The Curling Corner

by Shellee Morning

Newsletters

Some Common Curling Terms and Phrases

BURNED STONE A stone touched while in motion.

HOGGER A shot that comes to rest short or on the hog line and is removed from play

HURRY! This means to sweep immediately.

HARD! Command – along with "hurry" – shouted by the skip to tell the sweepers to sweep harder and faster

IN-TURN A stone that rotates clockwise for a right handed player.

OUT-TURN A stone that rotates counter clock-wise for a right handed player.

PEBBLE The frozen bumps on the ice that the stones ride on.

WICK A shot where the played stone touches a stationary stone just enough that the played stone changes direction

BITER A stone that barely touches the outside of the house, i.e. the 12-foot ring

RAISE A shot in which the delivered stone bumps another stone forward

"Hit the broom" A rock thrown accurately at the aiming point.

"Lost its handle" A rock that loses its rotation.

Draw the "lid" Draw to the button.

"The rock picked" The moving rock picked up a piece of debris that altered its course.

2011 - 2012 King Curling Club Winter Session

Welcome to Shellee's Curling Corner. Over the last few years I have been writing articles for our two local newspapers, the King Sentinel and the King Weekly, both of which have been very
generous with their publishing of my articles and I wish to thank them for their interest and support of the King Curling Club. I will continue to provide weekly reports to them in hopes that they will continue to publish the articles.

My goal has always been to keep our members updated with the happenings in all of the
leagues, however, not every article that is written will get published in the weekly papers so, with that in mind, I have created this page to cover activities both on and off the ice.

The articles and information for this page is intended to supplement the newspaper articles and also provide some additional insight on the happenings within the club. Articles will remain on this page for a couple of weeks and then be placed in the archives.

Good Curling,

Shellee

Featured games for week ending February 5th.

ROCK PILES MEASURE UP
By Shellee Morning

Curlers never take anything for “granite” even when they think the game is out of reach. When the score is heavily sided, positive attitudes between players can go a long way for a team which can suddenly turn things around. Each week members arrive for the fun and hope of playing
their best for their team as well as for themselves. Sometimes, even being at the top of your game isn’t enough when it comes to the oppositions’ Curling God’s and the magical powers that cannot be explained. Skips have been known to inform their team that when the score board is not within reach, they are now handling their evening as a practice game and to learn from it. Whether they are on the winning or losing side of the board, experimenting with different shots or even switching positions can enlighten the spirits and open new opportunities for curlers. As the season continues for King Curlers, the excitement builds as each game means a little more than the last with playoffs just around the corner.

SWACKHAMMER PILES UP THE HOUSE
Team Kolb got off to a solid start in the first half of their game against Team Swackhammer this past week during the Thursday mixed recreational league. Skip David Kolb and his team of Ruth George Domenic Baldesarra and Lori Sant, were playing against the Swackhammer team and for the most part playing a solid game up to the midway point of the game. Baldesarra threw consistent weight and with the strong brushing by Ruth and Lori, the girls dragged the stones into great positions setting up the house. With a score of 5-1 after 5 ends, the team was confident they were doing their job and keeping the Swackhammer team at bay.

Heading into the 6th, and things looking good for the Kolb house, Skip Dave Swackhammer and his front end were seeing the need to capitalize and getting back in the game. Suddenly by skip stones, the rings turned around and the Swackhammer team had set themselves up for a multiple scoring end. Throwing his last stone, skip Swackhammer curled to a 6 point end and quickly had the score reading 7-5. Enjoying the sudden burst of perfection, Swackhammer’s team curled to another 3 points in the 7th now making the score 10-5. With the stellar ice reading and line calling by their skip, Kim Oakes, Donna Logue and spare Robert Oakes were proving quite a comeback. Not giving up, the Kolb team continued to play a good game but just couldn’t hold off the super powers of Team Swackhammer. Heading into the final 8th end, Swackhammer found perfect weight in his stones keeping the momentum, and the adrenalin, piling another 4 rocks and adding their score to an astounding comeback win of 14-5.

MEASUREMENT FOR THE WIN
LouAnn Curtis spared for Skip Dan Steenhoek against Team Crockford in a duel last week that went to the bitter end. It was a game that went end for end, with some spectacular curling from both sides. “Jammin” John Hakner on Team Crockford was taking out opposition rocks as though he was a stone slinger, while Magnificent Mary Dove and Henry Verbruggen held their own. For Team Steenhoek, “Dynamite Deb” Petersen and Sure shot Sue Makray made amazing shots and placed some perfect guards to keep their team in the thick of things. Gino “Super G” DiFebo had his high powered broom in action as always dragging stones into the house when everyone else thought they wouldn’t make it. Skips Don Crockford and LouAnn Curtis also made some great shots and couldn’t have asked for more from their team.

The game came down to the last end with 4 rocks sitting in the house so close together, a measurement was needed to determine a winner. The measurement by approximately ten thousandth’s of an inch, separated the Steenhoek rock from the Crockford rock for a 7-6 decision. Every player from both teams needs to be congratulated on an all- out effort in a game that could have gone either way.

HOWARD BOUNCES BACK TO WINNING FORM
After losing a close game last week, the Howard Team needed a solid performance to gain some ice in the standings. Matched up against Team Sutherland, Skip Diane along with Ian Donaldson, George Lindner, and Barbara Prince, knew they had their work cut out for them. Great draws were made by both teams due to the superior sweeping by the front ends. Skip’s; Hilary (Sutherland) and Diane realized early on in the game that their sheet of ice was over curling on one side and running a little straight on the other. The race to discover exactly where to put the broom, went in Howard’s favour as she conquered the negative ice for their timely take-outs. Guards and take-outs were clearly on the menu as they were distributed between both teams exchanging ends throughout the game. Coming home, the Howard team stepped into the hack with only one thing in mind…finish the end solid and collect the win.

Skip Hilary Sutherland commented after the game that the score, 7-4, would have been a lot higher if it wasn’t for her vice Nancy Moore’s perfect draws and the power house sweeping by Karl Span. With a loss for Sutherland; tied for first place and a win for Howard; tied in second place, the standings have just gotten a little more interesting.

GET WELL SOON
King Curling club’s executive and member’s want to wish Tom Ellison and John Zaina speedy recoveries and hope to see them back in the rings soon. The house is not the same without you!