So Canada will play for Bronze today after another tough loss to Korea.
We've talked about ice a lot here and I think I'm seeing the difference. World ice has less curl and less drag, meaning the world teams throw straighter. Canadian teams are used to 'letting the brushers' take it. They get a lot of curl late and a lot of drag. So they can really go around guards and finish, but cannot do the same on world ice. It makes for a less precise game and more random results.
Squiggs! Does this make sense!?
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I really don't see the random results in world curling. There are a handful of teams on the men's and women's side that are dominant.
Honestly of all the factors leading to Canada not dominating at the world elite level despite having 90% of the world's curlers, being able to respond to different ice conditions is low on my list. They do it constantly. If that is a reason, it's certainly easily fixable.
What is the difference between World and Canadian ice? I expected with the tournament being in Canada the ice makers would have been familiar but is there a different pebbling technique or something I don't know about?
Or are we just talking different personnel doing the pebbling? I don't like it as an excuse, you would think after 10 games you would have a handle on it.
WCF and Curling Canada do use different Head Ice Technicians, Greg Ewasko (great guy who I had the privilege of getting to know a but during the Brier) and Dave Merklinger does ice for WCF, Dave's son is often hired by both guys to work the events. I don't know if either organization dictates how they "want their ice" but these two guys sure know their stuff. They can speed it up, slow it down get more curl more, level out the humps, even the runs etc.... Ice making is an art.
There have been instances (international locations) where they've had to use unpurified water (Both guys own and trailer their own water purification systems to North American events) dirty water is terrible for curling ice. The buildings often provide challenges as well as international events often take place in make shift venues not necessarily designed for ice, neverminded curling ice. Problems such as too much/ too little humidity or in inability to control humidity (this was a big challenge at the Beijing Olympics) , dirty ventilation filters, ambient temperature can all greatly effect the ice.
Could the WCF want ice that is straighter? Possibly, but ice that curls more tends to make for better curling/ entertainment. I know Curling Canada will often paper the rocks (sand paper on the bottom) during the event to get more curl. Not sure about WCF, so the rocks themselves can be a challenge for the curlers as the organizations each use different sets of rocks.
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Watching the Worlds now the ice is garbage. I still stand by that.
Gushue went through the entire Brier being stolen only once (against Jacobs in Draw 6 in the 10th end when Jacobs needed 2) So it doesn't really count. So he was perfect the entire week.
Already at the Worlds, he's been stolen 4 times in 2 and a half games. The DUTCH have stolen 3 points in this game right now. Gushue and Nichols are swearing out there, he can't read the ice at all.
And not just Canada. Edin was complaining this morning too. Edin was up two with hammer in 9, the Swiss steal 1 in 9 and 2 in 10 to win. That can't happen. He's now struggling against Italy.
WCF wants these events to be random.
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Last edited by GirlySports; 04-03-2022 at 05:07 PM.
Canada steals 3 and is going to win now (I think). In the 8th, Dutch skip draws the button in his first. Exact same draw on his 2nd, comes up 12 feet short. Crazy
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In my quest to learn more about making ice I found this video. I knew it was a process but didn’t realize just how many steps there are. Easy to see where variances can creep in.
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The ice may not be what the players want but it sure seems to be identifying the best curlers. Edin looking at world championship number six possibly. In last 8 world championships it’s Edin 5, Canada 2 and Norway 1.
Game is a disaster. They cannot use the intern side of the sheet at all now. And the outturn side, rocks are just dying. Skips and thirds are curling in the low 70s
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It was an impressive run for Gushue. Olympic Trials - 1st, Olympics - 3rd, Briar - 1st (with 3 players), Worlds - 2nd. The team did Canada proud and solidified themselves as one of the all-time bests.
The ice conditions were unfortunately a factor tonight. That 2 for Edin in the third end was a turning point. A blank or force there could have changed the outcome.
