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83-618: (Redirected from PriceWaterhouseCoopers Westcoast Curling Classic ) Former World Curling Tour event [REDACTED] This article does not cite any sources . Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources . Unsourced material may be challenged and removed . Find sources:   "Westcoast Curling Classic"  –  news   · newspapers   · books   · scholar   · JSTOR ( May 2021 ) ( Learn how and when to remove this message ) The Westcoast Curling Classic (formerly

166-515: A 10–9 game where Ferbey's team surrendered a lead. However, Team Ferbey did not give up, and their reign would not be over. In 2005, they once again won the Alberta championships, for a record fifth time, defeating the Jamie King rink 8–6 in an extra end. The team once again won the 2005 Canadian championships , setting a record, as his team became the first to win four championships as a team. The final

249-423: A foreign object is called a pick-up or pick . The thrower starts from the hack . The thrower's gripper shoe (with the non-slippery sole) is positioned against one of the hacks; for a right-handed curler the right foot is placed against the left hack and vice versa for a left-hander. The thrower, now in the hack , lines the body up with shoulders square to the skip's broom at the far end for line . The stone

332-411: A player is not throwing, the player's slider shoe can be temporarily rendered non-slippery by using a slip-on gripper. Ordinary athletic shoes may be converted to sliders by using a step-on or slip-on Teflon slider or by applying electrical or gaffer tape directly to the sole or over a piece of cardboard. This arrangement often suits casual or beginning players. The gripper is worn by the thrower on

415-431: A rectangular area of ice, carefully prepared to be as flat and level as possible, 146 to 150 feet (45 to 46 m) in length by 14.5 to 16.5 feet (4.4 to 5.0 m) in width. The shorter borders of the sheet are called the backboards. A target, the house , is centred on the intersection of the centre line , drawn lengthwise down the centre of the sheet and the tee line , drawn 16 feet (4.9 m) from, and parallel to,

498-401: A violation by lights at the base of the handle (see delivery below). The eye on the hog eliminates human error and the need for hog line officials. It is mandatory in high-level national and international competition, but its cost, around US$ 650 each, currently puts it beyond the reach of most curling clubs. The curling broom , or brush , is used to sweep the ice surface in the path of

581-674: A young David Nedohin in 1997 with Carter Rycroft and Pat McCallum . After a reasonably successful season, reaching the Semi-Finals of the World Curling Tour Championship, and winning the Edmonton Superleague, Ferbey picked up Scott Pfeifer , bumping Rycroft to lead. In 1999, Rycroft left the team to play with Ferbey's main rival, Kevin Martin . Rycroft was replaced by Marcel Rocque . The Ferbey Four that would dominate

664-458: Is a sport in which players slide stones on a sheet of ice toward a target area that is segmented into four concentric circles. It is related to bowls , boules , and shuffleboard . Two teams, each with four players, take turns sliding heavy, polished granite stones, also called rocks , across the ice curling sheet toward the house , a circular target marked on the ice. Each team has eight stones, with each player throwing two. The purpose

747-416: Is closer to the button. Two hog lines are drawn 37 feet (11 m) from, and parallel to, the backboard. The hacks , which give the thrower something to push against when making the throw, are fixed 12 feet (3.7 m) behind each button. On indoor rinks, there are usually two fixed hacks, rubber-lined holes, one on each side of the centre line, with the inside edge no more than 3 inches (76 mm) from

830-423: Is commonly used to enforce this rule. The sensor is in the handle of the stone and will indicate whether the stone was released before the near hog line. The lights on the stone handle will either light up green, indicating that the stone has been legally thrown, or red, in which case the illegally thrown stone will be immediately pulled from play instead of waiting for the stone to come to rest. The stone must clear

913-439: Is designed for the sliding foot and the "gripper shoe" (usually known as a gripper ) for the foot that kicks off from the hack. The slider is designed to slide and typically has a Teflon sole. It is worn by the thrower during delivery from the hack and by sweepers or the skip to glide down the ice when sweeping or otherwise traveling down the sheet quickly. Stainless steel and "red brick" sliders with lateral blocks of PVC on

