Tag: curling

Spielen Gut – My First Bonspiel

Posted on March 19, 2024 by Bruce

Those who know me tend to be surprised if I mention or discuss sports of any kind.  I find that competition tends to bring out an ugly side of most people.  This past weekend I participated in a bonspiel, “The Shamrock Spiel,” a “friendly” tournament that lasted two days with 5 matches for each team.  It was presented to me as a way to get to know other people in the club and have fun. The idea was to even out teams is to have two new curlers paired with two experienced curlers.  I signed up as part of my “jumping in with both feet” belief even though (I did the math) I had only curled around 8 days* before… brave or just stupid?

Let me start off defying a core issue I have- I don’t take praise well…  you see I was raised by someone who could and would say the nicest, kindest things to someone’s face and the minute she thought they were out of earshot say what she really meant which was neither kind, nor nice.  I learned growing up that people lie.  So when you compliment me, I tend to smile, nod, say ‘thank you” and think you mean the exact opposite. Curlers are extremely nice and compliment people on their shots, especially new curlers, even when they aren’t that great. They look for the silver lining which I like, but (see above). I do appreciate how no matter what team you are on, everyone says something positive to a player when they do something even moderately well. I’m concerned that like when I tried golf I’ll be the last one picked or the one that no one wants on their team.

Combine this with the fact that I actively avoided sports growing up… you see my older brother was the gifted athlete.  My mother would compare us in some crazy competition in her head and as they said in War Games – “the only winning move is not to play.” So I didn’t.  I drew, I read books, I was an above average student who didn’t really try that hard.  When I tried to participate in sports I usually made a fool of myself and my team mates would laugh at me.

So now at 58 I’m competing in a tournament in a sport I just started to learn. My team had been doing well, but missed winning by the narrowest of margins.  At the end of Saturday we had lost all three of our matches, two by just 1 point. Sunday we actually won one, but in the end conceded our last one because with one end to go there was no way we could win. We ended the Spiel with one win and four losses. I went home- tired, and sore and deciding that maybe a casual league is the better place for me at least for now, if not forever… I just can’t get that competitive and like myself when the day is over.

It was a great social event, lots of food and talk (Yes, I’m an introvert so it was draining trying to be even slighty an extrovert) I’m getting to know more people so it isn’t completely horrible and I tried to sit in on conversations. One thing that helps is “Broom Stacking” which occurs after a match. The winners buy a round for the losers (we ended up with a lot of drinks being purchased for us. Tables are set up in the warming room so that everyone who played can sit together. I kind of wish I had started with beer a lot sooner, maybe I would have been less stressed. The worst part was when we actually won… fortunately someone else took care of the drink for the person I was supposed to buy for, since I remembered after too much time had passed.

Sue came out to watch our last match on Saturday evening and noticed a couple things:

 First, she asked when will I graduate and not have to wear a helmet?  I wear a helmet since I fell in one end while sweeping and ended up with a slight concussion.  You see in my flight I’m one of two people wearing head protection.  The other flight has a bunch, but mine- it’s just two of us.  The other flight also has stick curlers in it… mine, nope. I’m not sure but I think the other flight might be less competitive and having more fun. 

She also noticed how there wasn’t one way of curling.  Sweepers did it differently, players delivered the stone each in their own unique way. Except, me… I’m always doing it the wrong way. 🙄 I noticed that of the group I started with in the Rookie League there are maybe five of us playing in the spiel. What happened to the 40 some odd people who started with us?

She took a picture of me delivering a stone and wondered if I was actually watching the stone when I delivered it or if I was looking at the ice… I blamed my helmet for obscuring my face… but on Sunday made a conscious effort to figure out what I was looking at. (sometimes it was the ice, sometimes it was the stone.

Even though it was a “fun” “friendly” event- In my vast experience in sports, players can be put into groups (this actually fits in with almost any activity and yes, there are shades of gray- 50 if I understand correctly.):

  1. Elite professionals in curling’s case Olympians or those that compete at a national level.
  2. People who take it seriously and are competitive.  They tend to be this way in every aspect of life and are interested in more than one sport. “GOOOOO Sports Team!” These are the ones who practice every moment they have.  Read books, watch every video they can, they want to be Olympians or at least the best in their region, age group, club…. I’ve noticed that even in a “fun” event they have stopwatches out to time their deliveries and be speak in a shorthand. These are the people who have a lot of fun when they are winning. It was amazing how some teams had “new” curlers who were pretty good with the shorthand and how to understand the numbers being thrown out by those with stopwatches. There is a “Competitive League” on Mondays for many of these people.
  3. People who play for fun.  They are in a sport for the social aspect.  Win or lose it’s a game.  They could be really good, but what matters most is just being around people who like the sport.

