Curling on the Canal

Well, almost.

So, there is a Rochester Curling Club. And, every year they go out to a little city called Palmyra and set up a few sheets of ice on the frozen Erie Canal and do curling outside "the old fashioned way." This works well...unless the night before idiotic/stupid/retarded/#(*%&! ice fisheman take advantage of the nice clean ice and drill 15 holes in it to fish. And, seriously, would you really eat anything that came out of the Erie Canal??? Really??? Sorry Sarah Palin, but only a true retard would have done this.

So, there were a few hundred people there...and one sheet of ice and two sets of junior rocks (junior rocks weigh about 12 pounds; regular rocks 42). You can almost throw a junior rock overhand if you want (although it's not recommended). So, 8 people at a time got to try it out. This meant it would have been about next Thursday before all of us got a turn. Allison and Julia were lucky enough to get to the front of the line fast to do it.

Matthew was going to try, but after sloshing around on the flooded sheets (#(&% fisherman!!), his feet were semi-frozen. Amanda and her friend Diego decided to build a Pokemon snow creature instead of standing around freezing to death. They even got their picture taken by a journalist covering the event - maybe they'll be in the paper! So, that was neat.

Okay, on to the curling...

Julia was a little light, but had an excellent delivery and didn't fall down. People did fall down. Without using hacks, sliders, sweeping, or even moving their feet...people managed to fall down. Apparently, for some, upper body position will determine whether or not they can remain upright.

Allison had enough weight, but her delivery...Well, I saw her do something I've never seen done before with a curling stone: She threw it and it skidded down the ice on it's handle. Yes, just like it sounds. I have a picture of her release - this may help you to understand how it happened. Perhaps it was my advice to think of it a little more like a bowling ball. Apparently, I should have told her to put a horizontal spin on it instead of a vertical one. She did this twice. Once, you can understand that it's just trying to get the hang of it. A second time??? Maybe it's just not her sport.

Curling really is fun to do, but it is harder than it looks. A few people couldn't even get their rock out of the house (and I mean the house on the shooting end!) Curling will never be known as a sport that requires a great deal of athleticism. Still, with all the crazy/awkward/un-athletic looking shots it was as though we were witnessing the Uncoordinated Olympics.

I sure hope those fisherman caught something. And, I don't mean fish. BUT, the kids had fun. And, despite my jokes, I would say that not one person there went away disappointed with the experience. Good job Rochester Curling Club :)