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996-435: Is extremely important. Large events, such as national/international championships, are typically held in an arena that presents a challenge to the ice maker, who must constantly monitor and adjust the ice and air temperatures as well as air humidity levels to ensure a consistent playing surface. It is common for each sheet of ice to have multiple sensors embedded in order to monitor surface temperature, as well as probes set up in

1079-407: Is placed in front of the foot now in the hack. Rising slightly from the hack, the thrower pulls the stone back (some older curlers may actually raise the stone in this backward movement) then lunges smoothly out from the hack pushing the stone ahead while the slider foot is moved in front of the gripper foot, which trails behind. The thrust from this lunge determines the weight , and hence the distance

1162-407: Is rare now to see a curler using a corn broom on a regular basis. Curling brushes may have fabric, hog hair, or horsehair heads. Modern curling brush handles are usually hollow tubes made of fibreglass or carbon fibre instead of a solid length of wooden dowel . These hollow tube handles are lighter and stronger than wooden handles, allowing faster sweeping and more downward force to be applied to

1245-504: Is to accumulate the highest score for a game ; points are scored for the stones resting closest to the centre of the house at the conclusion of each end , which is completed when both teams have thrown all of their stones once. A game usually consists of eight or ten ends. Players induce a curved path, described as curl , by causing the stone to slowly rotate as it slides. The path of the rock may be further influenced by two sweepers with brooms or brushes, who accompany it as it slides down

1328-620: The 2011 Boston Pizza Cup for a chance to represent Alberta at the 2011 Tim Hortons Brier . On February 9, 2011, Randy Ferbey announced his time curling with Brad Gushue had come to an end. He stated he knew after the Canadian Open Grand Slam Event, he was done curling with them. In the 2011–12 curling season , Ferbey teamed up with longtime teammate David Nedohin , who threw fourth stones. Ferbey skipped at third position, and Ted Appelman and Brendan Melnyk played as second and lead, respectively. They fared rather well on

1411-2695: The Key West Ford Westcoast Curling Classic , the Allied Windows Westcoast Curling Classic and the PriceWaterhouseCoopers Westcoast Curling Classic ) was an annual curling tournament, held on Thanksgiving weekend in New Westminster , British Columbia . It was one of the early curling tournaments of the World Curling Tour season. It was cancelled after 12 years on the tour. Past champions [ edit ] Year Winning skip Runner-up skip Purse (CAD) 2001 [REDACTED] Greg McAulay [REDACTED] Jay Peachey $ 20,000 2002 [REDACTED] Kevin Martin [REDACTED] Kevin Koe $ 46,500 2003 [REDACTED] Jeff Stoughton [REDACTED] Bob Ursel $ 50,000 2004 [REDACTED] David Hamblin [REDACTED] Kevin Martin $ 60,000 2005 [REDACTED] Kevin Martin [REDACTED] Mike Harris $ 60,000 2006 [REDACTED] Kevin Martin [REDACTED] Pat Simmons $ 64,000 2007 [REDACTED] Kevin Koe [REDACTED] Bob Ursel $ 64,000 2008 [REDACTED] Kevin Martin [REDACTED] Randy Ferbey $ 64,000 2009 [REDACTED] Bob Ursel [REDACTED] Sean Geall $ 80,000 2010 [REDACTED] Kevin Martin [REDACTED] Kevin Koe $ 80,000 2011 [REDACTED] Kevin Martin [REDACTED] Mike McEwen $ 80,000 2012 [REDACTED] Kevin Martin [REDACTED] Andrew Bilesky $ 52,000 External links [ edit ] Official website Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Westcoast_Curling_Classic&oldid=1213238566 " Categories : Westcoast Curling Classic Former World Curling Tour events Sport in New Westminster Curling competitions in British Columbia Hidden categories: Articles with short description Short description matches Wikidata Articles lacking sources from May 2021 All articles lacking sources Curling Curling

1494-533: The Kurt Balderston rink in the final, 8–5. The 2004 Nokia Brier was a blip on his team's record. After returning to the Brier for the fourth straight year, an unprecedented feat especially considering the great number of good teams in Alberta, his team would bow out in the final. After a 10–1 round-robin record, Ferbey and his team lost out to the same team they beat the previous year, Mark Dacey of Nova Scotia , in

