Sweeeeeep!

Today I attended a Learn to Curl Clinic sponsored by Curl San Diego.

Who knew shuffleboard on ice could be so much fun!

I invited along a number of friends - but the only one brave enough to accept the challenge was my winter sport buddy- Jac! She became an honourary Canadian for the day ... and we were off.

Jac's only experience with curling was laughing at it during the Olympics. I played once - about 15 years ago. All I remembered was how much fun it was yelling SWEEEEP! Yup, that was what I was here for. I didn't care if I had a chance to play. Just let me stand on the sidelines and yell SWEEEEP!!

It was a bright, sunny 80 degree day when we set out on our curling adventures. We arrived at the rink in time to catch the end of a hockey game. While we waited, I schooled Jac the fine art of Canadian spotting.

See that guy - he is wearing a Montreal Canadiens jacket. Wait, just wait - there you go - a French Canadian acccent ... bingo!

See that guy in the canteen. That shirt - it is a roots olympic t-shirt - how much you want to bet he is Canadian? Bingo, again!

Soon it was time for curling school- and we were out on the ice. Jac had to work to overcome her genetic handicap of being American (pretty sure the only such rare bird in attendance). Our first few attempts at pushing off were rather tentative - but in no time we were moving on to sweeeping (SWEEEP!).

The Curling Adventures of Jac and Eliz


Next ... on to playing a real live game. We were teamed up with Tricia and Jamie. Jamie is from my home town and went to public school across the street from my high school. How cool is that?!? Tricia was an instant natural at curling - and, well, turns out Jamie is a certified curling geek. Not only does he watch curling on YouTube, he Tivos curling - Eh?!?

I was pretty inspired after our curling adventure. We are changed people. Jac promises she won't laugh at the Canadian Olympic curling team now that she realized the finer nuances of the sport. As for me ... well curling just may start showing up on my Now Playing on TiVo list!

It is amazing how much we learned in one day.

For example...

• The curling stone is darn heavy - weighs in at 42lbs
  
• To convert arena ice to curling ice - it must be pebbled. This is done using a back-pack of water with an attached sprinkler head. The drops of water create a pebbled ice surface. The curling stone/rock skates across the pebbled surface. Without the pebbled surface a suction will develop between the rock and the ice surface.
  
• A typical game is made up of 8 ends (kind of like baseball innings).
  
• A team has four players. Each shoot (deliver) two rocks per end. Each player on the team has a name/role.
  The first to play is referred to as the "lead." The "second" shoots next, and then the "third," or "vice skip." The skip usually shoots the last rocks, and calls the strategy for the game.
  
• The skip is the brains of the operation. He/she decides on shot selection, and "reads" the curl in the ice for the shooter.
  
• Each running stone curls, or curves, as it proceeds down the ice. The amount of curl is determined by the twist given the handle during the delivery.
  
• Sweeping is where you get your work out. Sweeping heats up the ice and reduces the friction. It helps the stone slide further.
  
• A turkey in curling is a good thing. A stone in the center of the target is called a Turkey!

Check out the etiquette of curling here.