| I will arrive at the ice rink in good time for my game. I will always be ready in the hack when it is my turn to play my shot. Surely one of the most annoying things for a skip is when his teammates faff around looking for their slider/knee pad/stone when it is their turn to play? Just be ready, please! Ditto skips at the other end! If I am ready in the hack, so should you be! I will never stand behind the opposition skip in such a way as to distract the player. Here are some tips on this thorny subject:
Shoo team mates away to their proper place (between the two hoglines - it's in the rules of the game,), unless it is your third, in which case, he or she can stand quietly with you at the appropriate time. If my game has finished, but another game is carrying on, or if I need the measure, or I have a pressing need to go and powder my nose, I will never walk behind the skip on another sheet until the player there has thrown their stone! I will always arrange my own substitute and let my teammates and skip know that I have done so. I will never let my brush touch the ice surface in the house until the opposition stone has reached the tee line. Then I will sweep to my heart's content! I will always wear clean shoes and make sure all of my equipment is clean. I will never collapse in a heap on the ice after I have thrown my stone, leaving all manner of melted ice and bits of fluff, dirt and muck behind me. Furthermore, I will not complain when, having done so, a large red-faced individual runs dementedly up to me, lifts me bodily off the ice and throws me outside the building and into the path of some fast-moving oncoming vehicles. Indeed, I will thank said individual for making me a better person. To go further! I confirm that the only bits of me that will touch the ice throughout a game will be my shoes, my brush head and (I am getting older now, so bear with me, please) my knee. Unless I fall, in which case, exceptions can be made. I will always respect my opponents - win, lose or draw. I will encourage my teammates if they throw a bad stone. I mean - it is not as if they thought to themselves, 'I fancy a blow-out - let's throw a howler!' They are feeling bad enough as it is. I will keep my temper at all times. (Ouch!) I will always go to the bar for a drink and chat after the game. (Ahhhhh...!) And finally, I will try to maintain the traditions and lore of the game in every way I can. |
| For this year I resolve that: (credit to Bridge of Weir Curling Club - Scotland, and to Robin Copland's "[Behind the Glass] - New Year Resolutions Not For Me" from which i unabashedly copied - please forgive me) |
