My Last Saturday League Curling

This past Saturday was my last league night for the season. I played pretty well and it was a fun night with our Skip putting on the bunny ears I brought for Easter. Also a friend from my condo complex had his son visiting and he took some great pictures of me curling and I will share some here.

As I sit to write this curling blog I am astonished at just how far I have come since my Learn to Curl class late October-December. Was it really only five months ago that I was getting comfortable on the ice, trying to learn about sliding the stone, figuring out what the Slip wanted me to do and actually doing what I need to do to be part of the game. There was a Slide and Delivery Clinic at the Cub that helped me with my delivery techniques too. There were only three participants to an instructor and he video taped us too. The take aways from this clinic were invaluable to me and my team even commented on my delivery improvement.

What makes the sport or game of curling so much fun and why have I become so excited about it? I think I love the different aspects of the game – the sportpersonship, the strategy of where to put the stone, the team aspect of the game, finesse of sliding to deliver the stone, and sweeping. I do love to sweep too! People have called me the Mad Sweeper as I look pretty intense when I sweep. I do some weights each week but the perhaps we should conduct a study of how sweeping assist with upper arm (bicep/tricep) strength.

At the end of our game we sat at our table and I was bought a drink by the opposing second. Yes, this tells you that we lost but it was close to the last end!

I ended up talking about my physical education and health education background.

This led to the handshaking tradition discussion. I do wear a curling glove so I use it when I shake hands at the beginning of a game. Everyone shakes and says, “good curling.” It’s a shame as we were told to use the hand sanitizer as many were sick. So this is how we starting the discussion of using hand bumping instead of the hand shaking. Hand bumping would be much healthier than the handshaking or perhaps we should require gloves?

http://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/fist-bump-better-handshake-cleanliness-201407297305

We will have to wait to discuss the curling handshake/fist bump at the annual meeting? So until next year I will use my glove and try to spread the word about the need to eliminate the curling handshake so we can be heathy curlers. http://denver.cbslocal.com/2014/05/20/is-your-handshake-as-dangerous-as-smoking/

How about a CULRING HANDLE WAVE? Like the Skip indicating the handle?

Thank you Saturday League and also Thursday morning open curlers. You have helped me become a better curler and I have falling for the sport. David, Will, and Caroline I do hope we can play together as a team soon. You made my first league experience one I shall never forget. Thanks for putting up with me, making me laugh, and especially being my first real curling team.

So until the next time I curl, and it will be awhile as our club closes till the fall, let me say…

“Good curling one and all!”