Interesting change. I guess this will force teams down in the 8th end to weigh the risk of going for the win in the 8th versus going to a shootout. I think this probably would have forced Bottcher to go for 2 in the 8th against Dunstone.

I'm looking for more curling-specific exercises I can do at home or in the gym to improve my slider balance. I got some on-ice practice time this weekend (extremely rare) and realized I can't really slide out without putting significant weight on the stone or my drag leg...and maybe I never knew how to do it right in the first place.

Practice is rare, so I'm looking for stuff I can work on at home or in the gym. My biggest struggle is getting out of the hack into that extended slide position and keeping it without toppling.

It was announced that his new second (if I'm not mistaken) would be replacing him in Frontier CC. Does anyone know why he left? Does it have anything to do with him skipping a new team of "young bucks"?

Also, Mark Muskatewitz... When he retired, he had said he would be concentrating on his work and Rock League, but I guess he changed his mind.

From their Facebook:

💔 From an incredible weekend to a heartbreaking reality.

First and foremost, what an AMAZING weekend. After years of dreaming, planning, building, setbacks, and more blood, sweat, and tears than we can count, we finally got to see curlers throwing rocks on our very own ice. The laughter, excitement, camaraderie, and overwhelming support made every difficult moment along the way feel worth it.

Unfortunately, the excitement of the weekend was followed by something absolutely heartbreaking and infuriating.

Our curling club was broken into.

The individuals spent several hours inside our facility, going through drawers, rummaging through our belongings, making a mess, eating our food, and drinking. As upsetting and violating as that is, the worst part is that tens of thousands of dollars' worth of tools were stolen from our back room.

As a nonprofit already facing significant financial challenges, this is a heartbreaking blow to our entire curling family.

Irving police have collected fingerprints and DNA evidence, and we have surveillance footage of the individuals.

Please keep an eye out on Facebook Marketplace and other resale sites for suspicious tool listings. Many will have the word "bling" on them. If you have information, please contact us.

We’ve worked too hard and come too far to let this defeat us.

❤️🥌 You can steal our tools, but you cannot steal the heart of this club.

I played 1997-2007. I was pretty good in 2007 I called myself an emergency "make a triple tap back or lose" to qualify for club championships and then ended up placing second (to my dad's mens team lol).

I just played my first game back since then. Jesus. When I got my new broom (side note... heads are so small now!) etc I was like "I don't need a stabilizer". I played most of my time without one... Picking one up in 2006 as a novelty I think? Yeah I can throw fine without one.... Getting up after is another matter. Glad my club has ones I can borrow.

Surprisingly I can still hit the broom and my weight is good. But God I hurt. And I used to sweep with a slider (yes I know frowned on now) and dear God. I'm like Bambi on ice with a slider now.

Please tell me some of this will come back lol

I'm going to skip my beginner team for the first time. I play third and skip in the team and we like to switch it up, since all of us have roughly a year experience so it's good to gain experience in multiple positions before locking in. Any important tips to remember? We're playing against a very experienced team and we're the second one of the two beginner teams in our local club league. Luckily, all the experienced people in the club are very helpful and give good tips, so I'm not stressed about it at all, but still; some useful notes to remember would be awesome.

I don't know about you, but this tournament snuck up on me.

Of note: the field has been expanded to 12 teams from 10 in previous iterations and is instead two groups of six instead of one big group of 10, top 2 of each group makes the play-offs. These changes were made with the elimination of the European Curling Championship B and C division in favor of the new World Championship, World Qualifier, World Pre-Qualifier system (updated because I'm less sick today and can actually think)

The Women's Groups:

The Men's Groups:

Top 2 of each group goes on to the playoffs.

Looks like there will be some television coverage from some countries:

Otherwise everything else will be on the Curling Channel (https://curlingchannel.tv/) For $19.99 for just this event.

While this is no longer a feeder to the World Men's or World Women's Championship, it certainly still has bragging rights.

Any predictions? Thoughts on the new structure of this tournament?

If I am remembering correctly even winning here has no impact on you being qualified for next year. I think it is simply the top 12 European teams at the Worlds of 2027 are qualified for this for next year.