1577-570: The Rink Rat , also became common later during this time period. Prior to the late sixties, Scottish curling brushes were used primarily by some of the Scots , as well as by recreational and elderly curlers, as a substitute for corn brooms, since the technique was easier to learn. In the late sixties, competitive curlers from Calgary , Alberta, such as John Mayer, Bruce Stewart, and, later, the world junior championship teams skipped by Paul Gowsell , proved that

1660-671: The Royal Caledonian Curling Club (founded as the Grand Caledonian Curling Club in 1838) as developing the first official rules for the sport. However, although not written as a "rule book", this is preceded by Rev James Ramsay of Gladsmuir , a member of the Duddingston Curling Club, who wrote An Account of the Game of Curling in 1811, which speculates on its origin and explains the method of play. In

1743-481: The Trials that year . In 2009, the team had another disappointing Olympic Trials , finishing 3–4. In April 2010, Randy Ferbey announced he would be joining Brad Gushue 's team effective for the 2010–11 curling season . Ferbey will skip the team, but throw third rocks like he had been with his former team. Previous third, Mark Nichols , will be bumped up to the second position and Ryan Fry will play lead. Jamie Korab ,

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1826-760: The World Curling Federation in Perth , which originated as a committee of the Royal Caledonian Curling Club, the mother club of curling. In the 19th century, several private railway stations in the United Kingdom were built to serve curlers attending bonspiels , such as those at Aboyne , Carsbreck , and Drummuir . Today, the sport is most firmly established in Canada , having been taken there by Scottish emigrants . The Royal Montreal Curling Club ,

1909-496: The lead ) throws, the players not delivering (the second and third ) sweep (see Sweeping , below). When the skip throws, the vice-skip takes their role. The skip , or the captain of the team, determines the desired stone placement and the required weight , turn , and line that will allow the stone to stop there. The placement will be influenced by the tactics at this point in the game, which may involve taking out, blocking, or tapping another stone. The skip may communicate

1992-462: The preface and the verses of a poem by Henry Adamson . The sport was (and still is, in Scotland and Scottish-settled regions like southern New Zealand) also known as "the roaring game" because of the sound the stones make while traveling over the pebble (droplets of water applied to the playing surface). The verbal noun curling is formed from the Scots (and English) verb curl , which describes

2075-418: The weight , turn , line, and other tactics by calling or tapping a broom on the ice. In the case of a takeout, guard, or a tap, the skip will indicate the stones involved. Before delivery, the running surface of the stone is wiped clean and the path across the ice swept with the broom if necessary, since any dirt on the bottom of a stone or in its path can alter the trajectory and ruin the shot. Intrusion by

2158-469: The "thinking time" system, in which the delivering team's game timer stops as soon as the shooter's rock crosses the t-line during the delivery, is becoming more popular, especially in Canada. This system allows each team 38 minutes per 10 ends, or 30 minutes per 8 ends, to make strategic and tactical decisions, with 4 minutes and 30 seconds an end for extra ends. The "thinking time" system was implemented after it

2241-472: The 1998 Olympics, Canada has dominated the sport with their men's teams winning gold in 2006 , 2010 , and 2014 , and silver in 1998 and 2002 . The women's team won gold in 1998 and 2014 , a silver in 2010 , and a bronze in 2002 and 2006. The mixed doubles team won gold in 2018 . The playing surface or curling sheet is defined by the World Curling Federation Rules of Curling. It is

2324-421: The 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009 provincial tournaments; from 2007 onwards with a new team with young guns Ben Hebert and Marc Kennedy as his front end, and former rival John Morris as his third. The Ferbey four would still remain one of the top teams in the country however, as they would win three Grand Slam events in their career, but Kevin Martin and Glenn Howard would supplant Team Ferbey as the two dominant teams in

2407-465: The Brier for the next few years was complete. Ferbey made his return to the Alberta provincials in 1999 . While they didn't win, they did return in 2001 with a bang. They would win the Alberta final against Kevin Martin, 6–4, and then won the 2001 Nokia Brier as well beating Kerry Burtnyk of Manitoba 8–4 in the final. This sent the team to the 2001 Worlds where they lost both their semi-final game and

