Curling, Curling
Two paintings (both dated 1565) by Pieter Bruegel the Elder depict Dutch peasants curlingScotland and the Low Countries had strong trading and cultural links during this period, which is also evident in the history of golf.
Kilsyth Curling Club claims to be the first club in the world, having been formally constituted in 1716; it is still in existence today Kilsyth Curling History . Kilsyth also claims the oldest purpose-built curling pond in the world at Colzium, in the form of a low dam creating a shallow pool some 100 × 250 metres in size, though this is now very seldom in condition for curling due to warmer winters.
During the sequence with Hamlet and the Ghost, we see, as the Ghost explains how Hamlet's uncle Claudius (Derek Jacobi) seduced the Queen (Julie Christie), a flashback in which Claudius and Queen Gertrude are playing a game of curling on the floor of the castle, while the King (Brian Blessed) watches.
The verbal noun curling is formed from the Scots (and English) verb curl SND which describes the motion of the stone.
The stones they used were the heavy stone weights from the weavers' "warp beams," fitted with a detachable handle for the purpose. Many a wife would keep her husband's brass curling stone handle on the mantelpiece, brightly polished until the next time it was needed. Nate Baker (Editor), The Book of Old Darvel and Some of its Famous Sons.
Scotland is home to the international governing body for curling, the World Curling Federation, Perth, which originated as a committee of the Royal Caledonian Curling Club, the mother club of curling. Today, the game is most firmly established in Canada, having been taken there by Scottish emigrants. The Royal Montreal Curling Club, the oldest active athletic club of any kind in North America, was established in 1807. The first curling club in the United States began in 1830, and the game was introduced to Switzerland and Sweden before the end of the 19th century, also by Scots. Today, curling is played all over Europe and has spread to Japan, Australia, New Zealand, China, and Korea.
The first world curling championship in the sport was limited to men and was known as the "Scotch Cup," held in Falkirk and Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1959. The first world title was won by the Canadian team from Regina, Saskatchewan, skipped by Ernie Richardson. (The skip is the team member who calls the shots; see below.) near Stewarton in Ayrshire, Scotland, now converted into a dwelling The first curling club in the United States was organized in 1830 only thirty miles from Detroit, at Orchard Lake, Michigan. Called the Orchard Lake Curling Club, the club used hickory block "stones." The Detroit Curling Club was started back in 1840 when Michigan only had a population of 212,000 and had only been in the Union for three years. About this time, an organization called the "Thistle Club" was founded and, curling being a winter sport, was played when the ice was suitable on the Detroit River at the foot of Joseph Campau; on the bay; and at the old Recreation Park. These clubs became the Granite Club, and in 1885, the present Detroit Curling Club was organized.
At the major curling championships, ice maintenance is extremely important. Well-known professional ice makers Shorty Jenkins, Hans Wuthrich, Darrin Sinclair, Dan Prohaszka, and Dave Merklinger reside in Canada. Large events, such as the Brier or other national championships, are typically held in an arena that presents a challenge to the ice maker, as they must constantly monitor and adjust the ice and air temperatures as well as air humidity levels to ensure a consistent playing surface. It is common for each sheet of ice to have multiple sensors embedded in order to monitor surface temperature, as well as probes set up in the seating area (to monitor humidity) and in the compressor room (to monitor brine supply and return temperatures).
Brushes were used primarily by elderly curlers as a substitute for corn brooms. Today, brushes have replaced traditional corn brooms at every level of curling, but are universally referred to as brooms. Curling brushes may have fabric, hog hair, or horsehair heads. Most top quality modern broomsticks are now made of materials such as carbon fibre, allowing faster sweeping; lower-end brooms are often made of fibreglass. Brooms are also used by most curlers as a balancing aid during delivery of the stone.
The surface in contact with the ice, known as the running surface, is a circle thick. This narrow running surface is where the ice and the stone interact. On properly prepared ice, the rock's path will bend (curl) in the direction the front edge of the rock is turning, especially toward the end of its motion. The degree of curl depends on several factors, including the preparation of the ice and the flattening of common paths to the house during the game. Ice on which the rocks curl well is said to be "swingy." The Scots, in particular, believe that the best-quality curling stones are made from a specific type of granite called "ailsite," found on the Ailsa Craig, an island off the Ayrshire coast. According to the Scottish Curling Stone Company, Ailsite has very low water absorption, which prevents the action of freezing and melting water from eroding the stone.
