Hogged Rock Curling Fun in KW

Curling is back. I just spent my Labour Day weekend curling in Kitchener Waterloo, at the Hogged Rock KW Fall Classic. As much as I recently griped about the increasingly early start to the season, it felt amazing to be back on the ice. It was fun. We got to play against two of the top teams in Canada skipped by Mike McEwen and Jordan McDonald. It's always good to see firsthand how good these teams are, and what you need to be able to do to compete against them. The game is most definitely different today at an elite level. If you dropped the world's best curler from 20 years ago straight into the modern game, they would look like Bambi on ice. Modern sweeping has changed the game so much it would hardly be recognizable to a skip from the early 2000s. Yes, sweepers have always had a significant influence. This has been true from the Richardsons, to Huff and Puff, to the Brush Brothers. But the emphasis was always on the shooter, especially to make takeouts consistently. You needed to be clean and smooth, and throw in a straight line. This is no longer the case. Sweeping has changed the way you need to throw the stone. Quick "jerky" releases on draws and soft hits are the new norm. More rotation, inside out, very "positive" is now the only way to throw, as it allows the sweepers the most latitude in being able to influence the direction of the rock. Also, every top team now has a front end that needs to be jacked. You used to be able to get by as a front-ender with a "normal" physique. You always needed to be strong and in-shape but to compete at the highest level today, the best teams now have BIG sweepers with perfect technique. And the runbacks. Twenty years ago runbacks were game changers. They were hard to make, and even the best teams would make them some of the time. Now it is shocking if they are NOT made. I would suggest the top teams are making 10-foot runbacks between 85 and 90% of the time. The game is obviously much more international. Every 'spiel now features teams from around the world. This past weekend seemed heavy on Swiss and Italian teams. We got to see the new Italian squads fresh off the changes that shook up Italian curling at the end of the last Olympic cycle. There are now three Italian teams touring Canada after the breakup of Joel Retornaz' super-team that had reached the top of the curling world. Italy is likely the country that has seen the biggest reversal in the last decade. Gone are the days that playing an Italian team meant an easy win. The Italian program has produced a large number of highly talented teams, and very quickly. Side note: I got to see the most "Italian" curling thing ever; four muscular guys passionately discussing the game with each other post-loss in the men's locker room in Italian… while wearing their euro-style bikini briefs. All that was missing? Espressos and cigarettes. But some things have stayed the same. You still need to make draws to win, and a cold drink still tastes good after a win or a loss. I was happy to see more teams partaking in the social side of the game this weekend. I saw a lot of teams having fun on and off the ice. Positive signs that we are moving away from the isolationism that grew out the Covid years. I am hoping this will continue to grow. How did we do, you ask? We went 2-2, just out of the playoffs thanks to a crappy shootout record. Not bad for our first time out, but there's still some early season rust to wear off. Kim Schwaller of Switzerland won the men's side in KW, stealing a 6-5 win over Italy's Stefano Spiller in the final. Alberta's Brendan Bottcher and reigning Ontario champ Jayden King made the semis, while quarterfinal money went to McEwen, Northern Ontario's Jordon Chandler and 2025 Ontario champ Sam Mooibroek. It was another Swiss sweep as defending world champ Xenia Schwaller romped to a 7-2 win in the women's final over Kira Brunton's Sudbury squad. Whitby's Grace Lloyd and Danielle Inglis made the semifinals, and quarterfinal cash went to Toronto's Carly Howard and Hollie Duncan, and Quebec's Kate Cameron. We are back to the perfect ice in Oakville CC this week/weekend for the Stu Sells Oakville Tankard, where a crazy strong field awaits us. Admission is free if you want to see some of the world's best players in the GTA.