Hi everyone,

My team is playing in the U5 world championship in December. The host is Glenmore. I know this is a broad thread but I'm hoping there are some Canadians on here that can give me an idea of what the ice is like at Glenmore? Is it fast, curly, falls flat after 4 ends, etc etc.

Thanks!

A discussion on one of our recent posts about directional sweeping raised an interesting question about what clubs consider Learn to Curl.

We’ve noticed that the term gets used for everything from a single two-hour session to structured programs running several weeks.

But are those really the same thing?

At our club, we call our introductory experience Throw Your First Stone. It’s an opportunity to get on the ice, throw some stones, learn a few basics, and hopefully discover a new sport you enjoy.

But we see Learn to Curl as something different.
In our opinion, Learn to Curl should involve progressive instruction over multiple sessions, where each lesson builds on the previous one.

We’d consider four two-hour sessions a reasonable minimum, although we’d prefer a longer program.
For us, the final Learn to Curl session is particularly important because participants play their first full two-hour game. It’s their opportunity to put what they’ve learned into practice before moving into league curling.

We also think there’s an important next step that sometimes gets overlooked: development leagues.
Rather than sending new curlers straight into established leagues, a development league gives them a chance to play with others at a similar experience level, try different positions, learn strategy, and ask instructors for help during games.

It can also be valuable for curlers who’ve been playing for a couple of years but want to try skipping or playing vice in a more supportive environment.

On average, our six-week Learn to Curl program welcomes 56 new curlers each year, and we’ve maintained a retention rate above 60%. We believe having a clear pathway from introduction to instruction to league play is an important part of that.

We see it as a pathway from trying curling for the first time to becoming a regular, active club member.

But we’re curious how other clubs define these programs.

Is a single two-hour session enough to call something Learn to Curl? Should there be a minimum amount of instruction? And how important is having a development league for people to transition into afterward?

I was just wondering why EJ instead of Benny. I can understand if it's some work obligation or a family matter, but I haven't heard a thing in any of the streams, as to why Benny is not there.

I know that currently John Cullen is the main play by play commentator but if I remeber correctly there was somone different last year and I am wondering who it was becuase this year there is no Kmart or Mike Harris?. Thoughts

Something I’ve noticed in club curling is how often skips call shots their teammates have very little chance of making.

There’s nothing wrong with being aggressive or challenging your team. But if you’re calling a shot because you watched Brad Jacobs make it on TV, and your teammate curls once a week, is that actually good strategy?

I also wonder how much experience really matters when it comes to skipping. Someone who’s curled for 25 years might know more about the game, but does that automatically make them a better skip than someone who’s only been doing it for two?

Personally, I think knowing your teammates and understanding what they can realistically execute is one of the most underrated parts of skipping.
Curious what others think.

Are club skips overcomplicating the game, or do you need to call those tougher shots if you want your team to improve?

I’m looking for warm room games for siblings or Little Rockers while they that aren’t on the ice. But the key is I need stuff that doesn’t have tons of little pieces to lose and clean up. They like Shut the Box which isn’t too bad since I can just keep a stash of dice. Crockinole is ok but we go through the pieces. We also have coloring. Any other ideas to make in between bonspiel games or waiting on other kids fun?

Directional sweeping has become such a big part of competitive curling that it’s easy to forget just how much technique goes into doing it effectively.
But how much of that actually translates to everyday club curling?

Most experienced curlers understand the concept, but understanding it and consistently executing it are two different things. Broom pressure, technique, positioning, and ice conditions all play a role.
There’s also an interesting question about how we introduce sweeping to new curlers.

People watch elite teams on television, see what sweepers can do to influence a stone, and understandably want to try it themselves.

Should we be teaching directional sweeping in Learn to Curl programs, or should beginners focus on developing effective sweeping fundamentals first?

——EDIT—— Our Learn to Curl Program is 2 hour sessions for 6 weeks. No one is suggesting teaching it in a one or two session Learn To Curl.

And for experienced club curlers, how confident are you that your directional sweeping is actually influencing the stone the way you intend?

We’ve been talking about curling etiquette quite a bit lately, and one thing we’ve noticed is that curlers have some pretty strong opinions about the unwritten rules.

