Chris Jones

Greetings from “The Northern Studio”, my northern Alberta base this time of the year.

This just in: Bluegrass Unlimited has just published a very good review of our new CD Cloud of Dust. Here’s the link: http://bluegrassmusic.com/content/reviews/reviews-march-2010/#chrisjones

In other Cloud of Dust news: the CD is now available for download through i-Tunes and Amazon. The physical CD is also being sold through Amazon, though currently for an outrageous price (I’m investigating why). It’s still best for the starving artists (us) to order through this site. i-Tunes continues to get low marks for searchability (I’m listed under Blues and Classical), but you can find it using the album title.

The Winter Olympics are over, and I’m already in full-scale withdrawal, but by popular demand, I’m keeping this “Curling 101″ info below for a few more days, in case you want to better understand just what the %&@** you were watching anyway.

First of all, the goal is to get as many of those 40 lb granite rocks closer to the center of those rings you see than your opponent’s rocks. Only one team can score per end (an end is comparable to an inning). For example, if there are two yellow stones near the center (or “button”) and five red stones near them but not closer than those two yellow ones, yellow scores two. Having the last rock to throw in the end becomes a big advantage, because if you can find a path to the middle, your last rock can outcount any number of opponents’ rocks that may be lying there. Much of the strategy is built on setting up the end by denying the team with last rock (called “the hammer”) the chance to score with it, or at least hold them to one point. The team with the hammer meanwhile tries to set the end up by keeping the center clear to make scoring at the end possible, preferably multiple points.

Why are they sweeping you ask? And why are they yelling at the sweepers? Sweping in front of the rock heats the ice in front of the rock’s path, and that will make the rock go farther, and it will also keep the rock’s path straighter, delaying the “curl”. The “skip”, who calls the shots at the other end, yells instructions to the sweepers based on his/her determination what that rock needs to make that shot successful.

The “throwing” of the rock requires a lot of precision, since a different kind of weight is called for for different kinds of shots. The lightest weight is needed to place a “guard” in the front of the rings (or “the house”), “draw weight” to reach a specific area of the house , often the front of the house or right to the button; “hack weight” , meaning enough weight to reach the hack (where the curlers slide from) at the other end, often used to tap another rock back or out of the rings; a few different “take out” weights for removing opposing stones. All need to be thrown at the precise weight called for by the skip. The skip, meanwhile, needs to place the broom (for aim) at the right place on the ice for the weight that’s being thrown, to anticipate how much the rock will curl (a lighter rock will curl more).

If you have the hammer in the end, and you score, you will lose the hammer the next end.  Sometimes it’s advantageous to “blank the end” and have no score in order to retain the hammer and try to set up a score of 2 or more the next end.

Curlers wear a slider (nowadays often made from teflon) on the bottom of one shoe, and a gripper on the other shoe.  When delivering the rock, the player slides centering his/her body weight over the foot with the slider. The broom is used for balance.  This is way harder than it looks. The curler will then turn the handle clockwise for an in-turn or counterclockwise for an out-turn, depending on which way the skip wants that rock to curl. Everyone throws 2 rocks per end, and everyone sweeps when not throwing, except the skip at the other end.

Whew! And that’s just the beginning, without getting into any of the strategic fine points. I hope that helps. No go watch the gold medal games and explain all that to your friends.

Oh yeah, the photo is of me curling in Sexsmith, Alberta with Sally and her sister Sandra preparing to sweep.