Welcome back for another season!! I’d like to mention a couple things that can benefit us all.
- Reconditioned Stones - In the off season our rocks were sent to Canada Curling Stone for scheduled maintenance. The striking bands (point of contact on hits) and running surfaces (bottom of the stone contacting the ice) were re-ground with a CNC machine. The work on the striking bands rounds the side of stones, which makes them livelier on taps and take-outs. In addition, it lengthens the life span of the rocks. The work on the running surfaces makes them all the same dimensions, which will help with consistency in performance. The cups on the bottom of the stones were also ground a little deeper. This is a fantastic improvement! Deeper cups produce more natural curl and make the rocks less release sensitive. However, it also means that you cannot get away with lazy handles anymore. Curling Canada recommends you have at least 5 rotations for a draw. I would say 4-5 is good, but less than 3 rotations will cause the rock to curl in excess, and risk taking the opposite turn. Count your rotations next time you’re out and see where you’re at!
- Knee Prints – This applies to ALL of our curlers! Old…young… new…experienced. I’m seeing an alarming amount of knee prints on the ice every day. Leaving your knees, hands or fingers on the ice after you’ve thrown, or even while in the hack, melts away the pebble and leaves depressions in the ice. Not only is this a rule violation, but it is also inconsiderate to those you are playing with, against, and to those playing on the draw after you. These marks can take many days to disappear on their own. We do our best to fill in any spots we see before each scrape, but this is difficult and time consuming. If you are unable to keep your knees off the ice, there are knee pads available for purchase in the office.
