Guess what! The 2 Girls and a Game Curling Podcast is back with a surprise Episode 21 from a now-extended season 9. (You knew they couldn’t stay away, right?) Lori and Mary lead off with their spring-to-summer activities thus far, followed by their live meetup and combined experience at the Canadian Open golf championship. Where they ran into curling peeps, of course. The Girls then discuss the Homan/Bottcher news, more on The Curling Group’s new Slam series ownership, the Broomgate podcast and what various high-performance players have been up to. If you’re listening on The Curling News website, you can watch as well. Colourful images have been embedded in the media player file to enhance your podcast experience. Enjoy the episode and stay safe! (click here to view entire post on author's website)

;nbsp;PICK UP STICKSPosition each curler, with two rocks (one from each colour set) at a "corner" of the house, just outside the 12' circle.On a command, the 8 rocks are slid toward the button at a speed so that there is a controlled measure of;nbsp;collision, with the rocks remaining in the house,Place a rock in the free guard zone touching the centre line.Determine which rock is in the shot position, noting its colour.The object of the drill is for the team, using a rock of the opposite colour from the shot rock, to make that colour shot!Discuss all the shots that could be played to reach the objective. ;nbsp;Don't;nbsp;necessarily play the "easiest" shot to reach the objective! Perhaps play the shot that will result in the largest score for the end. Assume this... (click here to view entire post on author's website)

Hi, I'm Bobbie Todd. Besides being a curler, I am a retired lawyer, a NASCAR fan, a digital communications professional, and a Black woman. And I have just resigned from my role as chairperson of the USA Curling Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DE;amp;I) Task Force. Here's why:In 2020, I joined the DE;amp;I task force in order to help shape and prepare USA Curling for the future. While this task force was largely founded in response to the events of George Floyd and racial unrest that occurred during the summer of 2020, it came together under the singular purpose of working to better USA Curling's ability to reach people of all races, genders, colors, creeds, socioeconomic status, etc. In the simplest of terms, we wanted to help curling clubs to better reflect the local communities... (click here to view entire post on author's website)

I'm waking up this blog! I left my job at Curling Canada in 2019, just after my first Young Adult book was published. Since then, my writing life has been all about writing fiction for teens, and my curling life has been about playing at the club, leading Learn To Curls, and watching all those curlers on TV that I used to write about - everything from club bonspiels to national and international (click here to view entire post on author's website)

In the run up to Christmas Day, 1893, the Aberdeen Peoples's Journal offered a prize of one guinea for the best letter about curling! That's the invitation above, courtesy of the British Newspaper Archive, from the December 23 paper. The winning entry was published on January 13, 1894. The writer was William Wilson, and he no doubt enjoyed his winnings, equivalent today of around £140.You have to decide if these are real reminiscences. The Club would appear to be fictional, and the names made-up. Is the whole essay a fiction of William Wilson's imagination? Could even that name be a nom de plume?Or is the letter an accurate description of a curling club's activities in late Victorian times? Here is the winning letter:"Our Club - that is the Strathard and Glendarroch... (click here to view entire post on author's website)

A quick break for the Memorial Day holiday and we're back with our guest and new USA Curling Women’s National Team & Juniors Director Jessica Schultz. The two-time U.S. Olympian joined us regarding her new role with the USCA. And co-hosts Price Atkinson, "The Godfather" Joe Calabrese and Dustin "Specs" Tomasetti discuss the big changes announced for the U.S. Junior Program for the upcoming season and also how curling and sports will be different upon returning. (click here to view entire post on author's website)

I am in week 3 of isolation/quarantine/home schooling and getting a little squirrel-y. Personal hygiene has become optional. The kids have watched the entire Netflix Kids library. Twice. So I figure why not write a long, meandering curling blog to kill off some time. Curling is of course over for this season. As is the case with many Tier 2 curlers, my season essentially ended once we lost at provincials in January, but for those of you who play in events like Slams, or Mixed, or Travellers, or whatever, now find themselves pining for next year. There will be no World Championships. There will be no Slams. I am not even sure that we will be starting next season! 2020 will have no Glenmore Intermediate, the usual end of season send-off party (I have had to show my kids how to do virgin Jello... (click here to view entire post on author's website)

On today's World Curling Report...we recap Day 1 of the 2019 Canada Cup. (click here to view entire post on author's website)

On this week's podcast we focus on the Canada Cup with past champion Reid Carruthers (04:09), Adam Kingsbury - former coach of Team Homan and Team Jacobs (11:53) and 1998 Olympic silver medalist Mike Harris shares his thoughts on this week's Canada Cup (26:16). (click here to view entire post on author's website)

