In November 2018, I had the privilege of joining 21 other curling Rotarians from across Ontario in a month-long curling tour of Scotland. We played 19 games in 13 different ice rinks ranging from 8 sheets in a shopping mall, arenas shared with ice hockey and skating, a converted potato storage shed, a curling rink contained within a hotel and a barn transformed into a curling club!
This friendship curling exchange of like-minded members of Rotary has been going back and forth across the “pond” for 68 years. Participants are billeted by Rotarians in each town/city and I found that the home hosting was second to none. Besides great curling, team members visited local tourist attractions including the Kay & Co. Curling Stone factory in Ayrshire where over two-thirds of all curling stones are harvested from the volcanic Isle of Ailsa Craig.
During the tour, competitors were piped on to the ice before every game and the one new tradition that I would like to see incorporated into Canadian bonspiels is “Stacking the Brooms” where at the conclusion of four ends, the teams stand their brooms up using an elastic or glove and each player takes a shot of whisky – any excuse for an extra drink! Although this surprise tradition caught the Canadian curlers off guard and they lost a few points that day, the Canadian team rallied and were victorious over the Scots by a cumulative month-long score of +85 points and brought home the Quaich trophy.
The sport of curling has given me so much joy in the 55 years that I have participated but more importantly, I have made life long friends from near and far.
Brenda Rouse
London Curling Club
(pictured second from left)
Other Images: