Those people who know me, know that I am not a big fan of sports in any shape or form. My older brother was the athlete of the family and I learned from an early age to avoid sports so as not to compete (and lose) against him. My parents reinforced this by focusing on his successes and ignoring my failures or attempts. I recall being affectionately called “Speedy” (with a laugh) by my mother because I was so slow when I tried my hand at swimming. I decided to focus on drawing and frankly imaginative play since I spent a number of weekends growing up at home, by myself with the instructions to not answer the phone or the door. Later in life I learned that if it dealt with throwing, kicking, hitting, or catching a ball, that ball tended to hit me someplace that would be amusing to everyone around me… so again- reason to avoid most sportsing especially team sports.
I have mentioned my interest in downhill skiing. It was one of the only things I actually was pretty average at and enjoyed. I was introduced to it in high school and while I haven’t had as many opportunities to hit the slopes I have enjoyed any time I get out. Living in Indiana makes skiing a challenge, especially after learning in California and Colorado (climate change hasn’t helped). I then tried golf out of an attempt to make Sue happy, since she grew up playing the game. After being teased and bullied at our local country club, I decided that it was not for me. I can say, I have played horrible golf on some of the finest courses in the country… but that’s not saying much. I tend to just have problems with sports, I’m not that coordinated and I tend to be the one laughed at when it comes to catching and throwing things.
So Why Curling?
I’d say “because it isn’t pickle ball” and while that is very true, there is more to it. A few years ago , on a whim, š Sue signed us up for a “Learn to Curl” evening just for fun. We’d seen it on the Winter Olympics and it looked like it would be interesting and a bucket list kind of thing. One night at the Indiana State Fair Grounds… I wasn’t great, but neither was anyone else. I actually wasn’t half bad. There seemed to be something just weird and logical enough that I could wrap my head around some of the basic motions. I looked at other opportunities and due to limitations on ice availability It wasn’t going to be possible. Yes, I was an adult and I didn’t have a set bedtime, but I was also a public school teacher who had to be at work at 7:00 in the morning if not earlier to prepare for the day. So I wrote it off as a maybe later when I have time.
Recently the Circle City Curling Club got dedicated ice. Which is a fancy way of saying they didn’t have to use the ice after the hockey practices were over at 8:30PM. When I retired I added this to my bucket list (#70 to be precise) after seeing that they had a “Rookie League” starting with “Learn to Curl” and then try it out for 4 weeks on Saturday afternoons. Their facility is only about 30 minutes away, so not that far. I went to my first session, had fun, but realized I had a lot to learn, then I got sick.
The Basics
I posted something on Social Media about this and got some interesting feedback so here are some of the things people wondered about:
- Does everyone participate? Yes, each person on the team of four has a role, so everyone does get to participate. The Skip- is the strategist and tries to help each person figure out the best place to put their stones. They throw last. The Vice- is responsible for the all important coin toss and takes over for the Skip at the end. Lead- the first person to throw. I’m under the initial impression this is usually the weakest player (aka me!) so they don’t get into too much trouble. I think they are called the “Lead” for self esteem purposes. Second- the second person to throw. When you are not throwing you are sweeping. Following the directions of the Skip in order to properly position the stone. Sweepers can add a few feet to a stone’s distance.
- So what kind of gear do you need? When you arrive you change into different shoes, because who knows what you might bring in from the parking lot. You also have rubber covers to go over your shoes to provide grip. You’ll get a broom for when it is your time to sweep. When it is your time to throw, you put your non-dominant foot on a slider and have a stabilizer to help balance. When you are starting out it’s best to have some kind of head protection (I wear a cycling helmet) the club does have “Halos” – squishy headbands because hitting your head on the ice hurts and could cause problems.
- Order of operations: 1. Put your dominant foot into the hack. 2. Put your non-dominant foot on the slider. 3. Crouch down using the stone and the stabilizer to help maintain balance. 4. Look to see what directions the Skip is giving you. 5. In my case be reminded that you have the stone in the wrong position- pointed at 2:00 when it should be at 10:00. 6. Push off using your dominant foot, and before you reach the hog line release the stone turning it back to 12:00, let your momentum carry the stone. 7. For me fall and slide all over the place. 8. Get up and walk back to the hack trying to regain some dignity in the process. 9. Be politely told that you actually turned the stone to 6:00 instead of 12:00… then grumble a bit (maybe that’s just me).
- “Broom Stacking” has nothing to do with stacking brooms.
