Fun and games just a stone's throw away
Jul. 19—The St. Joe Curling Club is in search of new members, offering a break from the summer heat and a sport unconventional for most, known as chess on ice.
Britt Johnson, who founded the club in 2010 amid the 21st Winter Olympic Games held in Vancouver, Canada, said he considers curling to be a sport easy enough to pick up, but exceptionally difficult to master. The ice can also be unforgiving for those who experience a loss of balance. The appearance of the game during the Olympics is deceptively calm and collected, when in fact it involves complex skills of communication, strategy and balance.
"It's a lot harder than people think when they begin," Johnson said. "Again, they watch the Olympics, and those guys are the pros, you know? So they make it look really easy. You get out here sliding around on the ice. There's a lot of balance with this. It's really easy to fall."
Perhaps best recognized for the moments in which teammates hurriedly sweep the ice in front of a moving stone while the person who has thrown it shouts commands, curling entails a simple objective: Get a series of 42-pound stones as close as possible to the middle of four concentric circles. This area is called the house. Sweeping the ice makes the stone move faster, which may or may not assist it in reaching the center of the house.
Since teams take turns throwing stones by shoving them along the ice until meeting the hog line (which serves the same purpose as a penalty line in bowling), it is tactically good to use a stone to strike the other team's stones away from the center.
Whichever team has more stones close to the center once all are thrown has won the round, and eight to 10 rounds are played per game. It is usually obvious who is closer, but measuring tape can be used. The house looks like a target, but the different circles are a visual aid only, and no points are awarded based on which ring the stones stop moving.
"Playing at Bode Ice Arena is a bit of a special challenge, because it's arena ice, where people have been skating," said Patrick Turner, the club president. "Curling ice is kept as smooth as possible. Here, you can't as easily predict which way the stones will go."
The club will next meet at 6 p.m. Friday at the arena, 2500 Southwest Pkwy. A training cost of $15 applies, and those desiring to compete at the league level pay $100, or $400 per four-person team. The club will deduct the training cost for each person from the league fee. The league fee covers the cost of a shirt with the club's name and logo on it. League competition is not required to join the club.
Marcus Clem can be reached at marcus.clem@newspressnow.com. Follow him on Twitter: @NPNowClem