2490-581: The Brier, and as a result, played in very few Grand Slam events. This however could only possibly be applied to his 2002 and 2003 Brier wins, as his first Brier title in 2001 was before the emergence of the official Grand Slam circuit with all top teams involved in provincial playdowns, and his final Brier title in 2005 was after the conflict had been resolved and player's boycott lifted with all now participating in provincial playdowns. After Ferbey's run of 4 Brier wins from 2001–2005, Ferbey rink failed to win another provincial title, as Kevin Martin's rink would win

2573-419: The Brier, and were thus crowned Canadian champions defeating Eugene Hritzuk of Saskatchewan 8–7 in the final. At the 1988 Worlds, Team Ryan won the silver medal, losing in the finals to Eigil Ramsfjell of Norway 5–4. As defending champions at the 1989 Brier, Team Ryan would not disappoint, capturing their 2nd Canadian championship defeating Rick Folk of British Columbia in a non-eventful 3–2 victory. It

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2656-471: The Canada Curling Stone Company, which has been producing stones since 1992 and supplied the stones for the 2002 Winter Olympics . A handle is attached by a bolt running vertically through a hole in the centre of the stone. The handle allows the stone to be gripped and rotated upon release; on properly prepared ice the rotation will bend ( curl ) the path of the stone in the direction in which

2739-727: The Winter Olympics since Chamonix in 1924 and has been the exclusive manufacturer of curling stones for the Olympics since the 2006 Winter Olympics . Trefor granite comes from the Yr Eifl or Trefor Granite Quarry in the village of Trefor on the north coast of the Llŷn Peninsula in Gwynedd , Wales and has produced granite since 1850. Trefor granite comes in shades of pink, blue, and grey. The quarry supplies curling stone granite exclusively to

2822-579: The World Curling tour, winning The Shoot-Out and finishing second at the Cactus Pheasant Classic . However, they failed to qualify for the playoffs at the 2011 World Cup of Curling and the 2011 BDO Canadian Open of Curling . Ferbey decided to retire from competitive curling after attempting to construct a team that might be able to qualify for the 2013 Olympic Trials, a plan which ultimately failed when Nedohin decided to form his own team. He

2905-467: The action of repeatedly freezing water from eroding the stone. Ailsa Craig Common Green is a lesser quality granite than Blue Hone . In the past, most curling stones were made from Blue Hone , but the island is now a wildlife reserve, and the quarry is restricted by environmental conditions that exclude blasting. Kays of Scotland has been making curling stones in Mauchline, Ayrshire, since 1851 and has

2988-444: The backboard. These lines divide the house into quarters. The house consists of a centre circle (the button ) and three concentric rings, of diameters 4, 8, and 12 feet, formed by painting or laying a coloured vinyl sheet under the ice and are usually distinguished by colour. A stone must at least touch the outer ring in order to score (see Scoring below); otherwise, the rings are merely a visual aid for aiming and judging which stone

3071-408: The basic technical aspects of curling is knowing when to sweep. When the ice in front of the stone is swept, a stone will usually travel both further and straighter, and in some situations one of those is not desirable. For example, a stone may be traveling too fast (said to have too much weight), but require sweeping to prevent curling into another stone. The team must decide which is better: getting by

3154-450: The bronze medal game, which they gave up to Pål Trulsen of Norway . In 2002, Team Ferbey won their second straight provincial final, defeating Mike Vavrek 6–5. Ferbey then went on to win his fourth Brier, the 2002 Nokia Brier , which was his team's 2nd. They beat John Morris 9–4 in the final. This time, at the 2002 Worlds in Bismarck, North Dakota his team won the championship, beating

3237-421: The broom head with reduced shaft flex. In 2014, new "directional fabric" brooms were introduced, which could influence the path of a curling stone better than the existing brooms. Concerns arose that these brooms would alter the fundamentals of the sport by reducing the level of skill required and giving players an unfair advantage; at least thirty-four elite teams signed a statement pledging not to use them. This

