(This is the first in a series on the sport of curling.)
It began sometime in the mid-1980s. There seems to be no record of exactly when. It was born out of necessity. Curlers who’d curled for years but who had developed balance issues, knee, hip or back problems found themselves having to give up their beloved game. That’s when and why stick curling was invented.
Quite simply it was an innovation that allowed anyone to curl or to keep curling. They didn’t have to squat down in the hack or athletically slide low to the ice to deliver a rock; they could now do it from the standing position. The curling stick simply holds on to the handle of the curling rock and the curler walks from the hack position on the ice out towards the hog line (the area where the rock must be released). The curler just pushes the rock in the desired direction from that standing position using the stick, hopefully with the right speed and turn on the rock, and voila, you can curl again or indeed for the very first time.
The stick at first was met with some indifference or viewed from a position of superiority by other curlers – that was until stick curlers started to beat regular curlers at their own game. In the right hands, a curling stick can be very effective, and there are few curlers out there who haven’t been defeated in at least a game or two by a stick curler. Even the rules of curling at the most elite level have regulations that refer to using the stick. It’s here to stay thankfully, and the stick is liable to stick around for as long as there are curlers enjoying the roaring game. There are even world championships for stick curling and the game proudly has its own name: sturling.
And what does this mean to you? It means that most people have virtually no excuse now as to why they haven’t at least given curling a try. Even if you’re in a wheelchair, that’s how wheelchair curling is done, with a stick. Stick curling as such is quite often done in two-person teams so you don’t even have to find a multitude of folks to try it out. Stick curling has made the game so accessible and approachable. You should consider giving it a try.
The Gibsons Curling Club has sticks for you to try. They even have a stick-curling league starting in the new year. Come on out and slide a few rocks up and down the ice. Curling truly is a game for everyone. To book your free trial of sturling, call 604-886-7512 or email Gibsons Curling Club at gibsonscc@dccnet.com
