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Saturday, February 25, 2023

Why We Need Curling Now More Than Ever

 

My wife has a recurring dream where she wakes up angry at me. She wakes up and tells me that she dreamt that I was cheating on her with an unknown mistress. She spends the whole dream trying to figure out who the other woman is, only to find out in the end that it is a curling sheet. Weird, but understandable. Admittedly I have had a life-long affair with curling.

It started when I was 13. I started curling in a junior league at Lachine Curling Club, and I loved it. I started Saturday morning juniors in September, and by Christmas I was hooked. I was asked to spare for a team with some older kids at the annual Christmas Bonspiel at the TMR curling club. I remember getting picked at my house to go and play by 3 seventeen-year-old girls with 80’s hair in their parent’s Oldsmobile with Bon Jovi blasting on the radio. For a shy 13-year-old boy, this was obviously the highlight of my life at that point. I do not remember how we played that tournament, but I remember the car ride. I wish I had a copy of our team picture from that event.


Since then, curling has given me so much. I curled juniors and had ridiculous amounts of fun getting into trouble with friends in crazy places. I loved the game. The drama, the strategy, the history. I soaked it all in. I would practice after school with my friends. We would play tournaments on weekends. It allowed me to get into the right amount of trouble.

After juniors, I started curling in men’s and mixed leagues. I curled with or against grandmas, police officers, union reps, lawyers, conspiracy theorists (we called them “crazy guys at the end of the bar” back then), politicians, World War 2 vets, students. The curling club was a diverse cross-section of society. And after every game, you would sit and have a drink (or usually 2 or more) with the teams. What I did not realize at the time was how valuable a gift this was.

Curling takes you out of your bubbles. Normally we tend to hang out with people who are like us: people with similar backgrounds, similar beliefs and similar habits. But at a curling club we are all just curlers. And I learned how to talk to people. I learned how to disagree. We learned to laugh at our differences, and not let them define us. I could disagree with someone’s views, but still curl with or against them. Curling was the bridge.

We need this today more than ever. We have lost the ability to tolerate those that we disagree with. Social Media has allowed us to crawl back into our like-minded bubbles. The Crazy Guy at the End of the Bar can now find millions of on-line allies, emboldening his views. Our differences now define us.

Curling is the enemy of this. It is not pretentious, it is welcoming. I applaud those working to bring diversity into the sport, we need this. While curling clubs are generally welcoming by nature, it takes awareness to recognize that maybe not all feel welcome, and hard work is required to fix this. We can be better at this, to better reflect the communities we live in. This will help curling continue to play its role in helping to build relationships across boundaries.

I recently moved for work, from Montreal to Toronto. Once again, curling is helping me to fit in somewhere new. Forty years after walking into Saturday morning juniors, I have joined a new league. I have a new team, and I continue to learn and make new friends. I can’t think of another sport that can give you this.

So on this Curling Day in Canada, I declare that this is the greatest game of them all.  We need it now more than ever.

3 comments:

  1. I can relate to and agree with every word you have written....I am very concerned about the future of the game, especially at the club level...The television profile is not translating into more memberships...I believe that without stick curling many clubs would be closed.

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  2. at the club level you need trained people who will run learn to curl programs giving good basic technical skills while gradually introducing to team play ,and make also their junior or newbies feel like they are having fun.That takes training and understanding of age and development levels but is well worth in. Our Learn to curl this year had 24 to start, 18 remained and 14 joined the club and played in a recreational league. We also explained the social side and most stayed to have a friendly drink after a two end or four end game.

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  3. Although a huge fan of curling, I've actually never played the game. I started taking lessons in the fall of 2003, but my mom passed away, my dad had a stroke around the same time and all hell broke lose in my life. I never went back.
    So I can't address your comments regarding curling clubs. But I can say something similar about cruising. (I know, they don't requate in terms of effort and skill). But I meet people with various points of view and with the exception of Carnival cruises (I've never actually done one), rarely are there arguments. Well, maybe about who is next in line at the buffet...but I digress. I believe the reason is simple, a common interest that transcends the rest of the issues in our lives, that allows to step outside the daily grind and relax. I'm sure the drinks don't hurt either. :)

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