It's spring and I'm a little late with a post on curling. Okay , for those who know much more about curling than I do, you can stop reading.
Curling is a game played on ice with 40 lb granite rocks that are very carefully shaped. There are four players to a team and each player has two rocks to throw in turn with the other team. The objective is to see who can get the most rocks closer to the center. If you have two rocks closer to the center and your oppositions rock is the third closest, you get two points.
Curling is a game that requires great skill and there's much strategy involved. It's an interesting game to play and now it's a big hit on TV.
This is a brief outline and I'm sure that Jen , who watches a lot of curling will correct things for me.
Now , when I was a kid in the 40's and 50's every little village and town had a curling rink. They did not have artificial ice. After it froze and stayed frozen they hauled tanks of water to make the ice. For the rest of the winter these people curled. They had men's league, women's league and mixed league. They had bonspiels which was like a curling tournament.
The skip, the team captain told the players where to throw the rock. The player had to throw the right "weight" so that the rock would stop where they wanted it to stop. There was also the little thing of a turn..in turn and out turn. Out turn would give the rock a counter clockwise turn and in turn would give the rock a clockwise turn. The curling or turning of the rock allowed the rock to bend or move sideways and a rock could get behind the opposition's rock. It was all fun. They also have brooms and for various situations sweep like mad. They sweep to make the rock move further before it stops. They sweep to help it bend more or less.
For the time I'm talking about it was a very social game and activity for the rural people on the Canadian Prairies. They wore special sweaters which they called curling sweaters. Women knitted these sweaters. These old rinks were unheated and just as cold as the outside. Everybody had a special sweater. I still have my curling sweater. Mom knitted it and sent it to me in Inuvik in 1964.
Sounds like fun ... kinda like Bocce on ice.
ReplyDeletecurling sounded wonderful game through your description dear Red and i could not resist checking on google .it seems quite fun and brilliant game which requires not just physical fitness but amazing mental energy :)
ReplyDeletethe sweater knitted by your mother looks great on you :)
must be a touching thing to do ,i have sweater knitted by mom and it is special
blessings
Your Mum's curling sweater is a family treasure. I didn't know much about curling and enjoyed this post very much. Thanks Red!
ReplyDeleten northern Minnesota is big on hockey and also does curling. Southern Minnesota some hockey but no curlingAnd finally I'm back toblogging after aphysical health problem
ReplyDeleteHappy Easter, Red. (No need to publish this. Just wanted to wish you all a pleasant day...and if this was to prompt a post of how Easter was spent when you were a boy, I wouldn't mind at all!)
ReplyDeleteThis is fun! Thanks for the Shout Out! I have never curled, but hubby is a fanatic. He has never curled, either, his back would be able to handle it. I had an uncle who curled, and my mom gave his curling sweater to my daughter! It is really warm.
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