3320-402: The centre line and the front edge on the hack line. A single moveable hack may also be used. The ice may be natural, but is usually frozen by a refrigeration plant pumping a brine solution through numerous pipes fixed lengthwise at the bottom of a shallow pan of water. Most curling clubs have an ice maker whose main job is to care for the ice. At the major curling championships, ice maintenance

3403-556: The championship over David Murdoch of Scotland in a convincing 11–4 victory. Additionally, the Ferbey rink was the first team in history to score five on any single end in the world finals – and they managed this feat twice at the 2005 Ford World Curling Championships. Many attribute Ferbey's success during this time to the boycott that other major teams of the early 2000s had of the Brier, to play in Grand Slam events. Ferbey did not boycott

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3486-433: The country over this quadrennial. David Nedohin would lose his edge as the games top shooter over this period as well. One of the big disappoints for the team was their failure to qualify for the Olympics. After winning their first Brier, the team went 5–4 at the 2001 Canadian Olympic Curling Trials , missing out on the playoffs or a tiebreaker by just 1 game. In 2005 after winning their final Brier, they finished just 4–5 at

3569-453: The curling brush could be just as (or more) effective without all the blisters common to corn broom use. During that time period, there was much debate in competitive curling circles as to which sweeping device was more effective: brush or broom. Eventually, the brush won out with the majority of curlers making the switch to the less costly and more efficient brush. Today, brushes have replaced traditional corn brooms at every level of curling; it

3652-530: The early 16th century includes a curling stone inscribed with the date 1511 found (along with another bearing the date 1551) when an old pond was drained at Dunblane, Scotland . The world's oldest curling stone and the world's oldest football are now kept in the same museum (the Stirling Smith Art Gallery and Museum ) in Stirling . The first written reference to a contest using stones on ice coming from

3735-419: The early history of curling, the playing stones were simply flat-bottomed stones from rivers or fields, which lacked a handle and were of inconsistent size, shape, and smoothness. Some early stones had holes for a finger and the thumb, akin to ten-pin bowling balls . Unlike today, the thrower had little control over the 'curl' or velocity and relied more on luck than on precision, skill, and strategy. The sport

3818-585: The exclusive rights to the Ailsa Craig granite, granted by the Marquess of Ailsa , whose family has owned the island since 1560. According to the 1881 Census , Andrew Kay employed 30 people in his curling stone factory in Mauchline. The last harvest of Ailsa Craig granite by Kays took place in 2013, after a hiatus of 11 years; 2,000 tons were harvested, sufficient to fill anticipated orders through at least 2020. Kays have been involved in providing curling stones for

3901-440: The far hog line or else be removed from play ( hogged ); an exception is made if a stone fails to come to rest beyond the far hog line after rebounding from a stone in play just past the hog line. After the stone is delivered, its trajectory is influenced by the two sweepers under instruction from the skip. Sweeping is done for several reasons: to make the stone travel further, to decrease the amount of curl, and to clean debris from

3984-444: The finals of both 2014 Olympic Curling Trials and 2014 Brier. The Ferbey Four also popularized the " numbered zones ", when calling out the weight of various draw shots. [3] Many consider the quartet together at its peak from 2002–2006 to be either the best team or very near to the best team in curling history. Nedohin's often near perfect shotmaking (regularly having games in the high 90s), Ferbey's extremely aggressive shot calling, and

4067-413: The foot that kicks off from the hack during delivery and is designed to grip the ice. It may have a normal athletic shoe sole or a special layer of rubbery material applied to the sole of a thickness to match the sliding shoe. The toe of the hack foot shoe may also have a rubberised coating on the top surface or a flap that hangs over the toe to reduce wear on the top of the shoe as it drags on the ice behind

4150-505: The front edge of the stone is turning, especially as the stone slows. Handles are coloured to identify each team, two popular colours in major tournaments being red and yellow. In competition, an electronic handle known as the Eye on the Hog may be fitted to detect hog line violations. This electronically detects whether the thrower's hand is in contact with the handle as it passes the hog line and indicates

