Curling... What I Have Learned

This past fall, my family and I decided to curl for the winter at the Emo Curling Rink. There wasn't much experience on the team, with the exception of my father who used to play the sport like a religion in the 1970s. I myself had some recent experience teaching kids how to play, but other than that, I have little experience. My mother had some experience and my younger brother had NONE. Suffice to say, the first couple months of playing was terrible. In the first seven games we were able to score eight points, while our competitors scored well over twenty. Games usually finished at 10-1 or 10-2. We then made a switch with the Skip (my mother) shooting first and myself going to shoot last. We won the next two games (one of them single handily) and the last four games we have played were really close, only losing by 7-5 twice and 8-5 twice. Let's just say the scoring game has improved on our end.

Yesterday was a big game in the world of curling (at least in Canada) as Jennifer Jones and Cathy Overton-Clapham went head-to-head in the Scotties Tournament of Hearts. Overton-Clapham used to play for Jones until recently where Jones and the rest of the team decided that she was too old and they let her go. Now playing for Manitoba, Overton-Clapham took their team against Jones (Team Canada) in a barn burner of an event.

We happened to curl last night when the game was on, and it seemed the entire building, including those playing on the ice were watching the TV screen. Everyone seemed to be cheering for Manitoba, disgraced at the decision that Jones had made. The game was quite exciting as some very important and difficult shots were made by Manitoba taking the game 8-6 with Cathy having a 95% shot percentage... considered probably her best ever... Disciplined anger goes a long way in performing.

While watching the game and hearing people cheer and such, and to listen to such detail about what happened, I realized that curling in Canada is a very tight community. People take things personally and when everyone feels a certain way it spreads across the country. The deal between Jones and Overton-Clapham is a prime example of that. It adds more entertainment than I ever thought possible.

I have really enjoyed my time playing the game and hopefully we will do it again next year.