Why The Broom?

Brooms are not used to sweep ahead of the Hockey Puck.

Brooms are not used to sweep ahead of the Bowling Ball.

So why are they used to sweep ahead of the Curling Stone?

(It looks pretty stupid to me...)

Hal

 

Because you can. , Because it makes a difference., Because...so why not?

 

Why was a broom placed on the Conning Tower of a submarine after returning from a mission? It signified a Clean Sweep.

 

I think the brooms allow the players to steer the stone and control the speed. Any sport invented by drunken Scotsmen have to have a bit of the ridiculous about them (see also: golf)

 

Because the surface is different: ice. The sweeping motion heats up the ice, causing it to become slick, which reduces friction between the stone and the ice. The stone travels farther and straighter as a result.

 

Interesting, I didn't know that!!

 

I think but I could be wrong

Two sweepers.

One from the other team to divert the puck.

And the other to help the puck.

PS don't think it might be called a Puck but you know what I mean

 

From what I have gathered by watching during the olympics, it’s called a “stone” or “rock” and a heavy one at that. The thing is around 40 lbs. so it’s a good thing it has a handle.

The thing about the broom is that the “sweeping” does help the direction and speed of the stone. By removing or piling up ice crystals on the lane before the stone’s pathway the position of the sweeper (or skipper) is almost as important as the person throwing it.

I guess Curling gets some pretty lousy publicity (if any at all) but it’s kinda fun to watch because it’s like shuffleboard on steroids. Some say that the players aren’t real athletes but what the heck, they call golfers athletes and to me, if chasing around a little ball with a stick is athletic then so is curling.

 

I like that, Bobby....S.O.S. ..."Shuffleboard On Steroids"

 

I'm parked out back.

 

As I understand it, it's a rock until it's in the "house" and then it becomes a stone. Or it's the other way around, who knows?

I've heard the announcers saying reverently (like you'd comment on the winning putt at The Masters) "Good stone, good stone, good stone...….oh, EXCELLENT ROCK!" (It sounds better said with a Scottish accent and even better when you're interested, which I'm not.)