Sunday, October 28, 2012

Curling: Week Four

The skip on the opposing team was one of those guys that takes everything too seriously. Before the game even started he made a comment about one of members warming up, he said that we weren't supposed to warm up on the sheet we'd be playing on. Never mind the fact that they were warming up on the sheet one over, it's a really dick thing to say. This is the rookie curling league. Relax.

And then I found out that he isn't even on this team--he's subbing. Also, I think it's weird to be a sub and play skip, especially when you act like you own the joint. Anyways.

We were red.

We scored a point each in the first two ends, they tied it with two in the third. (In the first end, we had to get out the measuring device and McSerious thought it was one point for yellow. Very sastisfying to be proven right.)

In the fourth end, I was up and hit two perfect draw shots to the four-foot, curling in behind some guards. McSerious threw two down the middle, and before our last shot I couldn't tell if we were sitting two red or just one. Our skip threw the hammer and it bumped his closest yellow, making it a definitive three red. (As the vice-skip, I called her shot well and called the sweeping perfectly, so I felt really good about those three points.)

We added another point in the fifth. Red 6, Yellow 2.

They scored in the sixth. Red 6, Yellow 3.

At this point, the other teams are finishing their eight and final end. So I asked if we were going to play seven, or the full eight. I got a noncommittal answer from the other team's vice, "We'll see how what we can fit in." But I knew with us up three, it would affect our strategy if this was the last end.

The reason we were so behind? You guessed it. McSerious takes forever, even walking down to the house between his shots.

We had the hammer. And they got two in the four-foot, including a nice take-out. With just a couple shots left, the other teams were putting their stones away. So I confirmed that this was the last end. On their last shot, McSerious couldn't get to the house. We had the hammer, and I wanted our skip to just burn it. Worst case scenario, she bumped a yellow into the house, and gave them a three to tie. She insisted on shooting, but it was short. We gave them the two points in the last end, but we got the win. Red 6, Yellow 5.

So now we're 4-0.

They didn't post the standings, so I'm not sure who we're facing in the championship. My guess is the team from last week. Stay tuned for next week's recap. Should be a good one.

2 comments:

  1. How much does the sweeping affect the stones?

    What do you mean when you say you 'call the shot'?

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  2. 1. I've heard sweeping affects them pretty heavily on dedicated curling ice. On the curling/hockey ice we play on? It seems to matter. In a game where an inch can change everything, it seems to be important. But honestly, since you never know what would have happened if you didn't sweep, there's no way to know. I'd love to see a machine release a stone the exact same way, multiple times so we could see the sweeping affect.

    2. Calling the shot is standing in the house and telling the shooter what to do. That includes where you want the stone to land, is it a draw to the house, a takeout of an opposing stone, bumping one of your guards in? And in order to accomplish that shot, where should they aim, and what kind of spin (left or right).

    Say it's the first shot. I would tap my broom on the button, stand about three feet to one side, and point my arm also to that side. From the shooter's perspective, if I pointed my arm to the right, they should turn the handle to the right in the hack, and release it pointing straight. Since I'm standing three feet to the right of the button, the stone should come down along the right and just after halfway, start curling into the house. It may even end up on the left side of the house.

    For a takeout, since it's a heavier shot, I might only stand a foot to the right of a stone. With more power, it curls less.

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