Edition 23

What’s happenin’ in the HOUSE:

Tonight:  

• All games will begin at 6:40pm. 
• Check the standings to see who is playing tonight? Are you? If not – show up and cheer!

 Next week:  

• We really want to encourage everyone to come out on the finals night to watch some good curling, cheer on the finalists, enjoy some food and drink and some social time and applaud our winners upon the trophy presentations.

The Finals!!

• Come out and join your fellow Wednesday Night Friends
  • Enjoy some Sweet & Savoury Light Fare and Cheer on this year’s Finalists
  • Wednesday April 26th
  • 6:30 – 10:00 pm
  • All games start at 6:40 pm
  • Prizes and Trophy Presentations at 9:30 pm
  • Tickets - $10.00
  • available from the Nell Van Ymeren Team and Norma Discenza

Prizes:  It has come to my attention that there are some WNL curlers who are excited about what they achieved this season.  Let me know who and what they did to deserve a prize.  Tell me a story about your team/an individual who should get a prize for something!

I love giving out prizes!!

Things you should know for Playoffs: 

• Playoffs – Wed April 19^th and Wed April 26^th, 2023 (From Evelyn Gowan – our Games Convenor)
• Tonight – Semi-Finals (April 19^th)  and finals (April 26^th) will have no bell rule. 
• These games will be at 6:40.
  
  
• Format is a single knock out.  A reminder to the vices of the winning teams – Enter your win or loss in the playoff section of WNL section of the website.

Ties 

• To break a tie during semi-finals & finals; teams will play a full extra end for all divisions.
• Full details are listed on the rules sheet downstairs, but if you have any questions, please find me and I will assist.  
• Hope everyone has refreshed themselves with the sparing rules for playoffs (found on the OCC website).

Good luck and good curling.

(the above is also posted on the board downstairs) 

Laugh of the Week:

Stuff that will help us Curl better:

The Strategy Process (http://www.curlingschool.com/curlingStrategy.html)

EVERY GAME, teams must go through a decision and planning process. The process looks the same for every game at every level. Let's break it down into four steps.

• Step 1:   Assess your opponent.
• Step 2:   Decide on a strategy (conservative, aggressive or opportunity based).
• Step 3:   Structure your game (beginning, middle and end).
• Step 4:   Execute (shot calling and tactics).
• Step 4a:  Know when to switch.

Step 1 Assess Your Opponent
Before every game, assess your opponent relative to your team and team skills. It is important to know if the opponent is weaker, the same or better than you. Think in terms of overall team percentages. Use the following chart as a guideline.

Step one is very simple and there are only three choices. In Advanced Strategy, later in this section, there is more detail on how to assess your opponent.

Step 2 Decide on the Strategy
Once you've assessed your opponent, decide on a strategy. An opponent that is weaker than you leads you to a more conservative game (open, less risky shots). An opponent that is clearly stronger than you will lead you to a more aggressive strategy (more guards, more rocks in play).An equal opponent will lead you to a more opportunity-based strategy. This is also called a "blended" approach or a "standard" approach. The next section covers this concept in more detail and the Strategy Flow Chart in the Advanced Strategy section will help guide you through this process.

Step 3 Structuring a Game
Remember, there are only four possible outcomes to every end; the steal, force, conversion and blank.

For the non-hammer team:

• Steal.
• Force your opponent to just one.
• Allow your opponent to blank.

For the hammer team:

• Convert by taking two or more.
• Allowing your opponent to steal.
• Blank.

Start thinking about the game in three parts, the beginning, middle and end. The parts can also be called:

1. Beginning - Warm-up, sparring
2. Active Scoring
3. Closing

Beginning - Warm-up (0-2 ends)
A warm-up period during the game may not always be necessary. League games differ from championship games because of the scheduled warm-up (practice) before the championship game. Think about how many ends you'll play as a warm-up. You may want to use the first end or two to size-up the ice conditions, opponent, or your own teammates. Many league games are played with an end or two as warm-up since most leagues provide no practice before the game. Competitive games such as regional or national championships have a warm-up or practice period before the game. In this case you may choose no warm-up ends to be played. In a championship game, where the last rock is determined on the ice before the game in LSD (last shot draw), there is a ten-minute practice and LSD shot. This should give your team a good sense of ice conditions so you don't necessarily have to warm-up.

During a warm-up period, don't take unnecessary risks. Keep the rocks in the house and avoid difficult shots. A "wide-open" game will allow you to warm-up a bit and get used to the ice conditions. Remember, taking one in the first end with the hammer is not a bad thing.