Host John Cullen travels to Thunder Bay, Ontario, for the Tour Challenge to interview Winnipeg's own Jason Gunnlaugson. Though Gunnlaugson has yet to win a Manitoba title, his team has been consistently ranked in the top 20 in the world and he won a silver at the 2013 Olympic Trials as the fifth for John Morris. Despite a lack of titles, Jason has had one of the more unique paths a curler could have, from his surprise appearance at the 2009 Olympic Trials to playing for Russia to currently leading the analytics movement in the game. Simply put, there's no one on Earth who thinks about the game more than Jason Gunnlaugson does. And John and Jason cover it all, from his days playing poker to support his curling habit, how close he came to quitting, what analytics means for the game, and just... (click here to view entire post on author's website)

Well, like I said, the best laid plans of mice and men... I had hoped to provide a daily installment of our time at the 55+ BC Senior Games, however things got a wee bit busy after the first blog on this topic. In between playing games and having some fun, a few domestic issues (a house sale that almost went sideways-due to a buyer getting edgy about pets) crept in which took a bunch of my off ice attention. Plus, the back end was very busy teaching the front end the proper way to play liars dice. (click here to view entire post on author's website)

I'm not saying it's over and I will never see you again, but I am saying we need to change things up and see how it goes. In the meantime, I have some things I need to say to you. (click here to view entire post on author's website)

On this week’s stupendous, 100%-curling-there-is-no-point-in-even-listening-if-you-aren’t-interested-in-it episode of 99 Friendship, Carolyn and I spend the full half hour recapping the Roar of the Rings, the curling tournament in Ottawa where Canada’s curling gods decided that Rachel Homan and Kevin Koe would represent our nation at the upcoming winter Olympics in South Korea. (click here to view entire post on author's website)

CurlingZone's Gerry Geurts and Jamie Korab discuss the importance of small curling clubs for communities and sport in the Rural Routes podcast. (click here to view entire post on author's website)

ast weekend’s Everest Curling Challenge in Fredericton, New Brunswick saw an experiment with adding 2 points for covering the pin. (click here to view entire post on author's website)

(click here to view entire post on author's website)

Reid Carruthers is a Canadian curler. He skips his own team based out of Winnipeg, Manitoba. Carruthers has won the 2016 Canada Cup of Curling, 2017 WFG Continental Cup of Curling as part of Team North America, and the 2017 Canadian Mixed Doubles Curling Championship. He is currently representing Canada at the 2017 World Mixed Doubles Curling Championship in Lethbridge, Alberta with Joanne Courtney. (click here to view entire post on author's website)

Adapting to changes in the sport of curling will reduce the threat that is posited by doomsayers. Curling has emerged as both a sport and a recreation, but it is the recreation side that attracts 95% of your market. (click here to view entire post on author's website)

Included: That time Rachel Homan beat him in a FG kicking contest... (click here to view entire post on author's website)

In case you have missed what is going on, Twitter has predicted the outcome of the February 12 Mens and Womens Round Robin games two days early in our completely scientific NerdCurl US Curling Twitter National Championships. (click here to view entire post on author's website)

The back half of the 2016-2017 curling season kicks off this week with the Meridian Canadian Open on the World Curling Tour and the USA Nationals Challenge Rounds taking place closer to home. A preview of the challenge rounds, highlights from an interview with Thomas Howell (lead for the top-ranked Heath McCormick rink) as their team embarks on its first Grand Slam of Curling event, and the updated rankings are on-tap in this week’s edition. (click here to view entire post on author's website)

e premise of this article is to vocalize my disdain for the current format, not necessarily the structure for which the bonspiel is set up but more precisely the flawed qualification process that has been implemented to secure a spot in this event. (click here to view entire post on author's website)

Never in that period of time have I witnessed the tumult in the sport that we have seen in the past few years. In the eye of this tornado has been the pads we curlers use on our brushes. (click here to view entire post on author's website)

Team Smith claimed the Oakville OCT Fall Classic men’s title and $3,000 prize money by defeating Team McCormick of the USA 7-2 in the final. (click here to view entire post on author's website)

