Brushing
The technique of brushing
While attending the Level 3 Technical coaching course in Napanee the last weekend in October, Brian Savill gave us a one-hour “Sweeping Update”, summarizing the latest research undertaken at the University of Western Ontario on the mechanics of brushing and its best practices. I’d like to summarize Brian’s remarks here. There is some other online material available about the UWO study, including a useful article by Scott Arnold of the World Curling Federation. Qualities of effective sweeping To be effective, sweeping requires the optimization and balance of the following factors: Downward pressure Brushing technique: Orientation of the broom Brush-head speed Length of brushing stroke Proximity of the brush to the stone Orientation of the two sweepers, both to maximize effect and minimize the risk of touching any stone Weight judgment Communication amongst all four players Footwork: Being able to keep up with the stone, even if thrown with peel weight Negotiating around guards while still sweeping Effective footwork in both
It’s the end of May – now what?
It’s the last week of May. You put your brush and your curling shoes away six weeks ago after the end of another season. Six weeks of, hopefully, rest and recuperation away from the curling rink. But it’s important to stay active over the summer months to stay in shape. Last week I stumbled over an article by P. J. Wren entitled Shape Up for Winter Sports and published in Alive magazine. In that article, Wren describes a variety of simple exercises that can help avoid delayed-onset-muscle-soreness (DOMS) at the beginning of the season: DOMS is that nasty aching and stiffness that you experience a day or two after either learning one of these new sports, or after the first day of performing the sport after an extended break. In addition to muscle soreness, DOMS is also responsible for making you wonder, “How am I ever going to get back up again?” as you sit down gingerly at the breakfast
Cleaning your brush
Over the weeks you spend curling, your synthetic brush head accumulates a lot of dirt, lint and other debris that eventually gets difficult to remove with the scrub brushes at the end of each sheet. If you find your brush head looks particularly dirty, you’ll need to clean it with detergent and water. Here’s how. There is no reason to be concerned about compliance with Curling Canada or WCF regulations for a WCF-approved 55 Oxford Nylon 420 Denier mustard-yellow brush pad or sleeve; neither Curling Canada nor the World Curling Federation have a policy regarding the cleaning of sleeve or pad fabric, so cleaning the fabric with a small amount of detergent (not soap) and rinsing thoroughly will be just fine. Today’s brushes feature removable pads that are held in place by the two large bolts on either side of the handle. The synthetic pads are typically nylon cloth over a thin piece of foam, mounted to a plastic base