4233-442: The games only eight ends. Most tournaments on that tour are eight ends, as are the vast majority of recreational games. In international competition, each side is given 73 minutes to complete all of its throws. Each team is also allowed two minute-long timeouts per 10-end game. If extra ends are required, each team is allowed 10 minutes of playing time to complete its throws and one added 60-second timeout for each extra end. However,

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4316-401: The motion of the stone. Kilsyth Curling Club claims to be the first club in the world, having been formally constituted in 1716; it is still in existence today. Kilsyth also claims the oldest purpose-built curling pond in the world at Colzium , in the form of a low dam creating a shallow pool some 100 by 250 metres (330 by 820 ft) in size. The International Olympic Committee recognises

4399-544: The oldest established sports club still active in North America , was established in 1807. The first curling club in the United States was established in 1830, and the sport was introduced to Switzerland and Sweden before the end of the 19th century, also by Scots. Today, curling is played all over Europe and has spread to Brazil, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, China, and Korea. The first world championship for curling

4482-546: The other stone, but traveling too far, or hitting the stone. Randy Ferbey Randy S. Ferbey (born May 30, 1959) is a Canadian retired curler from Sherwood Park , Alberta. Ferbey is a six-time Canadian champion and a four-time World Champion . He recently coached the Rachel Homan women's team. Born in Edmonton , Alberta , Ferbey notably popularized the system of having the skip throw third rocks, when he skipped

4565-458: The past lead on Team Gushue, decided to take a year or two off. In an ironic twist, the final game played by the Ferbey four would be against Gushue in the quarterfinals of the 2010 Players' Championships . Ferbey lost to Gushue 8–3. In their first event as a team, the rink lost to Thomas Lips in the final of the 2010 Baden Masters . In December 2010, Randy Ferbey and David Nedohin announced they would team up once again in an attempt to play in

4648-462: The pebbled ice. The pebble, along with the concave bottom of the stone, decreases the friction between the stone and the ice, allowing the stone to travel further. As the stone moves over the pebble, any rotation of the stone causes it to curl , or travel along a curved path. The amount of curl (commonly referred to as the feet of curl ) can change during a game as the pebble wears; the ice maker must monitor this and be prepared to scrape and re-pebble

4731-418: The purpose. Central Canadian curlers often used 'irons' rather than stones until the early 1900s; Canada is the only country known to have done so, while others experimented with wood or ice-filled tins. Outdoor curling was very popular in Scotland between the 16th and 19th centuries because the climate provided good ice conditions every winter. Scotland is home to the international governing body for curling,

4814-678: The records of Paisley Abbey , Renfrewshire , in February 1541. Two paintings, " Winter Landscape with a Bird Trap " and " The Hunters in the Snow " (both dated 1565) by Pieter Bruegel the Elder , depict Flemish peasants curling, albeit without brooms; Scotland and the Low Countries had strong trading and cultural links during this period, which is also evident in the history of golf . The word curling first appears in print in 1620 in Perth, Scotland , in

4897-510: The same Pål Trulsen, 10–5. After defeating Jamie King 10–3 in the 2003 Alberta final, Ferbey and his team would return to the Brier, in 2003 in Halifax, Nova Scotia . In the finals, they beat the home-town favourites Mark Dacey 8–4 in the finals. At the 2003 Ford World Curling Championship , his team won their 2nd world title, beating Ralph Stöckli of Switzerland 10–6 in the finals. The team won their fourth provincial title in 2004, defeating

4980-422: The seating area (to monitor humidity) and in the compressor room (to monitor brine supply and return temperatures). The surface of the ice is maintained at a temperature of around 23 °F (−5 °C). A key part of the preparation of the playing surface is the spraying of water droplets onto the ice, which form pebble on freezing. The pebbled ice surface resembles an orange peel, and the stone moves on top of

5063-496: The sheet and sweep the ice in front of the stone. "Sweeping a rock" decreases the friction, which makes the stone travel a straighter path (with less curl) and a longer distance. A great deal of strategy and teamwork go into choosing the ideal path and placement of a stone for each situation, and the skills of the curlers determine the degree to which the stone will achieve the desired result. Evidence that curling existed in Scotland in

