Curling: subbing week one

So I didn't sign up for the current 5-week session. It's $120 and I figured with the holidays coming and a major purchase on the horizon, it wasn't worth it. I can still play in the session after New Year's.

However, it seems that I might get to play a majority of the session anyways, as team members have some conflicts. Tonight I was asked to sub.

We lost 8-6. We were down one, in the final end with the hammer, but couldn't get it done.

I played like crap all night. There was another sub on our team, and since he had a lot of experience he was the skip. He's a good player but I didn't like the shots that he called for me. And as vice-skip, I should have been calling the shots for him, but he called his own. So that was annoying. But not as annoying as...

Our opponent was McSerious.

He is the fucking worst. Here's all the annoying shit he does:

• he is always the loudest person on the ice, unnecessarily so
• he makes a big deal about pointing with his arm extended to line up his shot, as if he's Babe Ruth calling his shot
• he coaches the other people on his team as if he's a curling legend, but he's not that great at shot-making
• i found out his name is Barry--what a dick name
• during a lull, I asked McSerious and our skip how long they've been playing. our skip said seven years. McSerious said nothing. So I asked him again, "And how long have you been playing?" He pretended not to hear me. And then finally said, "Thirty five." Now he looks like he's in his early forties. At first I wondered if he as maybe 50, and had been playing since he was 15. But then I realized he meant he started when he was thirty five. But since I don't know his age, that doesn't tell me how long he's been playing. My skip mentioned he thought Barry had been playing for about seven years too. Which checks out that he looks like he could be 42. So he could have said seven, but said 35. The reason it matters, is this is a rookie league for people playing under three years. I understand if someone is looking for a sub...but he was on this team last session. So it doesn't seem like he's subbing. And even if he is, he should realize this is the rookie league and tone it down
• He's the only one who uses a stopwatch to measure the speed of the stones. This isn't the fucking Olympic qualifiers dude. 
• Oh yeah, and of course he takes forever, so we only got to play 7 ends instead of the full 8

Anyways, we couldn't beat him tonight, but we beat him two weeks ago. He's a dick.

Curling: Championship Game

We were 4-0. They were 3-1. Their only loss was to us.

We won the toss. Got the hammer first. We were red.

Nobody scored in the first end. It was the only blanked end that I've ever seen--I've played over 100 ends.At this point, I felt good.

Then they scored 3, and 2.

It's Yellow 5, Red 0 with five ends to play. Yikes.

We scored in the fourth, to cut it to a four-point lead with four to play.

Then in the fifth, they were sitting pretty and I hit the shot of the year. A double takeout. Removed both yellow and left my red right in the middle of the house. Our skip added a red. Yellow 5, Red 3. Three to play.

In the sixth, they had a huge cluster up front. We had a couple shots at the end, but no place to put them. We were lucky they only got one out of it. Yellow 6, Red 3. Two to play. I told the team let's get two and two.

We dominated the 7th. With each skip having one shot left, we had three in the house. And we had the hammer. And this time we had the stones up front, so they didn't really have a shot. They had to go wide around the corner, and managed to knock one of our red stones out. Our skip couldn't add anything. So it's Yellow 6, Red 5. One last end. For all the marbles.

My shots sucked. With each skip having one shot left, we were sitting one point. I figured a tie was basically a win, because we owned the better record. But sure enough our skip put one more right in the house. So now we're down one point, but sitting two in the house. Except they have one last shot. I'm standing by, ready to sweep it through the house if it crosses the line that runs through the button.

She lets it go...and I can't tell. At one point I thought it might be heavy, then I thought it might be light. And it finished right in front of our red stone. The yellow was the only one touching the four-foot circle.

Yellow 7, Red 5. Final.

So we finished 4-1. And so did they. Except they got their picture taken, a trophy, and their names on a plaque.

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.

Curling: Week Three

All week I was thinking about how big this game was...

