I started watching the womens curling last night simply because I was flicking around deciding whether to stay up or not. Wow, I think I may have finally got hooked on this winter olympics nonsense.
It certainly draws you in and makes you think about tactics as well as the skill involved. A bit like watching snooker (except for the ice, the teams, the stones and the brushes, but you get my drift!). In complete contrast, I've also been watching the Ski Cross. Absolute adrenaline-fuelled mayhem!
And no Canada in either final....the reaction to that in Canada will be like when the England football team crash out of the World Cup. I see Elise Christie's Chinese/Hungarian boyfriend won a gold so least someone in that relationship gets a piece of metal (and she naturally seemed very happy for him!)
Is there any evidence at all to show the sweepers do anything wharsoever to affect the trajectory of the curling stones? And with all the exciting sports the bbc could show, why do they seem to favour this dullest of dull events?
According the the head of the English Curling Association (or something like that) who was on the radio last week, sweeping adds a microscopic layer of water to the ice, reducing friction, and can add up to 15ft on it's travel. He didn't mention the trajectory, but maybe sweeping more on one side would curl it away slightly?
I've really enjoyed the Winter Olympics but agree with Meh! - just because curling is one of the few sports the UK has a chance of winning a medal in, doesn't mean I want to watch it all the time (or ever, actually). The "red button" has been used to maximum effect in our house. Really enjoyed the mass start speed skating although none of us could work out the point of the sprints in an Olympic final, when they seem to have no bearing on the medal places - can anyone more knowledgeable on the sport enlighten me?
Welcome! Any other dilemmas? Translating ancient works,game styles appropriate to player personality,mothballs?
The reduction in friction also delays the curl, so it affects distance and direction as well as being able to increase or decrease the curl added by biasing the sweeping on one side.