Sturgis Curling Club Update - 11/30/09

Today was the first official day of curling. In the past, we have had numerous meetings to organize the club, decide what day we would be curling, and manage the permission slips and dues. This was the first day that we actually went to the Cape Cod Curling Club to try out the sport that we had been wanting to play for months. And I have to say, it was an incredible success.

All thirteen members of the club took the bus to the Falmouth Bus Station, because the Cape Cod Curling Club is right down the street. The bus was late and we arrived at about 5:10. Because we were late, we couldn't watch the introductory video. So Mary, who is presumably the president or leader of the club, quickly brought us out to the sheets because we only had until 6:00 to curl. We put on guards over our shoes to ensure we wouldn't slip on the ice or get the ice dirty. Mary introduced us to all of the technical terms for the curling equipment, but I don't remember them at all.

The first thing we learned was how to throw the curling stone. After getting used to the ice, we were shown a demonstration my some of the experienced members of the club. We were given sliders to wear on one foot in order to perform the complicated throw. It was hard to stay standing on the ice because the slider made it so slippery! Anyways, the curling stone has to be thrown in such a precise way with specific and intricate motions. We got to try doing the motions, holding the stones but not throwing. I had some difficulty. It was tough to keep balance with the slider on one foot and the other leg outstretched and keeping me upright. It was hard to keep my knee off the ice and stay balanced and in a straight line. After numerous attempts, however, I achieved more power and did improve, and even tried the throwing motions with only one stone.

Not only was the first day curling a lot of fun, but it also met many CAS learning outcomes. First it met outcome number 2 because I was undertaking the challenge of learning a completely foreign sport to me. I had never tried curling before but I am totally willing to keep learning and playing. This also met learning outcomes number 1 and 8. I developed new skills such as learning how to throw a curling stone and learning some basic rules of the game, but I recognize that I can continue to improve my balance and technique.