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5146-433: The sole are also available as alternatives to Teflon. Most shoes have a full-sole sliding surface, but some shoes have a sliding surface covering only the outline of the shoe and other enhancements with the full-sole slider. Some shoes have small disc sliders covering the front and heel portions or only the front portion of the foot, which allow more flexibility in the sliding foot for curlers playing with tuck deliveries. When

5229-434: The stellar brushing and front end stones of Marcel Rocque and Scott Pfeifer (nicknamed Huff and Puff for their tireless work on the broom) made them an incredibly difficult challenge for every opponent. All together, he has played in eight Briers , six World Championships , four Continental Cups , skipped in two Canadian Mixed Curling Championships , won three Canada Cups , and two TSN Skins Games . In In 2019, Ferbey

5312-499: The stone (see sweeping ) and is also often used as a balancing aid during delivery of the stone. Prior to the 1950s, most curling brooms were made of corn strands and were similar to household brooms of the day. In 1958, Fern Marchessault of Montreal inverted the corn straw in the centre of the broom. This style of corn broom was referred to as the Blackjack . Artificial brooms made from human-made fabrics rather than corn, such as

5395-443: The stone in contact with the ice is the running surface , a narrow, flat annulus or ring, 6.4 to 12.7 millimetres ( 1 ⁄ 4 to 1 ⁄ 2  in) wide and about 130 millimetres (5 in) in diameter; the sides of the stone bulge convex down to the ring, with the inside of the ring hollowed concave to clear the ice. This concave bottom was first proposed by J. S. Russell of Toronto, Ontario, Canada sometime after 1870, and

5478-457: The stone will travel. Balance may be assisted by a broom held in the free hand with the back of the broom down so that it slides. One older writer suggests the player keep "a basilisk glance" at the mark. There are two common types of delivery currently, the typical flat-foot delivery and the Manitoba tuck delivery where the curler slides on the front ball of their foot. When the player releases

5561-430: The stone's path. Sweeping is able to make the stone travel further and straighter by slightly melting the ice under the brooms, thus decreasing the friction as the stone travels across that part of the ice. The stones curl more as they slow down, so sweeping early in travel tends to increase distance as well as straighten the path, and sweeping after sideways motion is established can increase the sideways distance. One of

5644-413: The stone, a rotation (called the turn) is imparted by a slight clockwise or counter-clockwise twist of the handle from around the two or ten o'clock position to the twelve o'clock on release. A typical rate of turn is about 2 + 1 ⁄ 2 rotations before coming to a rest. The stone must be released before its front edge crosses the near hog line. In major tournaments, the " Eye on the Hog " sensor

5727-522: The surface prior to each game. The curling stone (also sometimes called a rock in North America) is made of granite and is specified by the World Curling Federation, which requires a weight between 19.96 and 17.24 kilograms (44 and 38 lb), a maximum circumference of 914 millimetres (36 in), and a minimum height of 114 millimetres ( 4 + 1 ⁄ 2  in). The only part of

5810-670: The team nicknamed "the Ferbey Four", a team that he won four Briers (2001, 2002, 2003, 2005) and narrowly missed winning the 2004 final after giving up a 7–3 lead to Mark Dacey . Others teams in both men's and women's curling have adopted the system of not having the skip throw last stones, such as the Margaretha Sigfridsson rink, who would win an Olympic Silver medal and numerous World silver medals and European gold medals by skipping while throwing lead stones, and Jim Cotter throwing last rocks for John Morris who would together reach

5893-531: The team, and was unsuccessful at attempting to make it to the Brier with his new team of Don Walchuk, Pat McCallum , and Greg Muzechka . Although they did make it to the final four teams at the 1990 Alberta Championships, failing to make the 1990 Labatt Brier in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario . After playing his last season with Ryan in 1997 where he played in the British Columbia playdowns, Ferbey teamed up with

5976-456: The thrower. Other types of equipment include: The purpose of a game is to score points by getting stones closer to the house centre, or the "button", than the other team's stones. Players from either team alternate in taking shots from the far side of the sheet. An end is complete when all eight rocks from each team have been delivered, a total of sixteen stones. If the teams are tied at the end of regulation, often extra ends are played to break

