Curling

I tried curling yesterday. And although I was continually aware I was flapping about on ice (and indeed did plant my backside on it once), that didn't stop me enjoying myself.

It's much more of a team game than I'd expected.

At one level, it is very similar to bowls: there is a target at the far end of the playing space; players take it in turns to launch a "projectile" towards it; and the side/team that end up closest to the target score points. In both, obviously, the skill of the player launching the projectile is in finely judging the weight and line of the launch. And, if the curler starts their stone spinning as they launch it, it will tend to travel on a curved path: it will curl. More so as it slows down. Just like the bias on a bowling bowl.

But the interesting difference is that that, once the stone is on its way, the other team members can influence its course. Sweeping the ice in front of the stone reduces the friction, and thus makes it slide further, which allows the other members of the team (as directed by their captain) to adjust the effective strength of the launch. And the sweeping also affects the extent to which the stone curls, so that sweeping (or not) at different points along the stone's travel fine tunes the aim of the stone on its way towards its target.

Fascinating.