The End of the Curling Season

Some parts of the United States are lucky enough to have curling ice all year long.  In San Diego, where curling is played on arena ice, curling can happen all year long.  In Rochester, NY, where we curl on dedicated ice, we cannot afford to keep ice made in the warmer months.  So, from mid-April until mid-September, we melt our ice and close our club.

The Spirit of Curling

"Due to an injury sustained by a member of the Scottish senior women's team during play this morning, in the spirit of curling, Ireland opted to forfeit the game. The game will not be replayed. Scotland moves to 5-4 in the standings and Ireland to 1-7."

The Spin-o-Rama

Jeff Stoughton is not my favorite skip.  He's not even my favorite Canadian skip. He's not even my favorite skip from Manitoba! (Mike McEwen, if you must know).  I've watched him play several times, and never been impressed with him. I respect his curling ability - he did just win his 2nd World championship in a year when a lot of people were calling him washed up and past his prime.

Arena Curling

Between the beginning of the 2009 and 2010 curling season, according to the media guides from USA Curling, our beloved sport was played in 4 more states (up to 37) and we added almost 20 more clubs.
The media guide also proudly boasts that Texas has three (!) curling clubs. (Winnipeg, to compare, has 20)   And, while it looks like memberships were down, I suspect that the 2011-2012 media guide, when it is released this summer, will show quite a jump in memberships and club numbers.

Yes, it is a sport on the rise in the United States.  But how is it growing as quickly as it is?  Doesn't a curling club cost a lot of money to build?

Worlds

The Women's World Curling Championships have just ended. I watched them intently, and not just because I knew someone who was participating...

And wow! Was it ever exciting! Canada has a rough start to the week, but recovered and made it all the way to the final.... only to be beaten by the machine that was Sweden.  And there were so many other stories - Deb McCormick and Eve Muirhead as alternates (and frequent participants!) for the USA and Scotland respectively, the great success of China and Denmark - too numerous to mention.