Friday I get an email from our skip. She's not going to make it and has asked for a sub. So now I'm going to be skip. I've never been skip. I've only played two games as vice-skip. I'm not ready.

Saturday I see another email. Our first isn't going to be there and has asked for a sub.

I left for the game not knowing if we'd even have three. You can play with three, but if you only have two, it's a forfeit.

I show up and don't see any of my team members. I ask the people waiting on our sheet what team they're from, expecting them to say Dream Team, our opponent.

Woman: I'm on Hammer Time.
Me: Oh great, me too.
Woman: Oh, hmmm, I guess that makes five of us.
Me: (wtf?)

So I guess we won't be forfeiting. Turns out we had three subs show up, so we sent one of them to another match that needed one.

So we had four. I was the skip for the first time. We were yellow. Game on.

I start off awesome. In the first end I had the hammer and I knocked out a red one so they only scored one.
In the second, I get the hammer again and turn it from a red point to a yellow. 1-1 after two.

We get in a groove and score one point each in the third and fourth. 3-1 after four. The game goes quick when you're the skip.

In the fifth, we had four in the house prior to their hammer shot. I tried to lay a guard to protect our three, but it carried into the house. So I was thinking this is either four yellow or one red. And with a 3-1 lead, this would make it 7-1 and basically put us in the championship, or it would be 3-2 and a nailbiter.

The red skip nails it, right down the middle, perfect takeout and score. 3-2 after five.

(I've always considered the sixth a key end. Because you want the hammer in the eighth. So you don't mind if they score in the seventh. So you do whatever you can to score in the sixth. If you end up scoring in the sixth and seventh, great. But if they score in the sixth, now you need to score in the seventh and give them the hammer.)

So we've got the hammer in the sixth and we get a point. I didn't need to do anything as we had one in the house and it was well guarded.

So now we're up 4-2. By the time I get up, it's a wide open sheet with two yellow in the house. I place another in the house, but high enough to act as a guard. The red shot sails through and now we're up 7-2 with only one to play. Fuck yeah.

Halfway though the last end they had four out of play, so I knew that we had won. On my last shot I hit exactly what I aimed for, bumping a yellow back to takeout a red, the only stone in the house.

Final 8-2.

I won the first game I was skip against a 2-0 team. Now we're 3-0 and in the championship. Holy crap.

Curling: Week Two

Tonight was a 3 on 3 match as both teams were missing a person. We were red.

After the first end, one of their players disappears. And in comes...Pam, the President of the Curling Club. Her name is hanging on a banner in the hall, 1990 National Champions. And now she'll be shooting 3 stones, opposite me. Umm...isn't this supposed to be a rookie league (under 3 years experience)? Now we can have a former national champion playing against little old me that learned how to curl in 2012?

Anyways the score was Yellow 2 after the first end when she subbed in.

After four ends it was Yellow 4, Red 3. It should have been tied, but our skip threw a shot that advanced one of their stones so we only scored 1 instead of 2 in the third. I remember thinking that I hadn't hit a good shot yet, but we were only down one.

The Fifth End:

By the time I came up there were two yellow just on the front right of the house.

My first shot (4th of 8 in the end) was short and to the left.
Pam's shot (5th) landed nicely in the house, left side, 8-foot ring.
My second shot (5th) was a perfect takeout of the previous shot, sticking right there.
Pam's next (6th) was a perfect takeout of my shot, sticking right there. (Which always fucking happens. I hit a great shot and it's gone on the next one.)
My last shot (6th) looked like it might zoom through the house, but just clipped the previous yellow stone, sending the yellow out and to the left, spinning my red stone to the back right of the house, now protected by the two yellow stones that were there the whole time.
Yellow skip's next (7th) was short.
I was now ready to call the shot for our skip. She wanted to come in to the house via a window on the right side, but it was too risky--too many yellow stones she could have advanced. So I changed the call and brought her on the left, far outside. It had a good line and reached the house, but was just farther away than the closest of the two yellow in the house.
Yellow's last was also short.
Hammer time. (Which is also our new team name.) I called for the same shot. And sure enough, she hit it, advancing her previous shot closer.

