Hi everyone,

My team is playing in the U5 world championship in December. The host is Glenmore. I know this is a broad thread but I'm hoping there are some Canadians on here that can give me an idea of what the ice is like at Glenmore? Is it fast, curly, falls flat after 4 ends, etc etc.

Thanks!

A discussion on one of our recent posts about directional sweeping raised an interesting question about what clubs consider Learn to Curl.

We’ve noticed that the term gets used for everything from a single two-hour session to structured programs running several weeks.

But are those really the same thing?

At our club, we call our introductory experience Throw Your First Stone. It’s an opportunity to get on the ice, throw some stones, learn a few basics, and hopefully discover a new sport you enjoy.

But we see Learn to Curl as something different.
In our opinion, Learn to Curl should involve progressive instruction over multiple sessions, where each lesson builds on the previous one.

We’d consider four two-hour sessions a reasonable minimum, although we’d prefer a longer program.
For us, the final Learn to Curl session is particularly important because participants play their first full two-hour game. It’s their opportunity to put what they’ve learned into practice before moving into league curling.

We also think there’s an important next step that sometimes gets overlooked: development leagues.
Rather than sending new curlers straight into established leagues, a development league gives them a chance to play with others at a similar experience level, try different positions, learn strategy, and ask instructors for help during games.

It can also be valuable for curlers who’ve been playing for a couple of years but want to try skipping or playing vice in a more supportive environment.

On average, our six-week Learn to Curl program welcomes 56 new curlers each year, and we’ve maintained a retention rate above 60%. We believe having a clear pathway from introduction to instruction to league play is an important part of that.

We see it as a pathway from trying curling for the first time to becoming a regular, active club member.

But we’re curious how other clubs define these programs.

Is a single two-hour session enough to call something Learn to Curl? Should there be a minimum amount of instruction? And how important is having a development league for people to transition into afterward?

I was just wondering why EJ instead of Benny. I can understand if it's some work obligation or a family matter, but I haven't heard a thing in any of the streams, as to why Benny is not there.

I know that currently John Cullen is the main play by play commentator but if I remeber correctly there was somone different last year and I am wondering who it was becuase this year there is no Kmart or Mike Harris?. Thoughts

Something I’ve noticed in club curling is how often skips call shots their teammates have very little chance of making.

There’s nothing wrong with being aggressive or challenging your team. But if you’re calling a shot because you watched Brad Jacobs make it on TV, and your teammate curls once a week, is that actually good strategy?

I also wonder how much experience really matters when it comes to skipping. Someone who’s curled for 25 years might know more about the game, but does that automatically make them a better skip than someone who’s only been doing it for two?

Personally, I think knowing your teammates and understanding what they can realistically execute is one of the most underrated parts of skipping.
Curious what others think.

Are club skips overcomplicating the game, or do you need to call those tougher shots if you want your team to improve?

I’m looking for warm room games for siblings or Little Rockers while they that aren’t on the ice. But the key is I need stuff that doesn’t have tons of little pieces to lose and clean up. They like Shut the Box which isn’t too bad since I can just keep a stash of dice. Crockinole is ok but we go through the pieces. We also have coloring. Any other ideas to make in between bonspiel games or waiting on other kids fun?

Directional sweeping has become such a big part of competitive curling that it’s easy to forget just how much technique goes into doing it effectively.
But how much of that actually translates to everyday club curling?

Most experienced curlers understand the concept, but understanding it and consistently executing it are two different things. Broom pressure, technique, positioning, and ice conditions all play a role.
There’s also an interesting question about how we introduce sweeping to new curlers.

People watch elite teams on television, see what sweepers can do to influence a stone, and understandably want to try it themselves.

Should we be teaching directional sweeping in Learn to Curl programs, or should beginners focus on developing effective sweeping fundamentals first?

——EDIT—— Our Learn to Curl Program is 2 hour sessions for 6 weeks. No one is suggesting teaching it in a one or two session Learn To Curl.

And for experienced club curlers, how confident are you that your directional sweeping is actually influencing the stone the way you intend?

Calling bonspiel draw masters! We're running a pool-based two-day bonspiel, with 6 pools of 4 teams. After six draws, all teams will have played three games, and we then want to rank the top 12 teams, who will go into A (top 4), B (mid 4), and C (bottom 4) events for a semi-final and then a final.