Middle - Active Scoring (0-6 ends)
Active scoring is just that. This is the part of the game where the goal is to score more than one point with the hammer and either steal or hold your opponent to just one (called a "press") without the hammer. Normally three to five ends are played in this mode.

End of the Game - Closing Ends 8-10 (6-8 in an 8-end game)
Think of the last three ends as closing ends.  Ends six through eight in a club game and ends eight through ten in a championship game are known as the closing ends. Depending on the score, the sixth and eighth should be used to post points. This gives the opponent the hammer in the seventh and ninth. Forcing them to take a point gives you hammer in the last end.

Good teams have predetermined plans for closing the game.

Step 4 Execute
Now is the time to execute your plan. Call shots that support your strategy. The following section gets more detailed on shot-calling.

Step 4a Know when to Switch
This step is particularly important because teams don't always execute according to plan. It's ok to switch your game plan based on the situation. The switch can be either during or between ends. Many times, we've seen weaker teams choose an aggressive strategy in order to beat a better team. We've also seen teams that did not switch back to a conservative game only to lose the game in two ends. Here are a few reasons to switch your strategy during a game.

• Your aggressive strategy was too risky and you gave up a big end.
• You're playing conservatively and you're down several points.
• You're up several points and want to keep the lead.

Knowing when to switch is difficult but it may save the game, get you back in the game or win the game. If you've chosen an aggressive strategy and your riskier shots are not working, switch immediately to a conservative strategy to get things under control.

Aggressive vs. Conservative Game Strategy
The term aggressive refers to calling and executing shots that, when executed properly, have the highest potential for forcing the opponent's mistake (or inability to score).In curling, as in other sports, this strategy has a high degree of risk and a high potential pay-off. Aggressive shots usually include different types of draw shots like "come-arounds," freezes, tap backs, etc. For example, a perfect freeze almost eliminates the opponent's ability to remove the rock, increasing the chances to score more than one. On the other hand, poorly executed freeze may leave a rock wide open for a hit and roll, resulting in the opposition counting or scoring two.

A conservative strategy is used by teams who want to keep the game free of clutter. The shots most likely played in a conservative game would be mostly take-outs or shots thrown into the rings without cover. 

Recipes Around The Rings:

Grilled Leg of Lamb with Rosemary, Garlic, and Mustard

BY SISI CARROLL AND WIL CARROLL

Grilled Leg of Lamb with Rosemary, Garlic, and Mustard. Susana Howe

What makes this entrée so flavorful? Tucking garlic slices into the lamb and covering the meat with a puree made of garlic, Dijon mustard, rosemary, and lemon.

Ingredients

Makes 10 to 12 servings

• 1 well-trimmed 6-pound boneless leg of lamb, butterflied to even 2-inch thickness
• 8 garlic cloves, peeled, divided
• 1/2 cup whole grain Dijon mustard
• 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup dry white wine
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh rosemary
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• Nonstick vegetable oil spray
• Fresh rosemary sprigs and fresh Italian parsley sprigs

Directions

1. Open lamb like book on work surface. Using tip of small knife, make 1/2-inch-deep slits all over lamb. Thinly slice 4 garlic cloves. Insert garlic slices into slits in lamb. Combine remaining 4 garlic cloves, mustard, olive oil, white wine, rosemary, and lemon juice in processor. Blend until coarse puree forms. Spread underside of lamb with half of puree. Place lamb, seasoned side down, in 15 x 10 x 2-inch glass baking dish. Spread remaining puree over top of lamb. Cover lamb with plastic wrap and chill overnight.
2. Let lamb stand at room temperature 2 hours. Coat grill rack with nonstick spray and prepare barbecue (medium-high heat). Sprinkle lamb generously with salt and pepper on both sides. Grill lamb to desired doneness, about 17 minutes per side for medium-rare. Transfer lamb to cutting board; let rest 10 to 20 minutes.
3. Thinly slice lamb against grain. Overlap slices on platter. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Garnish with fresh herb sprigs.

What to drink:

• Syrah would be delicious with the grilled lamb. Mix things up by skipping California and Australian Syrahs and going with an Italian Syrah instead. One to try: the velvety, full-bodied 2006 Villa Pillo Syrah Toscana ($16, Italy).

Ingredient tip:

Start with a boneless 7-pound leg of lamb. When all fat and sinew are trimmed, it will weigh about 6 pounds.

Song of the Week:

A great sing-a-long!!

Sweet Caroline – Neil Diamond

 P.S – You can find all our Newsletters from this year on our club website.  Look under CLUB in the drop-down section and choose NEWSLETTERS.

Got something you want in the newsletter?  Please send it to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for our next edition of WNL². Submissions are helpful.  Please send by Monday evening.   I need stuff!