So that's it. To me it looked like two red were closest. Pam takes a look and says, "Three red?" So I said yes. She was counting the 8th stone which had somehow spun forward. She was already clearing her yellow stones away so I couldn't have even tried to argue for them. But anyways, she was conceding the points.

So now it's Red 6, Yellow 4 after five.

I had some more good shots in the sixth. We ended up having two in the house. I called for a guard to block the only window, since they had the hammer. She tried but it still left an alley. So they have the hammer. If he can draw between all the guards, it will be 6-5. If not, 8-4. A three-point swing, which this late would basically be the game. It looked good coming out, but drifted right toward the end, bumping into guards harmlessly. Red 8, Yellow 4 after six.

Basically the same thing happened in the 7th. Toward the end we had three in the house. They had the hammer, but the ice was tricky to come in on the right side. Virtually all the stones were on the left, except for two way far out right. So there was a window, but no one could hit it. The hammer failed.

Red 11, Yellow 4 after seven. And that's when Pam started shaking hands. We had time for the 8th, though it was borderline. But my guess is since the score was basically out of reach and the time was a factor, that she called it.

So last week Hammer Time won 16-2. This week 11-4. We went on an 11-2 run once Pam came in the game. And a 8-0 run after being down 3-4. Good curling.

Curling: Week One

Curling is back in session.

I signed up for the first fall session, five Saturdays. Four round-robin games and one championship/bowl week.

On Friday night I subbed for a team in the non-rookie league. It was a tight one. The team I was playing for ending up losing 5-4. But that’s 9 points in 8 ends, just one more than the expected minimum. The loss was no skin off my back. I had some good shots. Of course one of them was wiped out on the very next shot. But that’s curling for you. I got some good practice in. They let me shoot second.

Tonight I showed up on our league team. Our team lineup changed and I’m now a secure vice-skip (3^rd position). Which is ideal for me. Skip is awesome but I’m not ready.

Tonight we were yellow.

1^st end: Yellow 1

2^nd end: Yellow 2

3^rd end: Yellow 2

4^th end: Red 1

So halfway through, we’re up 5-1.

5^th end: Yellow 2

That was a big one. 7-1 is much different than 5-2.

6^th end: Yellow 2

Now we’re up 9-1 with two to go. Can breathe easy.

7^th end: Red 1

9-2 going into the last one, but we have the hammer.

As the vice skip, I get to call the shot for the skip. For her first shot, I called a takeout of a red stone. Yellow was sitting one, then one red, and then a bunch of yellows around. So I was hoping to takeout the red one and get a multiple score. But the takeout didn’t work. It was short. Then red had their last shot that didn’t go anywhere.

We could have called it one yellow for a 10-2 win. But we had the hammer, one last chance to add more points. So I called for a draw to the button, why not? It comes in looking good, and wouldn’t you know? It hits the red stone, knocks it out of the back of the house. So I’m looking around and all I see is yellow stones now. Too many to count. Someone shouted seven. We scored seven out of eight possible stones. An 8-ender is of course the best you can do in an end and is rare and legendary. Getting a 7-ender in our first game? That’s crazy.

Final Score: 16-2.

I had joked before the last end that the other team needed an 8-ender to win.

I hit a bunch of great shots, all draws with good weight and did good on the calling end as well. Playing for our team is 100 times better than being a sub. You’d think it would be about the same, but for some reason, I didn’t enjoy subbing. But this game was awesome.

Curling: Week Six

We won our bowl game.

The toilet bowl as it were.

Even though it was a ten team league, there were really only nine teams plus a team made up of subs every week. And for week 6, two teams were combined as they were both missing players.

So even though we were 2-3 and on the cusp of being 3-2 and tied for the championship game...we were playing for 7th.