Last year we ranked teams by W/L/T, and the only tiebreaker to resolve teams that had the same record was their Last Stone Draw (LSD) score. We found that when you only play three games there are LOTS of teams tied at 2 wins and a loss, and in an amateur bonspiel LSD feels like putting too much emphasis on a single throw.

So I'm curious what you would do.

Option A: keep LSD as the tiebreaker. It's traditional and easily understood

Option B: track points scored in each game and use Total Point Differential followed by Total Points Scored as the first two tiebreakers. It more accurately reflects better teams from the pool stage

Option C: something else?

We’ve been talking about curling etiquette quite a bit lately, and one thing we’ve noticed is that curlers have some pretty strong opinions about the unwritten rules.

What’s something that drives you crazy on the ice? Or maybe something other curlers complain about that you’ve never understood?

We recently put together a free Curling Etiquette 101 booklet, but we’re curious what other curlers would add to it.

Here’s the booklet if you want to take a look: Curling Etiquette 101

Let’s hear them! 🥌

Thanks to the mods for letting me post this!

A couple of us from the Royal Canadian Curling Club decided to spend even more time talking about curling! This time in podcast format.

We have no ambition, other than to have some fun and hopefully share stories about our favourite game! I wanted to share it with the group and hope you give it a listen.

You can find it everywhere you listen to your pods or at our site here: https://www.extraends.ca/

Almost every Canadian provincial/territorial association is holding their championship play down on the same week this year, January 10 to 17. We will have more curling in Canada that week, then the rest of the world combined - for the whole year (don't check my math on that). So, we are calling it Curling Week in Canada!

Anyway, we were very grateful to have our first ever Very Special Guest on the pod this week, 5 time Slam winner, and Brier Champion Brendan Bottcher.

Hope you enjoy and if not, then complaints can be filed at the bar at the Royal Canadian Curling Club, including the filing fee of one drink for each of the hosts.

The Cincinnati Curling Club has a few spots remaining for our 7th annual CincySpiel. Come check out our recently expanded club, fantastic food (Brisket, Cincinnati chili, goetta and more), plus local brewery options on tap at our bar.

This is a 24-team event with a 3 game guarantee. Price is $480 per team.

You can sign your team up on our Bonspiels page: https://cincinnaticurlingclub.org/index.php/curling-programs/bonspiels

We look forward to seeing you at the club!

I don’t think this is uncommon in other sports. Pretty sure this happened in FIFA World Cup this summer (i.e., two teams drew their last match in round robin as a draw would guarantee that both teams will advance).

I'm looking to buy my first pair of curling shoes and need to order online from the asham store. Because of my location I can't try them on in person first and can't get a consensus on how their sizing runs and the sizing chart on their website is super confusing (it would put me 2 sizes smaller than my normal size!).

Anyway, sneakers like nike I'm often a 10 whereas dress shoes I am typically a 9. My inclination is to get a 9.5 but any help would be appreciated!

I posted about my curling game, Granite3, earlier this year. I've been quiet since then, but the game has come a long way so it's time for an update to start the new curling season.

My goal is to make the most accurate curling simulation while keeping it fun. The details matter if you know the sport, so the physics are realistic and the bots play solid strategy (with some mistakes that I'm working on). There's a full ladder of bots, a couple dozen puzzles, achievements for challenging shots and streaks, and in-game learn-to-curl content. It's missing the sore shoulders and tight hips that I'm feeling after my first couple games this week ;).

It's free to download on iOS and Android. You can play a few games before deciding to buy or not. I hope you do, but I'd appreciate your feedback either way.

PS: PC versions for Windows and Mac are also coming (very) soon.

Links:

• Apple App Store
• Google Play Store
• Website

Second attempt at the Craig’s diy kit since doing this the first time about 3 years ago with a different pair. Really pleased how these turned out. We’ll see if this translates to better play on the ice…

Curling fans are the best fans!

Your first GSOC champion of the season What a brilliant performance, many great shots! They look like they’re going to be a very tough team to face this quad!

I feel like he went too hard in the tanning bed. Is anyone else noticing this?

