Not too long ago we had a curling event at BSI. Curling was fun, but I think it's safe to say that many of us learned that night it's also extremely challenging. I personally can attest that it indeed confirmed for me that I'm so far out of shape it's not even funny :).

We didn't get any video or shots of games in progress unfortunately, mostly because I was remiss in letting people know I brought my Flip HD with me in the first place, but we did assemble for a final group photo:

I'm not in the photo, as I hate being in photos, and someone had to operate the camera ;). I did however enjoy myself immensely.

Curling is deceptively challenging, and I think it might have become my favorite active sport. It involves shot weight, spins, and collision physics, all of which are applicable in another sport I enjoy a great deal.

In particular shot-weight in curling is considerably more difficult than in billiards, and the sheet of ice isn't as predictable as cloth. I personally found it quite difficult to judge the shot weight that would keep the rock in the house vs shooting straight through it as they're almost exactly the same, and muscle memory just isn't that accurate. Unfortunately I still hadn't figured it out by games end, much to my team's chagrin. 

It was also quite difficult to master curling the rock, and just how much spin to put on the rock to ensure it curled correctly. I guess the closest thing to that in billiards would be a masse shot, they're pretty difficult too ;).

Steve on the other hand was a sniping machine. It wasn't unheard of for him to take out two opponent stones at a time from the house. He says it's beginners luck... oh the controversy ;).

Curling is also pretty deceptive with regards to how much effort is really expended. You watch these guys on TV and they make it look so easy. They glide down the ice without falling. They sweep and don't look tired. They play day after day and don't show any signs of aches or pains. I'm here to tell you, that's because they're pros. Trust me on this, the next day and several days after I had aches in muscles I didn't realize existed, and I'm not the only one. I also had no idea that sweeping the ice could be that much of a cardio work out. I was sure my lungs would explode!

To top it all off the slider makes it really hard to stand up, I eventually discarded mine as my shoes don't have that great a tread anyway. You get the hang of skidding down the ice, reminded in a kind of pseudo-reminiscent way of when you used to run and skid across the ice when you were a child during our harsh Canadian winters. Unfortunately sometimes, just like when you where a child, you skidded and fell... bruises ensued. 

And before any of you point out that I'm the most accident prone person of the bunch, I just want to say... I didn't wipe out. Yes... you heard that right, I stayed on my feet the whole night. In-fact very few of us wiped out and those that did were very mild. No serious injuries sustained.

To top the night off, we got to eat Jeff's chili :). I don't think it could have been a better time.

Thanks guys, you really know how to throw a party. Five years with you and I'm still saying that ;).