And after getting four in the 3rd end, we were up 5-3 after four. Which made me laugh, because it's the same lead we had over both teams playing in the championship. 

By the way, I again was playing vice, the third position. When I came up in the 5th, the house was empty. I put two in. After the opposing team's last throw, they had one closest to the button. But our skip hit a nice shot and we ended up scoring two. That's a three point swing and now it's 7-3.

They added one in the 6th. And then we realized that we only had time to play one more end.

So we're sitting up 7-4 with the hammer.

With our skip coming up they had two in the house but only one shot left. And our skip's first shot knocks one of their stones out, leaving them one in and only one to throw, down three.

Their last stone doesn't make it into the house. If it had, the smart play would have been to just shake hands or throw it five feet.

But since we couldn't loss the game, she went ahead and shot for the point. Of course she knocked an opposing stone into the house, for a final score of 7-6.

I feel like I made a lot of progress between the two games I subbed and my first week of this league. And I feel like I also stepped up quite a bit over the last two weeks. But that may just be because I switched to third position, and I'm better at aiming shots at opposing rocks than drawing to empty space.

It was a good game and definitely nice to end the season with a win.

Curling Standings through Week 5

They didn't publish a final standings, but they did give us the schedule for the position round, so based on that, I was able to piece together the following.

Championship: Rock Stars 3-1-1 vs Full House 3-1-1

Rest of Standings:
Luck of the Draw 3-2
Northwest Sliders 3-2
Junior Women 3-2
8 End Dreams 2-2-1
Junior Men 2-2-1
Blazing Brooms 2-3
Rocking The House 2-3
Substitute Team 0-5

Pretty amazing how tight it is. 3-2 is good for 3rd place while 2-3 is 9th.

The Rock Stars beat us in week 3, despite us having a 5-3 lead through five.
And Full House beat us in week 5, despite us having a 5-3 lead through five.

We win one of those games, and we're 3-2, that team is 2-2-1 and it would come down to tie breakers.

Of course we really should have won week 4, when we were up 6-3 through six. We were really fricking close. And now we're playing for 7th.

Curling Regular Season Recap

After two weeks we were 2-0 and I was thinking championship.

After five weeks we are 2-3 and will not be in the championship. And if you remember week 1 was really a forfeit (deservedly so since I was playing against my own team) but we still walked away with the lesser score.

But it seemed like we were really close...let's take a look back.

Week 1: Up 5-1 through four. Up 7-6 through seven. Lost 8-7.
Week 2: Up 5-1 through three. Down 6-5 through seven. Won 7-6.
Week 3: Up 5-3 through five. Lost 8-7.
Week 4: Up 6-3 through six. Lost 7-6.
Week 5: Up 5-3 through five. Lost 9-5.

There you have it. We built a lead every week. And then choked it away. The only true win we got was a two-point comeback in the final end.

Our team wasn't that good. But we got an easy schedule. We really should have won week 4. Week 3 was ours for the taking, but they hit a perfect shot that turned the tide. And week 5..was a toss-up. We were evenly matched and if our skip doesn't give them two points in the 7th it's a one-point game in the last end.

We were really close to being 4-1, but at the same time, really close to being 0-5.

Curling: Week Five

Tonight we were missing two of our usual players, including our skip.

I volunteered to play vice (3rd) and one of the subs skipped.

We were up 5-3 through 5.

In the 6th, our first four shots went through the house, and they were sitting two in the four-foot with a guard. My first shot was a perfect draw to the right of the two in the house and became shot rock. They bumped one of theirs back, but they only scored one. If it wasn't for my shot, they could have 4 in scoring position.

So now we're up 5-4 through 6 with the hammer in the 7th. You can probably guess what happens next.

After my shots, the yellow team still were sitting two. And then up comes our skip. His first shot knocks a yellow guard into the house. His second shot knocks a yellow guard into the house. Yellow scores 4 in the 7th.

