Curling still has broom concerns

BY JOE PAVIA

Brad Jacobs’ teammates Ryan Harnden, left, watches Ryan Fry sweep during the AMJ Campbell Shorty Jenkins Classic at the Cornwall Curling Centre on Sept. 16. (Greg Peerenboom/Postmedia Network)

There seems to be peace in one land. But what about the other land?

During the AMJ Campbell Shorty Jenkins Classic in Cornwall last weekend all the athletes conformed to the new World Curling Federation pad mandate adopted by the Tour. Only sanctioned pads, mustard yellow in colour and using material from a designated single source, could be used.

But does this one designated pad only rule trickle down to that other land — the club level, where 95% of curlers play?

If it does, do all the other rules follow as well? In a nutshell those rules state — No pad change during a game and no switching of brooms between players. Hardline Curling president Archie Manavian (whose Ice Pad head was part of Broomgate) told the Sun at the Shorty “At the elite level there seems to be peace and I hope it carries down to the club level.”

When the WCF issued its broom pad ruling, it also indicated “For leagues, competitions or events contested primarily for recreation or fun, or for competitions or events contested primarily by novice or inexperienced curlers, it may be necessary to limit which sweeping equipment can be used as a condition of competition.”

Ryan Fry, the third for Brad Jacobs’ rink, had an interesting take on the new fabric at the Shorty. “It’s old material that doesn’t do a whole lot. It may hold the rock a bit straighter the better sweeper you are and drag it a bit further and that’s the way it should be.” Fry also said that in his opinion the controversy last season between teams wasn’t as bad as it was made out to be.

Brent Laing’s assessment of the new pads is “It looks to be back to the usual sweep when it’s light and sweep when it’s tight. Some teams are still sweeping to make it curl but I’m not convinced that that’s working yet but I haven’t seen enough shots to know for sure but yeah I think it’s fixed.” Laing also reports that mom (Jennifer Jones) and one-month=old baby Skyla are doing fine.

Scotland’s David Murdoch thinks “To be honest we’ve probably gone back nearly ten years with the sweeping now and you have to be super accurate with the throw and the sweeping holds a little bit of line; you can’t drag it a ton for weight so the percentage are going to drop or you got to play really, really well.”

The elite players all seem to be happy with the new ruling.

The conundrum for clubs is whom do you make unhappy with a pad ruling. Does everyone use them? The approved pads are upwards of $29 on average. One thing clubs might weigh is to set members up for success (especially less proficient throwers), they might have to allow them to use the previously allowed pads.

It may be prudent for the sport’s governing bodies to re-visit the new pad regime after this season and see if any changes have to be made.

The winners of the Shorty were Ottawa’s Rachel Homan and Alberta’s Kevin Koe.

Both rinks boasted undefeated records.

WINNER’S CIRCLE

The inaugural Hogline U18 Cashspiel was held on the weekend at City View. The women’s team was Kayla Gray, Mikayla Gemmill, Chelsea Ferrier and Morgan Typhair. The men’s rink was Jordan McNamara, Lucas Houle, Brendan Laframboise and Alex Cousineau.

END NOTES

Russ Howard and Mary-Anne Arsenault are conducting a sold out clinic this weekend at City View … Swedish resident (and Ottawa native) Alison Kreviazuk announced her engagement to Fredrik Lindberg last week. Alison’s father reports that Fredrik formally asked him for his daughter’s hand last Christmas.

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