Equipment
Brush head mass – a short survey
During my talk at the online Adapting/Thriving 2021 Conference presented by the Ontario Curling Council, and other provincial sport organizations, I made several statements regarding potential parameters to the selection of a brush, among them being the size of the brush pad and its contact area with the ice. Even though WCF-approved brush heads and pads all utilize the same Oxford 55 420D yellow nylon fabric, and are tested by the National Research Council for compliance with World Curling Federation specifications, there are differences amongst the available products. Some brush pads have an integrated design, comprising the base, foam, and fabric as a single unit, whereas other brush pad designs use separate components so that the Oxford 55 fabric can be replaced independently of the foam or base. Perhaps the most interesting brush to do this is the End Game brush from Madison, Wisconsin, where the replacement fabric comes simply in die-cut sheets of Oxford 55 nylon. With the End
Curling stones: taken for granite
Derek Leung is a Canadian graduate student at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland. His research program in Geology is the study of curling stones; specifically the characteristics of a stone’s striking bands. He has sampled a large number of stones of different types, both from Ailsa Craig, Scotland and Trefor, Wales, and is analyzing the wear of each type of stone. His research program is highlighted in a recent issue of the magazine of the Edinburgh Geological Society: The background for his current work at Edinburgh is from his B.Sc. thesis in Geology from Laurentian University. In his thesis, Derek studied the four common types of granite found in curling stones (Ailsa Craig blue hone, Ailsa Craig common green, Trefor red, and Trefor blue) and looked at their geological makeup, specifically the amount of quartz present in the stone. Here is an excerpt from the introduction to his thesis (abbreviations have been removed to improve clarity): The World Curling Federation
A visit to Asham’s
Our annual summer holiday on the Prairies gave us another opportunity to visit the main Asham’s store at 700 McPhillips Street in Winnipeg’s North End. Asham’s huge retail outlet is a mecca for both competitive and recreational curlers, where autographed portraits of well-known teams adorn the walls and stairways in the main retail space, and the manufacturing floor at the rear is in full production of the coming season’s lines of brooms. I have used Asham equipment since I first started curling and the quality of their equipment, and their level of service, is second-to-none. With the assistance of Asham’s helpful staff (Audrey) we were able to find new Slam curling shoes at a substantial discount, along with a whole range of other equipment including Asham curling mitts, Asham stopwatches for my boys, and a new, wider cloth broom bag – for carrying all those brooms to Little Rock and bantam bonspiels.
Mitt samples available at Open House next week
Thanks to Mike Furey and his staff at Adventure Guide, we’ll have samples of children’s mitts suitable for curling on display at next week’s Open House at Elmira on October 5th and 6th, and again at the Junior Curling open houses on October 16th and 23rd. For curling, mitts are much preferable to gloves. More importantly, mitts should have “sticky palms” so that they can grip a brush handle while sweeping. Adventure Guide’s new Waterloo store is located at the Boardwalk plaza at Ira Needles and University Avenue. Mike tells me that the store has a large supply of children’s winter clothing in-stock. You can reach Adventure Guide at 519-886-3121 or by email at info@advguide.com.
Ice Halo now available for use at Elmira
In time for the start of the 2011-2012 curling season, Little Rock and Bantam curlers who are nervous about being on the ice will have the opportunity to use an Ice Halo at the Elmira and District Curling Club. I was first introduced to the Ice Halo this past April at a clinic at the Guelph Curling Club. The Ice Halo has been greeted enthusiastically by both participants and coaches alike. The Ice Halo, manufactured in Canada and distributed by Ice Halo in Barrie, Ontario, is designed to provide protection from head injuries for figure skaters and curlers without the bulk of a helmet. The Ice Halo is a protective head band made of a closed cell, light weight foam and covered with micro-fleece or Faux Furs. [Our] patented design has been tested and proven to reduce impact force by over 250G. The Ice Halo wraps snugly and comfortably around your head and secures with adjustable Velcro closures to provide
Curling Strategy Tool on iPhone
I have often used a strategy board to discuss game situations with the athletes I coach. A strategy board is a really useful tool and I make sure I have one at each practice and every game. But one frustration that I have is being able to document situations during a game and be able to discuss them afterwards or at a subsequent practice. Switching to paper when I have more than one situation to document is rather inconvenient – though I’ve done so oodles of times. Moreover, the paper copy is harder to share amongst team members, and my handwriting is appalling (just ask my kids). A solution comes with the Curling Strategy Tool for iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad that’s available from Apple’s iTunes App Store. The application, recently upgraded to version 2.4.1 (20 May 2011), was developed by Jeff Rogers and is from the same firm that also sells the ROG stopwatch curling application, also for iPhone