Come Try Curling in Knoxville!
by David Hooper on Feb 6, 2010 9:58 PM EST
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PrintHey everyone. I don't normally make announcement for non-varsity events on this blog, but I felt this one might be of interest to a few people, particularly with the Winter Olympics coming up.
If you happen to live in the Knoxville area and you'd like to give curling a go, our club is having an open house on Sunday, February 21st from 8:30 to 10:30 PM at the Ice Chalet. It's free to come and learn how to curl; the basic instructions take about a half hour, and we'll try to set up some quick pick-up games once enough people get the hang of it. All you need to bring are clothes that you can move around comfortable in (and stay warm at about 35 degrees) and a clean pair of sneakers with decent soles. (Bring an extra pair; the ones you wear into the place will track dirt on the ice, which is really bad for the stones.) Anybody worried about falling can wear a bike helmet too; nobody ever teases you about that, and a few of our member do so religiously.
Spencer Hall (of EDSBS) learning to curl in Knoxville.
Doug Gillett (from Hey Jenny Slater) and Spencer sweeping hard.
If you decide you like curling, we run two leagues a year (and a third during the summer if enough people are interested). The cost is comparable to a bowling league. We also try to send teams out to various bonspiels (road trips, in curl-speak), and we'll send a college team back to Chicago for College Nationals in March.
Yours truly, throwing a stone at College Regionals 2010 in Bowling Green, Ohio. (We took second.)
And if you can't make it to the Chalet on the 21st, we always have an extra sheet of ice available for curling lessons when we're playing. It's at the same time (Sundays, 8:30 - 10:30 PM) on weekends not including Super Bowl Sunday for obvious reasons.
If you have any questions, you can ask here or email me directly (email is at the bottom of this page, and also in my profile). Yes, I'll be there, but that shouldn't stop you. It's a great time.
(Here's the club website; it's not updated very often, but it has the general information.)
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Hey!
I don’t run into too many Hoopers. Always a pleasure to meet one. Also a Navy and a Vol guy, I see. I knew I liked you. ;-)
by David Hooper on Feb 6, 2010 10:47 PM EST up reply actions
Dude, you look like a bamf
Sounds like fun, but it’s far away. Enjoy.
by Incipient_Senescence on Feb 7, 2010 2:53 AM EST reply actions
Heh.
I realized as I was adding that photo in that it makes me look really mean. Some people at regionals thought I was Russian, too, though I’m mostly English, Dutch, and French.
You mean..
you aren’t really mean? ;-)
"It breaks your heart. It is designed to break your heart. The game begins in the spring, when everything else begins again, and it blossoms in the summer, filling the afternoons and evenings, and then as soon as the chill rains come, it stops and leaves you to face the fall alone." A. Bartlett Giamatti
You could've gone with that though
“Secret weapon from SOVIET UNION to CRUSH American curling foes!”
You know, in that over the top voice the Russian bad guys always have in movies. Could’ve worked.
by Will Shelton on Feb 8, 2010 12:35 PM EST up reply actions
Oh, totally.
And if I could get a hold of a black fur hat to go with my peacoat, I could really curl out there Soviet-style.
Of course, to do it Soviet style, I’d have to be completely inaccurate in my aiming but use a 600-lb stone that would clear everything off the ice no matter where I threw it. And if a teammate failed to sweep when I demanded asked, they’d be sent of to Siberia.
You know, there might be a curling YouTube in this somewhere. That, or I need to get something to eat.
(Hey, my imagination goes nuts when I’m decompressing between classes.)
by David Hooper on Feb 8, 2010 3:14 PM EST up reply actions 1 recs
You've been drinking too much between ends
Actually Im going to the open house here in Seattle in 2 weeks for my first try at curling. Maybe one day we will meet on the ice in condom-clad shoes and broom in hand.
RIP Steve McNair (1973 - 2009) Retire #9!
by Pride of the Southland on Feb 8, 2010 3:33 PM EST up reply actions
I'd love it.
If you’re ever in Knoxville and have a free Sunday evening available, ping me and I’ll see if we have curling that night. IIRC, it’s only $15 to join in if you don’t need lessons.
Let me know how it goes in Seattle, though.
But you need to make sure that you have backup 600-lb stones when you lose the first one.
Although I guess that’s technically Tsarist style.
Simulated Gameday Experience - just like the real thing, only we have smoke machines.
by Chris Pendley on Feb 8, 2010 8:34 PM EST up reply actions
SO AWESOME.
I cannot encourage everyone enough to attend this. It’s a blast.
________________________________
I will give my shirt for Tennessee today.
Anyone know anything about doing this in DC?
I imagine there’s something at Kettler, but I haven’t heard the slightest one way or the other.
Simulated Gameday Experience - just like the real thing, only we have smoke machines.
I know that DC holds bonspiels, so there's definitely curling there somewhere.
I’ll see if I can find something for you.
Found something: the Potomac Curling Club.
Linky. It’s in the Gardens Ice House in Laurel, MD. I don’t know how accessible that is to you.
I can’t find anything in Arlington; the Capitals IcePlex doesn’t have curling.
by David Hooper on Feb 9, 2010 11:47 PM EST up reply actions
Yow. Laurel's out there and a half, so not very accessible unfortunately.
But we’ll see.
On the plus side, with the weather the way it’s been this week, we can do some ghetto curling on the street outside.
Simulated Gameday Experience - just like the real thing, only we have smoke machines.
by Chris Pendley on Feb 10, 2010 7:42 AM EST up reply actions
And for those who don't live in Knoxville: here's a list of curling clubs.
These are all a part of the USCA. There are undoubtedly other clubs as well, but that’s the easiest place to start looking. The list isn’t the most intuitive one to search through, unfortunately, but it has quite a few.
Hmmm
There are about 3,000 of them in Minnesota. Not surprising. Interestingly, there are two within 15 miles of me here in Boston (one is also in a west suburb). May be an interesting thing to try out at some point. It (like this thread actually) will definitely cause “Tournament of Hearts” to get irrevocably stuck in my head though.
by Incipient_Senescence on Feb 10, 2010 9:39 AM EST up reply actions
That's permanently on my iPod. :-D
The Weakerthans are great fun to listen to.
Funny you should mention Minnesota. The USCA divides clubs into geographic regions for administrative purposes. Knoxville is in the Great Lakes region simply because it’s the closest one, but G-L includes places like Ohio, Illinois, and Michigan. But Minnesota is its own region.
by David Hooper on Feb 10, 2010 12:16 PM EST up reply actions
WOW!
Over 120 people at the open house today. I’m exhausted now – thanks to all who came out.
And if you missed this one, come by next Sunday at 8:30 PM at the Ice Chalet. We’ll do it all over again.
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