It was a comedy of errors my first day, just trying to figure out silly things like how to line up in the hack, or not slide all over the place. Nostalgia is a wonderful thing- I thought I was better at it than I actually was… Fortunately, most people were in the same boat. By the end I was at least feeling like this was something I could continue. I thought I’d try to figure out when I could come in a practice, but being sick did not make that possible.
The third week of the League was a focus on sweeping since week 2 had focused on delivery, aiming, and just getting the rock going the right direction. All the stuff I really needed to know. I spent that week repeating my mantra of “I missed last week, so I’m still figuring this all out.” I decided that I would take some time and return to the ice later in the week to practice. Funny thing, unlike Golf (my other attempt at sporting at a club) I was asked if I would be interested in coming out Wednesday and substitute in a league they had going. If they didn’t need anyone, then I could just practice. I figured, “Why not” and that Wednesday participated in seven ends. While I wasn’t great (heck, I wasn’t even good) I did feel as if I was getting better.
Our fourth week we covered buying the stone in the right place, so what would be called “weight.” Weight is the speed at which the stone is traveling across the ice. You should be able to properly position the stone exactly where the Skip tells you. If the stone goes too fast, it won’t curl, if it has too much rotation it also won’t curl. It’s funny the stone doesn’t start really curling until it slows down (must be physics. I looked it up on YouTube, and there are a bunch of competing theories as to why with white papers flying between Sweden and Ireland… This week allowed us a lot more time to work on delivery since we were trying to figure out how to get the stone to stop right where we wanted it. We then had couple of ends and even learned how to use the scoreboard. Talking it over with everyone we had fun and were trying to figure out how to continue.
Having dealt with golf and a golf club I had noticed some differences early on. When I was first trying to play golf everyone had their own ways to help… most of the involved advice that contradicted each other, or joking about how I played. “Swing Faster.” “Swing Slower.” One guy kept teasing me about my “magic putter.” š They might have thought it was all in good fun, but for someone who was never athletic and had low self-esteem… My “favorite” memory was when I was just warming up while putting when the “men’s choose” was about to go off. In golf this is like elementary kick-ball and all the anxiety that goes along with choosing teams. Some nice person yelled to me and asked if I’d be interested in playing… Another person yelled out before I could respond – “No!” This was about a month into our membership at the golf club. From that point on I tried to only be on the course when no one else was. Sue would ask me to join her, and I reluctantly would, but I knew I wasn’t really welcome, it was Sue’s thing.
In the immortal words of Monty Python – “And now for something completely different!” While I am not by any means good, the people I have worked with have been so nice and yes, they have opinions on how to improve my game, for the most part they all agree, that practice is important. While complex and there is definitely nothing natural about anything dealing with curling, the advice I’ve been given has been consistent and usually simple things that I can do as a beginner. Unlike the golf club, curlers seem to be passionate about the sport, and more importantly willing to help bring in new people. Most of the people I’ve been working with have maybe a year of experience. It seems that the “team aspect” does help in that you want everyone to be good, where in golf, it is an individual sport… and there are limited tee times so you don’t want too many people playing.. especially those who play “slow.” My issue will always be, I’m kind of socially inept, so just getting me to start working with a “team” is hard for me. The question is- do I like this enough to get over that anxiety?
After the last day of the “Rookie Curling League” I have some options and I’ve decided that like the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Balloon Handler bucket list item, I’m going to keep going through the season. I’m not going to jump in with both feet and be in every league, and sub, and… do what I have done with other things, because I’ve learned that is the quickest way to burn myself out. I’ve signed up for one non-competitive league and an event called the “Shamrock Spiel” in which two new curlers are paired with two experienced curlers for a two day tournament over… you guessed it, St. Patrick’s Day. I’ll see how I feel about the sport and the club after that.
If you are interested, many localities do have curling clubs, in Indianapolis you have the Circle City Curling Club that has a facility in Anderson just off of exit 222 on I-69, about 30 minutes from where I live, so not that bad of a drive. Sue drives farther to go geocaching (currently I think she goes to Iowa to find new cachesš). Check out their Website, Facebook, or Instagram to see what is going on. They have one more “Rookie League” coming up starting March 2. The season runs from late-September until mid-April.
My family was notorious for getting involved in something and going whole hog, investing in everything needed, then getting bored after a few months. Doll houses, ceramic winter villages… my mom would do one and then go out and buy every single one that existed. If tools were needed she’d buy the top of the line… then all this stuff would sit around, for years. I’m taking it slowly with curling. I know if I decide to take it seriously I should buy my own broom, and shoes. Fortunately, not a massive expense, but for a person trying to divest themselves of stuff- I just don’t want it to join my golf clubs in the basement.
Oh- and broom stacking? You have to experience it to truly understand.
