No, we're not posted to Canada. Or a consulate in Scotland. But we're far enough north that there are at least a few people here who curl. Your intrepid correspondents went out to give it a try this weekend. The verdict? That may actually be a real sport.
First of all, one has to wear one super-slippery shoe. The ice isn't that slick, but it's easy to do take a step with your non-slippery shoe and forget that the other one is super-slippery, with predictable results. So definitely some balance there.
Second, the bowling-on-ice comparison is rather apt, but it's much harder as an absolute beginner to start scoring any points at all in curling. Way easier to shoot it way over the target or leave it short by trying to finesse it. So in terms of coordination, I would rank curling higher than bowling on the "is it a sport?" scale.
Third, the sweeping is really hard work. If you're sweeping your floor at home, you use long, leisurely strokes. When you're sweeping for curling, you have to press down hard, sweep really fast, and sort of jog while you do it. I'm no super-athlete, but I'm in reasonable shape, and I came back from my inaugural practice sweep winded.
Most importantly, it was actually pretty fun. Which shouldn't be a surprise, because bar shuffleboard is fun, and this is like bigger heavier shuffleboard, so how can you go wrong?
And now for your viewing pleasure, my inaugural throw:
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1 comment:
You were just trying to make the President feel better about his Opening Day throw, right?! Thanks for the video! Funny!
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