Well, I had a blast tonight!
What did I do? I went Curling!!!!
Yah, you know that game in the Winter Olympics where people are throwing round stones and using brooms and sweeping the ice? The one where you're like "WTF are they doing?" and "Why the hell is this an Olympic sport?"
But yeah, that one... and yah, strangely enough, I had fun... PLUS!!! I have a new found appreciation for the USA Curling Team representing us in the Winter Olympics! You're probably wondering how I found this? Well, I have friends who will be going to Vancouver to watch the Winter Olympics, and they were able get tickets to watch Curling. So, they actually found out about this clinic and invited me to go... I'm glad I did and I really want to go again... :)
Let me tell yah, this game is hard as f*ck! Yah, it looks so dayam easy on television, but once you get on the ice and you try to do what they do, you'll realize there's a reason why they're in the Olympics and we're not...
I went to the Jan 30th, 9pm "Learn to Curl" clinic. I was surprised at how many people were there... I'd say there was about 30-40 people... Our instructors were very cool and you can tell they have a passion for this sport. The cost for this ~2.5hr clinic was $20. Definitely worth it!!! This particular clinic was held at the Escondido Iceoplex. (I'm not sure if they hold these clinics at other ice arenas though...)
So, what did I learn? Well, I don't think I learned enough about the technicalities/rules/strategy of the sport but I learned a little bit of the skills required to play this sport. It was definitely enough to have an awesome time, though! :)
Recommended attire is clean closed-toed shoes and semi-warm attire. I wore closed-toed shoes, jeans, t-shirt and a peacoat. I was fairly comfortable but I would recommend wearing sweats or something more stretchy than jeans and maybe a hoodie or a fleece pull-over. (It helps if you don't have clothes flailing about...) Also, if you get cold pretty quickly, wear some thicker socks and bring a pair of gloves. The club provides everything else: brooms, curling stones, and shoes (well, attachments that go on your shoes to help you slide on the ice).
If it's your first time curling, you're more than likely gonna fall on your a$$ so you will be spending some time on the ice (unless you're really good at gliding and balancing your body weight on one foot) but not really enough where you're going to need a change of clothing. Oh, and if you have sensitive knees, you might want to bring a knee pad (yah, just one...for your trailing leg).
Overall, this was such an awesome experience that I want to go again. If you're looking for something different, new and extremely fun, check out one of the "Learn to Curl" clinics... their upcoming schedule is on their website... read more