Bowling Green Curling Club

417 N. Mercer Rd., Bowling Green, Ohio 43402, (419) 372-7268

Newsletter

Curling Communiqué

The BG Curling Club newsletter— Curling Communiqué — keeps members updated on the latest Club news and activities.  Please contact Editor Debbie Novak to contribute items of interest.

Current Issue

· November 2007  (PDF file)*

Previous Issues

· October 2007  (PDF file)*

· September 2007  (PDF file)*

· March 2007  (PDF file)*

* Ad0be Acrobat Reader required for PDF files

Contact info:

Scott Piroth

E-mail: spiroth@bgsu.edu

Phone: (419) 372-7268

 

 

Home | Calendar | Leagues | Bonspiels| Newsletter | History | Membership | Links | Directions

 

      Curlers all know that in addition to removing debris and frost from the ice, sweeping makes the rock travel farther and/or straighter.  But does it really? 

      As a matter of scientific fact, the answer is yes.  The brushing motion in front of a curling rock has been scientifically proven to significantly impact the path on which the stone travels. 

      According to an article at the Canadian Curling Association Web site, five studies qualifying as actual scientific research on sweeping in curling have been conducted, the earliest in 1923  at the University of Saskatchewan by noted physics professor E. L. Harrington. 

      Four of the five studies determined that brushing significantly affected the ice surface which a curling rock travels and thus the path of the stone itself.  The lone non-definitive study was performed using only one sweeper – all of the others had two – and may say more about the effectiveness (or lack thereof) of only one brusher than the impact of sweeping itself.

     So, there you have it.  If it weren’t for us lowly sweepers, those magnificent shots would be impossible!                                                                                                  -- S. Stevens

Sweeping: You Can’t Argue With Science