Now we're down 3, when we should only be down 1. And the strategy is completely different. Yellow's laying guards, we're trying to knock yellows out of the house. We ended with two red in the house...but there was a yellow closer.

Final: 9, 5

We finish the regular season 2-3.

I had a lot of great shots. I'm much better when I have something to aim at (opposing stones) as I'm a lot better at getting the line right than the weight. So it helps for me to shot 3rd instead of 2nd.

Curling: Week Four

We were up 6-3 after the sixth end.

And then we hit a bad shot that knocked one of ours out, letting them score 3 in the 7th.

In the 8th, we hit a bad shot that knocked one of theirs in. And even with the hammer, our skip couldn't draw to the house.

Another one-point loss in a game we should have easily won.

Even more frustrating because the previously undefeated Rock Stars lost 9-1. So a win here would have positioned us nicely.

We were on the far edge of the rink, and the ice was so slanted that it was impossible to curl a shot toward the middle of the ice without it dropping out of bounds. I didn't have many good shots, most of them too hard.

It was stupid.

Curling Standings through Week 3

So we lost to the Rock Stars.

Their remaining schedule is NW Sliders (1-2) and Rockin the House (2-1).

So at least one of Rock Stars or Rockin the House can't get to 4 wins.

We already beat the Jr. Women, so we presumably hold the tiebreaker over them.

Luck of the Draw plays At Large (0-3) and NW Sliders (1-2) and they won the Rookie A league in January-Feb.

So you have to assume that Luck of the Draw will get to 4-1.
Rock Stars could get to 4-0-1 or Rockin the House could get to 4-1.

But aside from the Rock Stars, I don't know how they'll figure the tiebreakers.

- - -

To sum up, if we win out we'll get to 4-1 and have a decent chance to be one of the top two teams in the league.

If we finish at 3-2 or (gulp) 2-3 we don't have a chance.

Our remaining schedule is Jr. Men and Full House, both currently 1-1-1.

Curling: Week Three

We lost.

A game that we really should have won.

We were up 5-3 after five ends.

In the 6th end, we had one in scoring position with a guard. But they had the hammer. And their skip threw the perfect shot, a draw that curled around our guard, knocked ours out of the four-foot and stayed right there. That shot scored two for them--a three point swing.

Now it was tied.

The 7th end was a disaster. In a tie game, somehow they got three. I felt like we had outplayed them on the whole, but they had enough good shots to score points when it mattered.

In the last end, we actually had a chance to win or tie. We had two in the house when our skip came up. Both shots came up short. Though it was a tight window and I don't think I could have threaded that needle.

So we lost 8-7.

We're 2-1 now and the team we just lost to is now 2-0-1 with a tiebreaker against us. And I'm sure there's going to be some other 2-1 teams now. So our championship game hopes are still alive, but on the ropes. I think we'll need to win the last two games, and even then it's not guaranteed.

Curling Standings through Week 2

I've posted screenshots of standings before. But always as a fan. Never as a member of one the teams. Here's our remaining schedule.

Week 3: Blazing Brooms vs Rock Stars
Week 4: Blazing Brooms vs Junior Men
Week 5: Blazing Brooms vs Full House

Week 6: tbd (Championship Week (or Bowl Week, I suppose, if you don't make the championship.)

Luck of the Draw is a really, really good team. I subbed for them in Rookie Winter A League in January. They won it all with a 5-0-1 record. I'm very surprised that they lost last week to Full House, a team that lost in Week 1 to the Junior Women.

- - -

To make the championship game, you have to be in the top 2, you don't have to be #1. A win this week would be huge.

Curling: Week Two

So the first thing that happened tonight was I found out that last week's game counts as a win for us. Even though we lost by one, since they only had two players and I curled for them, it was a forfeit. So our run to the championship is still in play.

This week our opponent was three high school girls...and the club president. Here's how most ends went. The first two girls couldn't get their stones across the hog line. The third girl could but wasn't very accurate. And then the president would come in and thread the needle to the button.

We were red. I was second again.