I wanted to have a forum to discuss minor notes from in and around the curling world. Short House will do that for me, from time to time when I have quick thoughts about goings on you can find them here. Often it is a tall task for me to keep my writing brief but I will try.Sweeping Summit releaseThis past week the World Curling Federation released a statement updating the process of the Sweeping Summit that was held in Kemptville earlier this spring. The statement outlines initial findings and recommendations.As is the norm with the current "instant information" world that we live in, many are craving the full NRC results and data. Patience is not a virtue that sports fans let alone curling fans hold. Although we all would have loved the information to be released in real time in... (click here to view entire post on author's website)

DISCLAIMER! – I sometimes work for Curling Canada, but have little to no idea what’s going on at the Summit. I’m not at all involved in it. These are my musings, thoughts, and opinions. There is nothing official about any of this… Cheers – Brian Chick Hey… you know what we haven’t talked about lately? SWEEPING! Of course, this year’s buzz topic has already been beaten into the ground. We’ve seen a million articles (some of which I wrote), blog posts, videos, and heard a million more anecdotes about what is possible with brush X vs. what you can do with brush Y. There were about 143 different rule changes, depending on which level(s) of competition you played, and endless debates about what sweeping can do, should do, shouldn’t do, and what “they” – the associations – should... (click here to view entire post on author's website)

There’s something a little odd about the sport of curling, and I don’t mean the design of Team Norway’s pants. (click here to view entire post on author's website)

Don Landry of Yahoo Sports wrote a great preview of the Tim Hortons Brier today and we'd love to hear your thoughts on his choices and your own predictions!https://ca.sports.yahoo.com/blogs/eh-game/brier-2015--contenders--challengers-and-long-shots-184308457.htmlTell his bosses at Yahoo that curling matters by posting them to his blog. Click on the link above, read and/or scroll down to the View Comments link and VERY IMPORTANT, post something in the comments section!Something positive about the Brier, about curling that may show Yahoo that they should be investing more into our great sport!Sharing is caring! (click here to view entire post on author's website)

Sadly, I was only able to make the Saturday sessions.;nbsp; See travelling on business?;nbsp; Nightmare!;nbsp; Anyhow, up we went to Perth, there to watch things and dream of times past.I don't know about anyone else, but I always find it very difficult to support one team.;nbsp; It was easier in olden times when teams represented ice rinks and comprised typically local players.;nbsp; The Torrance rink was from Hamilton and the Hay rink from Perth; if the skips name was Adam or Horton, chances were that they were from Glasgow and the Hendersons were Aberdeen born and bred.;nbsp; So, if you went to Dundee or Perth or Kirkcaldy, there to watch the Scottish Championship finals in February, you had "your" team.Now - it's a nightmare!;nbsp; Four of us decided to sit in the bleachers... (click here to view entire post on author's website)

Jean-Michel Menard's guest blog the other day has seemingly rubbed at least one fellow athlete the wrong way. Speedskater Ivanie Blondin sent out a Tweet saying that she felt he was acting a bit spoiled.Feeling embarrassed for this guy. I'd count myself extremely lucky to be treated half as good as how he is treated http://t.co/mztiwkzzmuâ€;quot; Ivanie Blondin (@IvanieB) April 2, 2015Menard said that he was bothered by the constant erosion of perks and accessibility given to the curlers at the Brier. Of course everything is relative. If you haven't had any of that stuff, you don't know what you're missing. And certainly most other athletes don't get treated as the men curlers do at the Brier. Even the women at the Scotties never had it quite as good as the men.... (click here to view entire post on author's website)

Hello everyone. ;nbsp;This year has been busy with a new 'regular' job for me. ;nbsp;Over the summer I was at the Arena Nationals in Cedar Rapids. ;nbsp;You can see the pictures here:;nbsp;http://www.rhphoto.net/arenanatsIn the fall I was at the St Paul Cash Spiel. ;nbsp;The pictures aren't totally done yet. ;nbsp;You can see the pictures which are done here:;nbsp;http://www.rhphoto.net/stpaulcash2015I shot the Junior Olympic Trials Finals in Blaine this fall. ;nbsp;This photo set is pretty much done. You can see the pictures here:;nbsp;http://www.rhphoto.net/p713273371 The events I'm scheduled to shoot coming up are: ;nbsp;US Open of Curling 2016 in Blaine, Mixed Nationals 2016 in Blaine, US Junior Nationals 2016 (playoffs) in Wilmar, ;nbsp;and US Nationals in Jacksonville,... (click here to view entire post on author's website)

We have developed a NEW website for the blog 2.You will still have everything you like including the ability for you to submit comments.We would like to thank you for using this site to tell your stories and submit your ideas!As the sport grows so do we! We hope you like our new site!www.wcblog2.com (click here to view entire post on author's website)