“There’s nothing better than curling up with a good book and sitting in front of the fire on winter evenings.” – Leo Sayer

This is different from the curling I am referring to.

“I don’t know if there’s any sport that’s stupid, but I really don’t understand curling. I guess I’m just not into brooms on ice.” – Julie Foudy

This is more like it!

What is more wintery than dressing in a homemade heavy sweater, wool cap, warm gloves, slippery shoe, and wielding a broom?

My extroverted sisters loved this sport and thought it would be perfect for their introverted youngest sibling. I bought into the hype and immediately started sourcing the tools of the trade. I would get my broom from a friend who used to play, and even though it was dated, it looked current enough. The science behind them has probably improved, but I was a novice just dipping my proverbial toe in the water or, should I say, dropping a cube in my glass. Either way, I was new, wasn’t sure this would become a lifelong passion, and needed nothing fancy. The broom was the only thing I would need as a simple flat slider was provided to us curling shoeless players, and there was a little A-frame tool that improved our balance.

Day 1 saw us arriving around 4 pm. Retiree curling occurs early, so we can still eat and get to bed by 8. The gray hairs were excited. The first game of the season was a big deal. I was happy to be playing with one of my sisters, but I still had to pull my weight. It seems curling is a life-or-death event for some people, and I did not want to be responsible for a loss even though that would mean a free drink, so it was tempting. Once I got the hang of the little slider, I found the game enjoyable but long. Half a game was good for me, but it’s not the kind of thing you can bow out of once satiated. I have concluded that my sporting timeframe is 1 hour. It doesn’t seem to matter what activity it is. After 1 hour, I’m done.

After the game, the winning team buys the losing team a drink. I got a lot of free drinks and wondered if I was curling to drink or to play. Having witnessed the aftergame activities, I have concluded that many people must ask this question.

Retirement will involve accepting that I cannot control event lengths and possibly being better at selecting those more aligned with my self-imposed hour limit. Curling is an excellent sport for the winter. It’s movement, it’s social, and it’s early!