Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ

Well, it’s that time again. I have a short story coming out in June. it’s included in the Make A Play Daily Dose Anthology over at Dreamspinner Press. I know the main cover of the anthology looks like it’s going to be a summer sports story, but I’m a rebel and wrote a winter sports story. And when most people think of winter sports, it’s hockey or skiing. So no, I didn’t write about either. I chose Curling. Yep, curling. Because it rocks. And it’s different. So different that a lot of people may not know much about the sport. I’m going to take this opportunity to educate the few people who look at this blog.

First, it’s played on ice that looks like a bowling alley. It’s called a sheet of ice, not an alley or lane. And it’s not smooth like hockey or figure skating ice. There are tiny water bumps on the surface. I’m not going to explain the reason, so just go with it. There are four players on the team. A lead, a second, a third and a skip. In general, the skip runs the show. Sometimes you have a vocal third who drives the skip crazy. There are ten ends in a game. Each person throws two rocks per end. The skip stands on one end of the ice and tells the other players where they want the rock. There is a lot of shouting at the two people who are sweeping. At the completion of each end, the rock closest to the center of the bullseye scores. The score board is confusing as fuck to explain. it looks like a normal scoreboard, but trust me, you don’t read it like a normal scoreboard.

Another strange thing about curling, is after you lose, you have drinks with the team who just beat the snot out of you. The winning team buys. So I guess no one really loses if there are free drinks involved.

There is special equipment needed for this game. Each player has a broom, weird shoes, and stretchy pants are advised because bending is involved. Some people wear jackets and gloves. Other people are half naked. I never understood wearing only a T-shirt. It’s played on ice, meaning it’s a little chilly out there.

This description of curling barely scratches the surface of the game, but it gives you a general idea of what’s involved with the sport. Ìý ÌýBut it’s enough to get you through the story The Magic Broom. Cody doesn’t have a clue either and he does just fine. Go check out the book at Dreamspinner. The Magic Broom will also be a stand-alone story.

Ìý

Xo Teegan