INSIDE USA CURLING // TALES FROM SHEET NINE Curling truly an
By David Garber, Emeritus Editor,
dj.garber@
tds.net
paring. Doing so brought back lots of memories, of course. I’ve been a member for more than 50 years. My first sight of curling was in 1956. Our club’s
enjoyable family sport I
Our compressor was bought used, and is still
recently wrote a couple of pages about the history of the Stevens Point Curling Club for a little booklet the club is pre-
in use today, more than 50 years later. Te ice shed was built with long, low doors on each side for the purpose of letting in cold air at night. Quaint! Needless to say, those doors were sealed up within a few years. My dad was a charter member and my mom
founder had created an outdoor sheet on a tennis court in a park a block or two from my house. As a little boy, roaming around the neighborhood, I wondered what the strange circles were and why the city sand box (used to store sand for sanding street corners back then) had funny rocks with handles inside. I certainly didn’t realize how involved my life would eventually become with curling. By 1959, a core of curlers co-signed a bank loan
and a two-sheet club was erected for $20,000, with a technical plan also used by the Green Bay, Tri-City and Lakeshore clubs (the latter is now defunct).
soon joined up, too. I was taught to curl at about age 12, my brother soon aſter. Ten years later we had a great family moment, winning our intra- club 'spiel. Speaking of families, during that era, my dad, brother and I had great fun (with a fourth guy whom we made an honorary family member) in a very friendly rivalry with the late Sam Taylor and his three sons at the Waupaca and Point men’s 'spiels. Te family connection was key to my continued curling, coming back to it aſter being in the military and during later travels. From what I can tell, family activity may be the strongest reason for the continued good health of curling and curling clubs. Over time, I’ve met curling families from many clubs, some whose traditions go back sev-
Order your Olympic curling pin today!
By Christy Hering, Development Associate,
christy.hering@usacurl.org
sign was inspired by the magnolia blooms from the Glade of Friendship, found in Sochi’s Riviera Park. Te friendship flower design represents the “spirit of curling” found in good sportsmanship, kindly feeling, and honorable conduct, that our athletes bring to the game, and ties strongly to Olympism as defined by its core values of excel- lence, respect, and friendship. Tank you to ev- eryone who participated in our design contest. To help celebrate the countdown of less than
C 4 ))
usacurl.org
ongratulations to Kirsten Collins, winner of the 2014 Olympic Winter Games pin design contest! Te de-
100 days until the opening ceremony of the 2014 Olympic Winter Games, we have reduced the price of our limited edition USA Curling com- memorative pin. Get yours today for just $15 (plus shipping)! To order a pin, visit the USA Curling website at
www.usacurl.org or call the national office at 1-888-287-5377. n
eral generations. It’s hard to put a finger on exactly what is the appeal of family curling, except that it is a wholesome, fun and healthy pastime, while still challenging and com- petitive, easily shared by all ages. Simple, but the formula works. Curling as a kid enhances education. For ex-
ample, it amazed me how much smarter my dad got, as a skip and as a man, between my age 12 and 22. Before 12, one’s dad is perfect, of course. But then flaws creep into the old man’s character and judgment as a kid reaches puberty, only to gradually disappear in the next 10 years. My dad and I curled quite a bit together, and I realize that curling enhanced my educational process. Kudos to the trainers and coaches who help
kids curl and develop their skills so they can en- joy the game. And kudos to parents who encour- age their children to join them on the ice. n
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