Olympic Excitement

[Barrister]

I always like the Winter Olympics more than Summer, though I still haven't figured out wtf curling is.

What do you want to know about curling?

Why is it called "curling" in the first place.

Because you "curl" the rock.

When you release the rock from your hand, you start the rock spinning, either clockwise or counterclockwise.  That spin is called a curl.  The curl on your rock helps to keep it on a straight path (like a gyroscope really), but also will cause the rock to move to the left or the right as it moves down the ice.

Factors such as how fast the rock is thrown, how much the rock is swept, all impact how much the rock will curl, that is how far to the one side the rock will move compared to the point it is thrown at.

So, it's named after a critical game factor.  Why they chose that for the name for it, I dunno.  You might as well ask why golf is named golf (another wacky sport invented by those wacky scots).

[derspiess]

Good info, thanks.  The name still sounds funny-- it sounds like something you do to your hair.

[Barrister]

Good info, thanks.  The name still sounds funny-- it sounds like something you do to your hair.

I guess if you're not familiar with the sport.

I've been around curling my entire life, so it sounds perfectly normal to me.

[Ed Anger]

Curling: Shuffleboard on ice.

Anyways, I'll watch some of the hockey. I'll root for Satan and the Slovaks.

[Barrister]

Curling: Shuffleboard on ice.

There's much more strategy in curling.  The sweeping, the curl of the rock, make it quite a challenging game.

[Agelastus]

Lots of late night viewing coming up!

[derspiess]

I guess if you're not familiar with the sport.

I had never even heard of it until 1998.  I guess in fairness I didn't fully understand hockey until the early 90s.  Good thing I got out of West Virginia first chance I got, eh.

I've been around curling my entire life, so it sounds perfectly normal to me.

I really assumed it was a niche thing (even in the frozen tundra) until I heard more about it here & EUOT.

[Barrister]

I guess if you're not familiar with the sport.

I had never even heard of it until 1998.  I guess in fairness I didn't fully understand hockey until the early 90s.  Good thing I got out of West Virginia first chance I got, eh.

I've been around curling my entire life, so it sounds perfectly normal to me.

I really assumed it was a niche thing (even in the frozen tundra) until I heard more about it here & EUOT.

It's very regional.  It's huge out on the Canadian prairies, less so in the rest of the country.

It is funny how with olympic exposure the game is now gaining popularity in parts of the world it was never played before.  I was reading about the tremendous success of a culing club in DC, for example.

[Grey Fox]

Rogers+CTV should do a great job. They'll basically show everything on every of their multiple platforms from 4/5 different TV channels to 2 websites & radio stations.

They paid a lot of money for it, it better be better then the cbc

[katmai]

Jake!

I'm still looking for place to crash since CC has been so scarce



Enjoying the match and don't let the outcome effect your marriage.

[Martinus]

The only contestant in the entire Olympics I know by name is Johnny Weir. Figure skating ftw. 

[Barrister]

The only contestant in the entire Olympics I know by name is Johnny Weir. Figure skating ftw. 

The Canadian olympic men's curling team came up to Whitehorse in October to play in a cashspiel.  I went out and watched them.  One guy I curled with played against them and kept it close right to the end of the game.

Apparently Kevin Martin was a real nice guy to curl against.  So while I used to not like the guy (in Alberta I was more of a Randy Furbey guy), now I'm rooting for Martin.

[Eddie Teach]

BB- how do you score points in curling?

[Barrister]

BB- how do you score points in curling?

It's easy to show, but hard to describe.

You throw your rocks at the 12' wide rings at the other end of the ice.  Rocks need to be in the rings to be able to score.

After each time has thrown their 8 rocks, you look at the rings (called the house).  Find the rock closest to the center (called the button).  That rock is the "shot rock", and is worth one point.

Then look for the next closest rock.  If it's the same colour (which means thrown by the same team) as the shot rock, it's worth another point.

You then keep determining which is the next closest rock.  As long as they're all the same colour, each rock is worth 1 point.

But as soon as the next closest rock is a different colour, you stop counting.

I'll see if I can find a picture...

[katmai]

how about your avatar ya doof.