6059-479: The tie. The winner is the team with the highest score after all ends have been completed (see Scoring below). A game may be conceded if winning the game is infeasible. International competitive games are generally ten ends, so most of the national championships that send a representative to the World Championships or Olympics also play ten ends. However, there is a movement on the World Curling Tour to make

6142-458: The time was played outdoors, were retroactively awarded for the 1924 Winter Games, with the gold medal won by Great Britain, two silver medals by Sweden, and the bronze by France. A demonstration tournament was also held during the 1932 Winter Olympic Games between four teams from Canada and four from the United States, with Canada winning 12 games to 4. Since the sport's official addition in

6225-411: Was against Nova Scotia again, albeit a different team, that of Shawn Adams . In another close game, team Ferbey pulled it out and won 5–4 in the final. His trip to the 2005 Men's Ford World Curling Championships were marked with struggles, as the team finished the round-robin with three losses – tied for first with five other teams. After having a 4–3 record, Ferbey mounted eight straight wins for

6308-406: Was dubbed the broomgate controversy . The new brooms were temporarily banned by the World Curling Federation and Curling Canada for the 2015–2016 season. Since 2016, only one standardized brush head is approved by the World Curling Federation for competitive play. Curling shoes are similar to ordinary athletic shoes except for special soles; the slider shoe (usually known as a "slider")

6391-488: Was held for the first time in 2018 ). In February 2002, the International Olympic Committee retroactively decided that the curling competition from the 1924 Winter Olympics (originally called Semaine des Sports d'Hiver , or International Winter Sports Week) would be considered official Olympic events and no longer be considered demonstration events. Thus, the first Olympic medals in curling , which at

6474-692: Was limited to men and was known as the Scotch Cup , held in Falkirk and Edinburgh , Scotland , in 1959. The first world title was won by the Canadian team from Regina, Saskatchewan , skipped by Ernie Richardson . (The skip is the team member who calls the shots; see below.) Curling has been a medal sport in the Winter Olympic Games since the 1998 Winter Olympics . It currently includes men's, women's, and mixed doubles tournaments (the mixed doubles event

6557-472: Was low scoring games like this one, and by teams like Ryan's dubbed the "Ryan Express" that forced the Canadian Curling Association and World Curling Federation to implement the 3-rock rule, and later the 4-rock rule to force more offense. At the 1989 Worlds, Ferbey and Team Ryan won their first World Championships, beating Switzerland 's Patrick Hürlimann in the finals. In 1990, Ferbey left

6640-490: Was named the greatest Canadian male third in history in a TSN poll of broadcasters, reporters and top curlers. As he threw third stones for most of his career, Ferbey was considered a third rather than a skip as his position. Ferbey participated in his first Brier in 1987 as a third for Pat Ryan . His first Brier would be a disappointment, as they finished with a 6–5 record. The next year however, Ferbey, Ryan and their team Alberta mates Don Walchuk and Don McKenzie won

6723-508: Was often played on frozen rivers although purpose-built ponds were later created in many Scottish towns. For example, the Scottish poet David Gray describes whisky-drinking curlers on the Luggie Water at Kirkintilloch . In Darvel , East Ayrshire , the weavers relaxed by playing curling matches using the heavy stone weights from the looms' warp beams , fitted with a detachable handle for

6806-414: Was recognized that using shots which take more time for the stones to come to rest was being penalized in terms of the time the teams had available compared to teams which primarily use hits which require far less time per shot. The process of sliding a stone down the sheet is known as the delivery or throw . Players, with the exception of the skip, take turns throwing and sweeping; when one player (e.g.,

6889-633: Was subsequently adopted by Scottish stone manufacturer Andrew Kay. The granite for the stones comes from two sources: Ailsa Craig , an island off the Ayrshire coast of Scotland, and the Trefor Granite Quarry, North of the Llŷn Peninsula , Gwynedd in Wales . These locations provide four variations in colour known as Ailsa Craig Common Green , Ailsa Craig Blue Hone , Blue Trefor and Red Trefor . Blue Hone has very low water absorption, which prevents

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