What’s something that drives you crazy on the ice? Or maybe something other curlers complain about that you’ve never understood?

We recently put together a free Curling Etiquette 101 booklet, but we’re curious what other curlers would add to it.

Here’s the booklet if you want to take a look: Curling Etiquette 101

Let’s hear them! 🥌

Calling bonspiel draw masters! We're running a pool-based two-day bonspiel, with 6 pools of 4 teams. After six draws, all teams will have played three games, and we then want to rank the top 12 teams, who will go into A (top 4), B (mid 4), and C (bottom 4) events for a semi-final and then a final.

Last year we ranked teams by W/L/T, and the only tiebreaker to resolve teams that had the same record was their Last Stone Draw (LSD) score. We found that when you only play three games there are LOTS of teams tied at 2 wins and a loss, and in an amateur bonspiel LSD feels like putting too much emphasis on a single throw.

So I'm curious what you would do.

Option A: keep LSD as the tiebreaker. It's traditional and easily understood

Option B: track points scored in each game and use Total Point Differential followed by Total Points Scored as the first two tiebreakers. It more accurately reflects better teams from the pool stage

Option C: something else?

The Cincinnati Curling Club has a few spots remaining for our 7th annual CincySpiel. Come check out our recently expanded club, fantastic food (Brisket, Cincinnati chili, goetta and more), plus local brewery options on tap at our bar.

This is a 24-team event with a 3 game guarantee. Price is $480 per team.

You can sign your team up on our Bonspiels page: https://cincinnaticurlingclub.org/index.php/curling-programs/bonspiels

We look forward to seeing you at the club!

Thanks to the mods for letting me post this!

A couple of us from the Royal Canadian Curling Club decided to spend even more time talking about curling! This time in podcast format.

We have no ambition, other than to have some fun and hopefully share stories about our favourite game! I wanted to share it with the group and hope you give it a listen.

You can find it everywhere you listen to your pods or at our site here: https://www.extraends.ca/

Almost every Canadian provincial/territorial association is holding their championship play down on the same week this year, January 10 to 17. We will have more curling in Canada that week, then the rest of the world combined - for the whole year (don't check my math on that). So, we are calling it Curling Week in Canada!

Anyway, we were very grateful to have our first ever Very Special Guest on the pod this week, 5 time Slam winner, and Brier Champion Brendan Bottcher.

Hope you enjoy and if not, then complaints can be filed at the bar at the Royal Canadian Curling Club, including the filing fee of one drink for each of the hosts.

I don’t think this is uncommon in other sports. Pretty sure this happened in FIFA World Cup this summer (i.e., two teams drew their last match in round robin as a draw would guarantee that both teams will advance).

Second attempt at the Craig’s diy kit since doing this the first time about 3 years ago with a different pair. Really pleased how these turned out. We’ll see if this translates to better play on the ice…

I posted about my curling game, Granite3, earlier this year. I've been quiet since then, but the game has come a long way so it's time for an update to start the new curling season.

My goal is to make the most accurate curling simulation while keeping it fun. The details matter if you know the sport, so the physics are realistic and the bots play solid strategy (with some mistakes that I'm working on). There's a full ladder of bots, a couple dozen puzzles, achievements for challenging shots and streaks, and in-game learn-to-curl content. It's missing the sore shoulders and tight hips that I'm feeling after my first couple games this week ;).

It's free to download on iOS and Android. You can play a few games before deciding to buy or not. I hope you do, but I'd appreciate your feedback either way.

PS: PC versions for Windows and Mac are also coming (very) soon.

Links:

• Apple App Store
• Google Play Store
• Website

I'm looking to buy my first pair of curling shoes and need to order online from the asham store. Because of my location I can't try them on in person first and can't get a consensus on how their sizing runs and the sizing chart on their website is super confusing (it would put me 2 sizes smaller than my normal size!).

Anyway, sneakers like nike I'm often a 10 whereas dress shoes I am typically a 9. My inclination is to get a 9.5 but any help would be appreciated!

Curling fans are the best fans!

Your first GSOC champion of the season What a brilliant performance, many great shots! They look like they’re going to be a very tough team to face this quad!