1st end: Red 4
2nd end: Yellow 1
3rd end: Red 1
4th end: Yellow 1

At this point, the team with the hammer (last stone) had scored every time. In the second end, I played two great shots and we had three or four in scoring position, but the yellow skip's hammer throw was perfect. But after being up 5-1 after three and with the hammer coming again in the 5th, I was thinking blowout. I was hoping that maybe I could skip the last end if it was garbage time.

5th end: Yellow 1

Even though we had the hammer, yellow scored. But we would have the hammer in the 6th. And the 6th is a good one to score in. That gives your opponent the hammer in the 7th, setting you up to have the last stone in the 8th.

6th end: Yellow 1

Crap. After being up 5-1, it was now 5-4. We couldn't lose to high school girls. My shots weren't as good anymore. A few short, a few long.

7th end: Yellow 2

Are you serious? Now we're down 6-5. After the first four ends where the team with the hammer scored every time, yellow had scored three ends in a row when we had the hammer. But we still had it for the 8th. We were down. We needed 1 for a tie, 2 for the win.

8th end: Red 2

Hell yeah. This was serious curling. My first shot (3 of 8 in this end) knocked a yellow out of the house and rolled into the house, behind a guard. It remained one of two red stones in the house at the end. Clutch.

So now the Blazing Brooms are 2-0. There's 5 rounds of league play (10 teams), and then the top two teams are selected to play for the championship, a la the BCS. Last season the two teams selected were 4-0-1 and 4-1.

I don't think we're the best team in the league. But that doesn't matter. We only play 5 of the other 9. If we can catch a few breaks, it's not out of the question.

Of course, it's not all about the championship. I'm playing quite a bit better over the last two games then I did when I subbed. It's a lot of fun.

Curling: Week One

This was a strange one.

Our opponent was a team of two couples...and one didn't show up. Well, they did show up right before the 8th and last end. (They misread the schedule which said all rookie teams play at 9:30 this week, except for the the highlighted teams who are playing at 7:30. It's slightly confusing, but everyone else figured it out. To add insult to injury, they live an hour away and have a baby, presumably they hired a sitter to drive two hours and play for ten minutes.)

Anyways, so it was decided that I would play for both teams. I was second position for both teams, throwing two stones for each team, and sweeping for both sides. So I was active on every throw.

The good news...I played much, much better than I had in either of my two games as a sub. I hit a few great draws to the button, but mostly I hit a bunch of nice knockouts. A couple where I threw a red stone and knocked out two yellow. Or I would throw a yellow, tap it off another yellow, and keep both in the house.

But it was a little weird. Because sometimes I had good shots consecutively, canceling out my first good shot. And there was at least two times where the red skip knocked out a red stone that I had thrown to the button.

The team that I am assigned to was yellow, and we were up 5-1 after four. After six it was tied at 6-6. In the seventh we could have scored two but our skip knocked one of ours out. So we had a 7-6 lead going into the last end but they had the hammer. They had two in the edge of the house, and we couldn't get one in. So they won 8-7, with their other two players getting to come in and play the last end.

But it doesn't really matter. Our team wasn't going to contend for the championship anyway, so we might as well lose the first one, take the pressure off.

I left happy. I played great. And I got twice the experience. Good curling.

Adventures in Curling: sub edition #2

This week I subbed again, though I made sure it was for a rookie league.

Though you couldn't tell just by looking at them. On Sheet 5, a team was wearing matching printed team shirts.

And our two teams mulled over every shot like this was the Olympics. We only finished 7 ends instead of the full 8 because we ran out of time.

Despite being the rookie league, everyone there seemed quite experienced. Also you can tell who's serious, because they have their own brooms.

I was assigned first position again which was fine with me since I didn't want to ruin their game.

We won the coin toss and scored two with the hammer in the first end.
And then we scored a point in the 2nd and 3rd without the hammer.
Up 4-0, they scored a point.
And then in the 5th end, they scored two even though we had the hammer.

