// TUCKED IN THE BACK PAGE Keep it fun … sometimes By Ben Tucker,
tuck@usacurl.org
and your idea of fun is winning. I don’t like to admit it, but I was more of the latter. I have a good tip for those who play just to be
C
social and have fun: You will have even more fun if you become fairly proficient at the game. You may not be driven by wins and losses. You may just love to get out there and be active with your clubmates, sharing some time and laughs. I promise you, however, that your fun will in- crease if you become pretty good. So take an hour and ask a coach or a better player to work with you. Trust me. I’ve been around this game a lot and have seen some things. Conversely, to my kindred spirits who love
competition, you are also not maximizing your experience. Constant focus on winning every game in leagues or bonspiels may feed our com- petitive spirit, but it is neither good for us nor for the spirit of curling. Tere are events out there that can allow you to chill out and play for pure joy of curling. I was originally going to title this column,
“Late Season Mixed 'Spiels, Don’t Be An Idiot, Go Have Some Fun.” As a competitive curler, I hated curling aſter my playdown events had run their course. Fortunately, I was always commit- ted to some late season “fun” events (mostly mixed) and that was a blessing. Some of my best days on ice came when winning or losing was less important. So, don’t be an idiot. Get out to some of these events and fully enjoy the social aspect of curling. To ignore this half of the game we love is just short-changing yourself. I changed the title, however, because a couple
of things happened to bring another form of a fun event to mind. First was a kind email from a San Francisco Bay Area Curling Club (lon- gest club name ever?) curler about how much fun outdoor curling can be. Te second was a charming segment about curling on NBC’s "To- day Show." For that segment, the "Today Show" briefly in-
terviewed the Pete Fenson team outdoors on the sheet of skating ice at Rockefeller Center in New York City. Tat was followed by a brief demon- stration on the outdoor sheet and a sweeping competition by the novice hosts. Yes, it did look
urling is a social sport. Some of you curl for fun. Some of you curl to win because you have a competitive spirit
like Al Roker was going to wipe out and crack his head and, yes, the segment wasn’t the in- depth study of our sport that experienced curlers would enjoy … but it was fun and engaging. Pete, Shawn, Joe and Ryan were relaxed and the hosts seem to have a blast with it. It was good TV and good for curling. One detail that may have distracted and dis-
mayed relatively new curlers (and by “new,” I mean anybody who learned the game aſter the First World War) was the presence of a bowling pin on the button of the house (which was just scratched onto the outdoor ice). Actually, the bowling pin was totally proper for the scene. Painted houses are a relatively new phenom- enon in our ancient game. To aid the shooter in perceiving how the rocks lay in the houses (just scratched into the ice), a “dolley” made of wood was set on the button. Strangely, dolley is not a Scottish term. Te Scots called them “bottles.” Tey were carved to look somewhat like bottles. I have no idea where the term dolley came from. But, I digress. Te bowling pin was totally ap-
propriate for non-painted houses. Te important things are that it was good TV and that it brought to mind outdoor curling. Tis is not an aspect of the game with which
I have any experience. During my competitive days, I didn’t want the weather-dependent ice to be terrible and influence my delivery. Later, my bad knee didn’t allow much curling at all. Still, so many friends report back to me that it is an absolute blast so I have to assume that it should be on my list of "Tings To Do.” Tey sure are exploding in popularity despite the hard work involved in setting up for an event that is over so quickly. North Dakota has one in the tiny town of Forest River and one in the parking lot of the Southgate Bar in the larger town of Grand Forks. Bismarck has held a few. I’ve heard of the San Francisco curlers driving up to the mountains to try it and the Boise area curlers having some fun with it. Some of these bonspiels draw a huge number of teams. Te bottom-line for competitive people: You
will get more fun and last longer in this game if you make room for fun events. Late season mixed, outdoor bonspiels, even charity events like Duluth’s House of Hearts, can reunite you with the social side of the sport – and that is a very good thing.
For Te Good Of Te Game: Curling lost the venerable Winnie Bloomquist.
She passed away aſter a long life filled with, among other things, playing and serving our sport. Not as well known outside of Winnie’s neighborhood was another great old curler who passed away recently, Larry Youngren. Speaking of late season mixed 'spiels, I used to love watch- ing Larry and his wife, Rose, play skip and third. Wise old curlers suggest that husband and wife never play skip and third because that can test a marriage. Rose and Larry passed the test, but just barely. Tey would argue about what shot to play and really argue about the ice call. Rose would eventually put the broom where Larry wanted … until he turned his back to slide to the hack. Ten the broom went where she wanted it. Tey won a lot of games. Tey had a lot of fun. I have been delinquent in roasting fellow-
columnist Dave Jensen. I was preparing a litany of comments about “those who can, do … while those who can’t, coach,” but then Dave gets the silver medal at National Seniors and wins North Dakota Club State Playdowns. At Club Nationals, Dave will be team up with two longtime team- mates and his son. I am envious, so I will further delay taking cheap shots at him until the bitter envy subsides. – Tuck
P.S. Sports teams have fans. Te evil and hated
Green Bay Packers, however, have a cult instead. Unlike fans, they do not look to argue with you. Like a cult, they look to recruit you. It is a strange and wonderful and scary thing. Beware should you travel to Green Bay. n
USA Curling (( 31
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38