However, the island is now a wildlife reserve and is no longer used for quarrying. Because of the particular rarity of Ailsite, costs for curling stones can reach as much as US$1,500 for the best stones. Many curling clubs use a lower-grade stone that can cost upwards of $500. There are also stones that use a disc with a running surface of Ailsite attached below another type of granite. Very informal neighbourhood curling clubs with limited resources may make cylindrical "curling stones" out of concrete-filled cans or bowls . Kays of Scotland has been making curling stones since 1851 and has the exclusive rights to Ailsa Craig granite as granted by the Marquess of Ailsa, whose family has owned the island since 1560. The last "harvest" of Ailsa Craig granite by Kays took place in 2002, yielding 200 tons (note: Kays' statement is that they harvested 1500 tons, sufficient to fill anticipated orders through at least 2020). Kays of Scotland has been the exclusive manufacturer of curling stones for all three Olympics where curling has been a medal sport.
Curling pants are made to be stretchy in order to accommodate the curling delivery. Curlers may also wish to use a stopwatch to time the rocks whilst sweeping to get a feel of how fast the rock is going; stopwatches can be attached either to a piece of clothing or the broom itself. There is also a wide variety of curling gloves and mittens, which are used to both keep the hands warm (if necessary) and for better traction on the broom.
When swept, a rock will usually travel both farther and straighter. In some situations, one of the two is often not desirable (for example, a rock may have too much weight, but needs sweeping to prevent curling into a guard), and the team must decide which is better: getting by the guard but traveling too far, or hitting the guard.
Guards are shots thrown in front of the house, usually to guard shot-rock (rock closest to the button at a certain time) or to make the opposing team's shot difficult. Draws are shots in which the stone is thrown only to reach the house, while takeouts are shots designed to remove stones from play. Choosing which shot to play will determine whether the thrower will use an in-turn or out-turnfor a right-handed person, the clockwise and counter-clockwise rotation of the stone, respectively. Possible guard shots include centre-guard and corner-guards (left and right sides of the centre line). Draw shots include raise (and angle-raise), come-around, and freeze, and takeout shots include peel, hit-and-roll and double. For a more complete listing, look at the complete list Glossary of curling terms.
A team in the lead would often employ this strategy during the game. By knocking all stones out, the opponents could at best score one point (if they had the hammer). Alternatively, the team with the hammer could peel rock after rock, which would blank the end, keeping the last rock advantage for another end. This strategy had developed (mostly in Canada) as ice-makers had become skilled at creating a predictable ice surface and the adoption of brushes allowed greater control over the rock. While a sound strategy, this made for an unexciting game. The 1990 Brier was considered by many curling fans as boring to watch because of the near-constant peeling, and the quick adoption of the Free Guard Zone the following year reflected how disliked this aspect of the game had become.
This may occur at any point during the game, but usually happens near the final end. When a game is completed by playing all ends, both teams also shake hands. Hands are also shaken before the game, accompanied by saying "Good curling!" to the opposing team. In the Winter Olympics, a team may concede after finishing any end during a round-robin game, but can only concede after finishing eight ends during the knockout stages.
Improvements in ice making and changes in the rules to increase scoring and promote complex strategy have increased the already high popularity of the sport in Canada, and large television audiences watch annual curling telecasts, especially the Scotties Tournament of Hearts (the national championship for women), the Tim Hortons Brier (the national championship for men), and the women's and men's world championships.
Ernie Richardson and his family team dominated Canadian and international curling during the late 1950s and early 1960s and are generally conceded to be the best male curlers of all time. CBC Television, Kings of the World: The Curling Richardsons (March 13, 2004).
However, some curlers make a considerable portion of their income from curling. Some stay-at-home mothers or house-wives can claim curling as their profession. Still, curling survives as a people's sport, returning to the Winter Olympics in 1998 with men's and women's tournaments after not having been on the official Olympic program since 1924 (that year's curling competition, for men only, was confirmed as official by the IOC in 2006). Because accuracy, strategy, skill, and experience are more valuable in curling than traditional sports virtues of speed, stamina, and strength, most competitive curlers are older than their counterparts in other sports. However, there are many young teams who turn heads, and junior curling is quite popular, with national finals being televised nationwide in Canada.
For example, celebrating an error by the opposing team, fully acceptable in some sports, is frowned upon in curling. Even at the highest levels of play, players are expected to "call their own fouls," so to speak, such as alerting the opposing skip if they burned a stone. It is also traditional for the winning team to buy the losing team a drink after the game. (This is an interesting contrast to the game of darts, where the loser traditionally buys the winner a drink by way of congratulations .) This is often referred to as the Spirit of Curling.
Concession is an honourable act and does not carry the stigma associated with quitting, and allows for more socializing. To concede a match, the losing team removes their curling gloves (if they wear them) and offer congratulatory handshakes to the winning team. Thanks and wishes of future good luck are usually exchanged between the teams.
Source: Wikipedia > Curling
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