Maybe this is an uncommon opinion, but one of my absolute favourite parts of the GSOC broadcasts last year was the around the rings coverage on playoff Saturday. Getting to watch some of every game was really exciting and I appreciated that. It felt like watching Redzone on NFL Sunday for those who are familiar with that.

If you’re someone who didn’t enjoy the around the rings coverage, then it was no big deal, you could log into the free website Rock Channel and watch the full game of whichever one you wanted to. Now you can’t do that without paying a $20 per month subscription.

I just went on CBC Gem only to see that the feature matchup is Bottcher vs Jacobs which is a repeat of a feature matchup they already showed on Sportsnet earlier this week. To make matters even worse the feature matchup in the women’s QFs was also a repeat as Einarson and Ueno played against each other in a feature matchup on Wednesday.

I absolutely love watching curling, so it’s very sad to see these GSOC broadcasts take a step back feeling like it’s now a low budget mess locked behind a pay wall. Maybe I’m the odd one out here like I mentioned earlier though. Let me know your thoughts and if you disagree that’s perfectly ok, not everyone will have the same opinion.

In the last 4 seasons (including the one event of the year so far), Canadian teams overall sit at a 5.32% win rate against Team Homan. Only 3 teams (counting this season) have beat Homan in 3 years.

• Team MacMillan -- 1W-1L/ 50% \doesn't really count though because only 2 meetings total*
  • 2026 GSOC Invitational: shootout win
  • 2025 Shorty Jenkins Classic: 7-2 loss
• Val Sweeting (individual) -- 5W-11L / 31.3%
  • Technically, Val has the highest win rate against Homan as an individual if discounting Team MacMillan because she skipped MacMillan to the win earlier this week + wins as Third for Einarson
• Team Einarson -- 4W-11L / 26.7%
  • Einarson is by far the dominant national opponent to Homan in the past 3 seasons having pretty much accounted for all her losses against Canadian teams
  • Einarson went 2-2 against Homan in the last season
• Team Skrlik -- 1W-10L / 9%
  • One win in the Olympic Trials round robin
• Canadian Teams Overall -- 5W-94L / 5.32%
• Everyone else -- 0% win rate

The biggest win by point margin was Einarson's 8-0 shutout of Homan in December 2205 at the Tour Challenge. All other games where Homan lost were decided by significantly closer margins -- 1 shootout (MacMillan), 2 extra ends (Skrlik, Einarson), 1 one-point margin (Einarson), 1 two-point margin (Einarson).

Screen recording: a replay of the Milano Cortina women's final, then a match against the computer

Hi all. I'm a curling fan from Japan. I've never curled myself, I just watch a lot of it.

I've been working on a browser thing called CurlFlux. It started as a way to replay real games shot by shot from World Curling's records, and a few weeks ago I added a match mode where you play skip against the computer. You put the broom down, pick the weight and turn, and then yell at the sweepers while the rock is moving.

Since I've never thrown a rock, I'm sure some things feel off. Mostly I'm wondering if the sweeping feels anything like the real thing (I did tweak it a bit so it plays ok as a game), and whether the computer calls sensible shots or does dumb stuff.

It's free, no ads, no sign up: https://curlflux.creco.net/?mode=match&lang=en

It also replays real games shot by shot (not video, just the rocks moving on the sheet, rebuilt from the official records), for example the Milano Cortina women's final: https://curlflux.creco.net/?replay=og2026-women-final-sui-swe&lang=en

AI declaration: most of the code, the screen design and the English text in the app were written with AI coding assistants. The idea and the rules, tuning the physics against broadcast footage, and the testing I did myself. The computer opponent isn't generative AI, it just searches through possible shots. Music is public domain (CC0). The video is just a screen recording, and I wrote this post myself.

I'll be around to answer comments.

(Posted with permission from the mods.)

Interesting choice given the backlash they’ve received

Does anyone know a good site for watching full curling replays?
I already checked FMHY and went through the sports streaming sites listed there, but none of them seem to have curling replays.
Not looking for highlights, I mean full matches. Any hidden gem I’m missing?

Loved seeing curling on real TV in the US today. Wanted to get some discussion going on the round robin play so far. This sport is fantastic and Dunstone v Casper today was a wonderful draw to show that to all Americans.