With the score 4-3 after the 5th end, it could have gone either way.

Our team scored two in the 6th.

And then with a 6-3 lead, we played not to lose and let them get two in the 7th end, but knocked enough of theirs out to win, 6-5.

So if we played 7 ends, that means I had 14 shots.

At least 4 of them didn't cross the hog line and so weren't in play.
And another 3 or so rolled out the back of the house.

I had 2 that landed in the middle of the house--which you'd think would be great. But when you're a first, the ideal shot is at the front of the house or just in front of it. When I had a rock near the button, it was knocked out on the next shot.

I did have about 2 shots that were centered and up front, just what you'd like to see. But one of them was in the 5th end, when they scored two, so clearly my shots were not the key to victory.

The good news was that I shot better as the night went on, so perhaps there's signs of progress.

And at least I didn't cost this team the win.

Adventures in Curling: sub edition

I signed up for a six-week league but that doesn't start until Feb 25. But because I'm a member, I can sub in the ongoing leagues.

First up, there are rookie leagues (0-3 years of experience) and open leagues (3+ years). I have 2 days of experience. But there was a team in the open league who needed a sub and I jumped at the chance. I responded to the mass mail 2 minutes after it was sent.

I didn't even bother to look that the team I was subbing on was 0-2. And we would be playing a team that was 2-0.

I met the three people I would be playing with. One couple had been playing for five years. I didn't catch the experience on the other person, but I suspect it was more. So yeah...

I told them they could put me first, where I could inflict the least damage. So they did.

A game is 8 ends.

After one end, we were down 4-0. Yikes.
After three ends, we were down 4-3. Comeback city.
We lost, 12-4. Yikes.

I didn't play great. I wouldn't even say that I held my own. But for my experience level, I'd say I was average. I got a few in the house usually to the left. And I left a few short but in front of the house that could be played with. But usually I would leave it short, out of play. And then occasionally I would throw it long, trying to compensate.

But I was glad I got to play.

Adventures in Curling: day two

Last night we got to play five ends (not quite a full 8 end recreational game) but good enough for our novice level.

Our team decided to rotate positions so I got to play one of everything, and vice-skip twice.

So five ends, that means I got to take 10 shots in an hour and a half. Spoilers: only my first and last shot were good.

I came out of the gate with a good shot that landed in the house and eventually scored.

My last shot was a perfect draw to the red circle, though it was tapped out by the next shot. In that 5th end, no one had gotten any in the house. I get one in the four foot and then the next guy does the same thing landing where I was and tapping me back.

In between, I had trouble making it pass the hog line or keeping it straight. I've got instructors in my ear telling me to do new things after every shot and I ended up overthinking a bunch of shots.

Here's the summary of ends, I was on the red team again.

1st:: Red 2 (vice-skip)
2nd: Red 1 (skip)
3rd: Yellow 1 (lead)
4th: Red 1 (second)
5th: Yellow 2 (vice-skip)

So the final ended up being Red 4-3. But we had better shots all night. They had a couple clutch shots that kept it close. In the second end, we had two on the button, but they had the hammer, and they managed to knock one out. And in the fifth end, I thought I would score one for mine in the red circle, and in their last three shots they get two scorers.

- - -

The game really is like golf. You can hit one great shot and think you have it figured out. And then duff four in a row. But it is really satisfying to land one on the green. I'm using to playing individual sports. It feels much worse to hit a poor shot and feel like you left your team down.

Also in golf if you land 6 feet from the pin, no one can knock your ball into the lake.

Adventures in Curling: day one

Last night I had my first learn to curl class. It was a two-hour session.

The first 30 minutes consisted of "classroom" instruction. Really we had 40 people of all ages and both genders (only one race) in a junior hockey locker room. Everything that was covered I basically already knew.

Then we got about 50 minutes of practice. Getting comfortable in the hack, shooting, sweeping.

