Curling with stones

When you get a chance to curl on a team, it seems like a good idea to accept the challenge. I haven't curled in two or three years, but The Girl From the North Country's (TGFTNC) daughter, Sherrie, has a team that curls at Biff Adams arena. I had mentioned in the past that I had done some curling, so tonight when Sherrie's team was a curler short, she asked me if I'd be a sub. After thinking about it a bit and checking with my knees, I decided it would be fun to try sliding stones down the ice again.

TGFTNC was the official photographer. We arrived a little early to meet the team and to get the equipment on and ready. I still have shoes and a curling broom which I was able to find and bring along.

Here's the team (the Flaherty Rink) just before the start of the game. Sherrie, TT, Robbie (TGFTNC's grandson), and Jackie.

Meet the skipper of the Flaherty Rink before the game. She's sitting in front of the sign announcing the location of the competition - the Frogtown Curling Club.

I had a chance to warm up, so I slid four rocks down the ice to see if I could remember how to deal with stone weight, direction and whatever ice conditions were out there.

This is me, TT, delivering a stone during the game. The skipper had me curl in third position. That means that I got to flip the coin to see who went first, keep the score, sweep a bit in front of other team member's stones, and hold the broom while the skipper curled.

It was fun to play this ancient game again. As luck would have it everyone on our rink curled well. We got off to an early lead and held off the competition to win 13-1. It was darned fun.