Mixing these people can be interesting… You know two new people and two experienced people. If the experienced people are 2’s and the inexperienced people are 3’s it could frustrate someone. A team of 3’s having a blast while a team of 2’s counting down deliveries.

For me, the biggest issue as a new player is I try to incorporate suggestions when they are made, if I notice I did something wrong I compensate the next chance I get.  Umm… so Saturday night when I’m told my first rock was too heavy, I try to throw lighter, except that they wanted me to throw a heavy rock to take out another stone!  I feel like I am the weakest link, because I am.  My skip even commented after giving a “pep talk” that he shouldn’t give pep talks anymore since I royally messed up afterwards. I’d like to get better, but I have to find the time to practice, you’d think that would be easy… it isn’t. Practice time is either when I have league or after the evening league is over which is way past my bedtime.

When I was growing up my parents would get into an activity/hobby and tend to go wild investing in everything they needed (even when they might not need it due to their experience level) A friend once told me he never buys a tool unless he needs it three times. If he finds he needed and had to borrow or rent something three times, he should have it, because it is something he obviously will use in the future. I went into curling with this mindset. Instead of going out and buy all the equipment (shoes, broom, gloves) I’d get by this time around with what I have. My bike helmet & a newer pair of clean tennis shoes. One of the members took a gripper (the thing you put on your shoe to make it so you don’t slide on the ice) and modified it a bit for me so I could slide further in my deliveries. Look out on the sheet and I’m the guy in jeans with a sweatshirt, not the one in the club jacket and black pants. I’m one of the only ones grabbing a slider (the thing you step on when throwing a stone so you can slide across the ice better. So Saturday I bit the bullet and decided I would go out and buy a broom… to me a broom was an economical way to improve my game slightly in seconds. I could use it in the next match. I was informed that a broom improves your game only slightly (I knew that) and if you want to improve you needed shoes… so I caved and bought shoes. I also knew that there is a learning curve when it comes to shoes…so they are still in the box until Wednesday, when I can test them out and fall multiple times without causing too much damage or being a laughing stock in front of the whole club.

What are curling shoes? I think I went over this before, but just in case. One shoe has a teflon sole to help you slide. You put a gripper on it when you are not throwing stones. I’ve seen it takes a bit of practice to get used to walking on ice with one slippery foot. Combined with the fact that someone had taken time and effort to modify a gripper I decided I would stick with what I was comfortable with and try everything out later this week.

I do have a recommendation for the club for next season- I was in a four week “Rookie” league. It was basically four weeks of lessons to get the basics.  More intense than a single “Learn to Curl” session.  The club also offers an “Instructional League” which due to our trip I could not attend.  What about putting them together?  Four weeks of learning and then two or three weeks of play within that group?  Yes, it would be a seven or eight week commitment, but it might not be a bad thing.  Teach the basics, but then teach how a league actually works more focused on playing the game, than the actual fundamentals..  I know I’d sign up for just an instructional league even though I’m already in a league.  It gives you the chance to make mistakes in a safe place.  You are expected to make mistakes. I couldn’t do the instructional league this time around because of Denmark.

So what does this mean for me? I learned a lot. I learned about various ways to do things, how to decide who sweeps closest to the stone, unless you have an experienced player and they do whatever they want. I try to determine which way I want the stone to curl, but still need the Skip to tell me (I’m not psychic). It was a good learning experience. The season is almost over and I see myself signing up again next season (I bought shoes), but staying away from competing in bonspiels until I feel better about my game (which means maybe never?) I can see helping out as many people from the Wednesday morning league did. It was funny to see just how many people I play with I didn’t see playing this weekend. Oh, and after many times competing in “Friendly” golf things, I’m happy to say, it isn’t anywhere near as bad as one of those. Still have nightmares over being teased about my “magic putter.”

Note: Everyone I have played has been so nice and supportive.  The problem is me.  Being raised in an environment in which the simplest compliment was seen as sarcasm… it’s hard to trust or believe.  It’s me, not you 

*This would be three days of Rookie League, one day subbing on a Wednesday morning league (so around 6-7 ends) two days actually participating in the Wednesday morning league (around 12-14 ends), and a morning practicing and getting instruction from a fellow curler (we was interrupted midway through). oh and that “Learn to Curl” I did long before COVID. When I say an “end” that would mean I had thrown only two stones.

Hey Sports Fan’s! Let’s Put The Rock in the House

Posted on February 11, 2024 by Bruce

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, 😉 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

What is Curling? Let’s have the experts explain it.

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.” 🙄 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?

There were more people present, but we were some of the die hards who finished three ends on the last day, and going over time. No time for broom stacking It was a lot of fun and I definitely saw growth in my game, but still have a lot to go.

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 caches😉). 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.