Where have all the curlers gone?

 It was a strange sensation to take to the ice on Tuesday and discover we were the only club playing. There might not have been much atmosphere but we made up for that with a right old ding dong.

For the first couple of ends it was all fairly standard play. Bill snuck a single then took a two but as has been said before…..early days yet.

In the third end Bill and the team were getting a good number of stones into the right hand side of the house but there was still room down the left for Jim to sneak in and spoil the score. As has often been the situation in games in this campaign, it came down to the last stone of the end to make or break a score. Bill was lying five but there was still a draw for Jim to steal a single. It was not to be and to make matters worse there was a promotion which gave Bill a six. 

OUCH!!

Down but not out Jim and the team came back fighting. They took a two and whilst it was the halfway  mark, maybe they would come back and give Bill something to think about. Well a three in the fifth was another blow to that ambition! The scoreboard did not look pretty for some but the B Team dug deep and kept fighting. 

Never say never, three ends and nine back, stranger things have happened. So when Jim came back in the sixth with a four, that took Bill by surprise and maybe, just maybe……….There was no let up in the seventh and the B Team came away with a three. 

9-11 and only the eighth left to play. Could they do it? Peels would have a significant impact on the league  and Bill knew it. He built a good head, guarded well and it wasn’t easy for Jim to make any gains. Bill took a two and although 9-13 doesn’t look great for the B Team, it was a great comeback and a really exciting game. 

So with one match to play the league is still to be decided. It’s clear cut for Bill, win and he has the title. For Jim P it needs to be a win and by a margin of shots. Everything to play for!!!

Getting the weight right

Tuesday’s match was nominally Team A versus Team B. However the dreaded COVID has struck and half of the players did not usually represent those teams.

So firstly, thanks to those who turned out to ensure the game took place and secondly let’s hope all those who couldn’t attend (and those other club members who are currently having to isolate) are on the mend and not being too afflicted by this annoying virus. 

On to the ice………..and what ice it was! Several cracks were visible causing reverberations as the stones travelled over the ice rather like a train on tracks. It wasn’t easy to read the ice and everyone had a weight problem 😮

The game? 

Well it started rather routinely. The early stones were a mixture of too light and too heavy but some did manage to stay in the house and Bill ( covering for Jim L) took a two. The second end saw a revision of how to deliver the stones and a fine old guddle developed, with the odd exception that glided inexorably through the house. The end was heading to a blank until Bill’s last stone found a way round the multiple guards and sat nicely on the four foot. Jim P could not find a way in and a single went to the B Team.

Back up the ice over the rumbling cracks for End Three, still the ice was hard to read but there were some well placed guards and both Skips were being asked to make tricky, accurate shots. It was a close thing and Jim came out on top with a single. A similar situation developed in the fourth with a single going to Bill. So at the half way mark it was 4-1 to Team B.

The second half of the match was a very different affair and it would be disingenuous to dwell on the highlights of each end. The scores really didn’t reflect just how close it was but one side did manage to create opportunities and capitalise on how the stones were positioned.

Suffice to say all four ends went to Bill and Team B. Jim battled hard but just didn’t get any breaks when the ice refused to draw for him. If you want to know the score, look at the results table. I think it might get a mention at the AGM. I’ll say no more 😊