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Curling Makes Clean Sweep of Calgary; Sohioans Man Brooms

By DOREEN HARRIS and PHILO WILSON

CALGARY — The sun sets early but the lights burn brightly in a dozen Calgary buildings these long Canadian nights.

The lights, the noise, and the enthusiastic crowds packed into big, low buildings with names like Meadowlark, Victoria, Glencoe, and Elbow Valley can mean only one thing up here in the land of the long, dark winter. It's curling—the broom-wiggling mania that sweeps away 10,000 of us each week.

Curling, which combines the exercise of bowling (only more so) with the delicate skill of shuffleboard, is second only to hockey as a Canadian sport. Unlike hockey, however, it is not a game that originated here.

Curling was developed primarily in Scotland, where ancient "kuting stones" and "loofies" preserved in Scottish museums prove that the game was being played as early as 1510. It is believed to have been first played in Canada in 1759, when Gen. James Wolfe's soldiers played the game on the St. Lawrence River after the capture of Quebec.

Curling is played on ice on a ruled rink 144 feet long and 14 feet wide. A "house," or circular target, is marked near each end. The object is to slide a stone (and it's really a stone— 44 pounds of granite with a handle grip) as close to the center of the target as possible.

It's not simple, of course, or it wouldn't be much of a sport. The game is played by four-man teams, two from each team at each end of the rink. Each player shoots two stones. There are blocking shots, shots to knock your opponent's stones out of position and your own into position. The "skip" or captain of each team calls the shots.

Then come the brooms. Team members sweep frantically in front of an oncoming stone if they don't think it will reach far enough. The theory is that sweeping makes the ice smooth. There is a good deal of sliding, and panting, and thrashing around, the most noticeable effect of which is to keep the sweepers warm and limber.

Curlers go in for colorful costumes, generally bulky, patterned wool sweaters bearing insignia won in previous "bonspiels," or tournaments. Scottish tam-o'-shanters adorn the heads of the stylish or sparsely thatched players.

A number of Sohioans are showing promise in the big bonspiels. Earlier this season, a Sohio foursome from Regina comprised of Regina Manager Bill Bilbro, Senior Geologist John Ambler, Landman Ross Long, and Typist-Clerk Lome Miller placed second in the annual Prairie Oilmen's Bonspiel.

Here in Calgary, Senior Draftsman Chuck James "skipped" a team that included Map Draftsman Ross Shepherd, Draftsman Bill Pitman, and District Geophysicist Nacy McGee to a tie for first in their division in the Petroleum Curling League last year.

Senior Clerk Ron Wood played on a team that failed by only one game to get into the highly competitive prize bracket. And on the distaff side, Steno-Secretary Doreen Harris "skipped" a team last year that just missed the play-offs in the ladies' section of the Petroleum Curling Club.

This year, Calgary Sohioans are numerous enough to have their own league, with teams from Operations, Land, Drafting, and Geology competing against each other. As the winter wears on, it's a good bet that more Sohioans will become expert enough for the big city-wide bonspiels to determine the champions of these curling-happy Canadian cities.

Meanwhile, look out! Here comes the stone! Sweepers, man your brooms!