Curl Troy

     First night of Instructional League.  Arrived at the club an hour early and got to watch the last part of ice prep.  Interesting process of scrape, buff, and pebble.  After the ice was ready we were able to practice tossing stones with an instructor for 30 min before the League started.  The benefits of showing up early...
 
     When the League started we had 30 minutes of "class."  During this time they refreshed us on the delivery motions, brushing technique and Skip calls.  Afterwords we were set into teams and faced off against each other.
 
     The first game went great.  Bruce, Steph, Martina, and myself have proven to be a formidable team amongst the other rookies.  We won in Four Ends with a 6-3 victory.  Highlighted by a 4 point steal in the first end.  Once the rush of playing had eroded my body let me know just how physically demanding the sport really is.  I felt like somebody had taken me out back and pounded me with a baseball bat; and that was after just playing half of a full game.
 
     Lucky for us the next League after ours had spots open and we decided to join in on that one as well.  This time I was paired with a group of three ladies and faced against Bruce in a game.  Unfortunately Bruce and I were not able to Skip our teams; a test of strategy that I was looking forward to.  Instead my team was skipped my a "strategist," aka someone that didn't want to brush.  Ended up being a close game until the last end, where, with my Skip's strategy in question, my team lost 5-3.  Once again after the rush of play ended my body let me know about it.  Pain all over.  Hell, even my lungs hurt. 
 
     Even though I'll need a few days to fully heal, I still had a blast.  Curling is a very addicting sport and a joy to play.