Strategy and Tactics
Understanding the Free Guard Zone rule
During Bantam practice yesterday, a number of situations arose where properly utilizing the Free Guard Zone would change both the strategy of play and the tactics used at the beginning of the end. So here’s a brief explanation of the Free Guard Zone rule, re-printed here from the Elmira and District Curling Club website. The Free Guard Zone (FGZ) rule was invented to encourage more aggressive play by ensuring that, if a team desires, a lead’s two stones could be in play (and not removed by the opposing team) at the beginning of each end. The FGZ can be used effectively by a team without last rock to place guards on or near the center line, in front of the rings, that can be used to promote or draw behind. Free Guard Zone Defined The free guard zone is the area between the hog line and the tee line, excluding the house. A rock that comes to rest past the
Which shot is more difficult?
At the beginning of October I had the privilege of participating in the Team Glenn Howard Fantasy Camp. Not only did we get the opportunity to learn from Glenn and his team, but they also brought in a number of National-level coaches including Bill Tschirhart, Wendy Morgan, Jim Waite, Earle Morris, Scott Taylor, Brian Savill (Craig’s father) and Jennifer Jones. During the camp I learned a number of new drills, coaching tips, and a wealth of new material about the game, and I will be using some of these new techniques during this season and posting about them in this forum. This first post is about shot difficulty. I can recall my own father who claimed many times that the hardest shot in curling was a guard – but my Dad played in the 1940’s and 1950’s, usually on less than an ideal ice surface (natural ice in rural Saskatchewan) and, of course, using corn brooms. As a skip, one