentleman who remembers a time when teams played 14 ends (not the 8-10 ends common now) and other mostly forgotten trivia.

Curling was developed in Scotland, the home of golf. Like golf, curling started with 18 ends. Imagine going back and forth across the ice sheet 18 times. Currently teams will play 10 ends in just under 3 hours. Granted the style of game has changed some in that time. There are now rules about guards – mostly the first four guards cannot be removed. This has shifted the strategy of the game and the type of shotes. Previously most shots were take-outs, not draws, meaning the game moved that much faster.

The size and weight of the stones has also changed since its inception. At one time, stones ranged from 40 – 60 lbs – there was no set size. Now, of course they are uniform in size, weight and shape. Only a small running surface on the bottom of the rock is actually in contact with the ice. Further, and most interesting to me, the act of putting a spin on the rock was against the rules. Apparently, skips were expected to guess which way a rock would start curling (spinning and arching across the ice) by reading the ice and the rocks. To add a spin was thought to be cheating as you were directing the rock. Weird.

As the sport evolved, Canada developed its own style and Europe a slightly different variation. One of the big differences being the spin on the rocks. Now the rules are consistant – at least to my understanding.

Evolving along with the rules of the sport are the rules of the social aspect – which many consider just as important. Parts of the country, my club included, follow the social norm where the winning team is responsible for buying the first round of drinks after the game. It is expected that both teams sit together for some time after they play. Perhaps it is this attitude that makes curling so welcoming to beginners at all ages. I have met some players that started after they retired from work, while others have been curlings since they were children. It is impressive that the oldest curler at our club is 96 years young!

It is a great sport and still one of my favourites to watch. Go Ontario Go!