And then we got 40 minutes of scrimmage, which is enough to play two ends (innings). [4 people to a team, each shoots two rocks. So 16 rocks get thrown in an end. 8 ends in a recreational game, 10 in olympics.]

There are four positions. Lead, second, vice-skip and skip. Skip calls the shots for the other three, so he never sweeps. The vice skip sweeps for the first two, and calls the shot for the skip. The lead and second have to sweep every time they are not shooting, with the lead getting the honor three times in a row. Sweeping is kind of fun, but once is enough for half an hour. So it kind of sucks to have to sweep three times in an end.

It is surprisingly hard to get the stone to the other side. A good number of people never made it past the hog line (so it was cleared off.) Sort of the opposite of shuffleboard where you have to really try to keep it on the table. Here you have to really give it some oomph to put it in the house. In practice, I did put two through the house, so I at least figured out how to give it enough power.

For the scrimmage, we were assigned positions randomly. Here's a recap:

End #1
Position: Second

My two shots were poor. One knockout attempt that seemed on target slid left through the house. I put the wrong spin on my second shot (there's a lot to concentrate on while you're shooting) and it sort of sputtered short and right of the house. It was across the hog line, but too far to the right to be considered a guard. If this was golf it was in the bunker.

As a second, you get to sweep for all the other shooters. Our vice-skip threw a nice rock that I helped sweep into the house. (On this particular ice, sweeping only helps so much, but it still matters.) It ended up being the only rock in the house. Not because of knockouts, just it was the only shot that made it there.

At this extreme rookie level, the hammer is largely inconsequential.

Score for 1st end: Red 1, Yellow 0.

End #2
Position: Vice-skip

As vice-skip (also known as third) I was sweeping for the first two shooters. When it was my turn, there were two red rocks in the house, no yellow, and no real guards. My first shot was short and left. It didn't even make it to the hog line so it had to be cleared off. The coach down at that end gave me this advice.

Coach: You need to reel back more in the delivery.
Me: Like I need to stand up more.
Coach: Yeah. It's almost going to look like you're sticking your butt out.
Me: Stick your butt out. Got it.

At this point, I was 50/50 on curling. It was fun, but it seemed like the learning curve might be too steep.

I took my fourth shot. I stuck my butt out. And wouldn't you know that it had good speed, started just right of center, went pretty straight, and curled into the house and landed on the red ring. In my head I was screaming, "On the Goddamn BUTTON!" Of course, the button is the white circle in the middle. But still, it was the closest any of our group of 8 had come to the button. So now there were three red in the house, no yellow. The next yellow shot knocks one of red guards into the house.

As the vice-skip, it's my turn to come down and call the shot for the skip. And it's not an obvious choice. We've got four in the house. You'd like to add one, but you don't want to knock any of yours out. So I call for a soft draw to the front edge of the house. He lets it go and it's seems strong so I don't call for any sweeping, and then once it's halfway I shout "SWEEP" and then once it's almost to the hogline I shout "OFF." They only had to sweep for 10 feet or so. And sure enough, that rock came in ever so gently, tapped one of red rocks in the blue ring, and they both stayed in the scoring zone. That felt nice.

Up five-oh, with two shots to go, I called for our last shot to be a guard up front. I didn't call for enough sweeping and it stopped a foot short of the hog line. But it didn't matter. The yellow team couldn't do anything about it.

Score for 2nd end: Red 5, Yellow 0. 
Final: Red 6, Yellow 0.

- - -

Every position gets to throw two rocks per end, so it would seem that if all you care about is shooting, it doesn't matter which position you are. But the lead (in theory) would place draws/guards. The second knockouts. And the third and skip are responsible for scoring plays. And the first and second have to do the most sweeping.

I haven't been a skip yet, but I think I would like it. But vice-skip is good too, since they get a little of everything.

After I made that shot and called another one into score, I felt like I was all in on curling. And I get to go back tonight for another two hours, which will have less practice and more gameplay. 

Until next time, good curling!