Curl San Diego » Learn to Curl

Safety First

Alan — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 18:05:10 +0000

Whether you are just attending a Learn-To-Curl or have been Curling for 15+ years, safety should be your first concern. Curling does not have safety gear. Sure there are gloves to protect your hands from getting a blister from sweeping to hard, but that’s as much of a safety feature as it is in golf. What is it about Scottish games not using anything other than gloves for protection?

In curling, there is very little risk of injury, so helmets and pads are not a neccessity. If you travel the curling circuits, you will find players wearing skateboard helments and elbow pads, but it is rare. I’m glad to see these people realize their limitations and ensure their own safety. I have been Curling since I was 13-ish. I’ve taken my fair share of falls and seen many ‘expert’ curlers do the same. In fact earlier this year, I did not give enough respect and thought to the fact that I was on ice and fell while walking. Oh did that hurt! The next week my team-mate did a similar fall. And if you watched the Olympics, even Kevin Martin (skip for Canada) almost fell while traversing the sheet after his shot; and he was probably on the ice more than not over the 6 month period leading up to the Olympics.

When you throw a stone, there is a good change you might fall over while trying to balance. I have yet to see anyone get hurt doing this. Its less of a fall and more of a collapse or roll. The two main accidents in Curling are falling while standing, walking, or sweeping OR being hit by a broom. Being hit by a broom typically only happens if someone falls and the broom is whipped while trying to stop themselves from falling.

The way to protect yourself best is: to not fall. Sounds simple, right? Well there are 2 VERY easy ways to avoid falling:

Remember that you are on ice and not on concrete, so keep your weight over your legs as much as possible.
Get yourself equipment that will help prevent falling! The biggest cause of falls is slipping on ice. Street shoes are not made for ice – especially in Southern California. There are curling shoes that will drastically improve your game by improving your control and balance, but they cost about $100 – $250+. There are great deals at Dakota Curling Supplies on some currently. If you’re new to curling or just don’t want to spend that kind of money on shoes for Curling at this time, then the next best option is to buy 2 grippers. A gripper is a very soft piece of rubber that fits over your street shoes and improves the traction on the ice by approximately 7,000%. This rubber never freezes up, like shoe rubber does, so it will remain as effective the last 5 minutes on the ice as it does in the first 5 minutes. The cost for 2 grippers is about $35.00 In terms of safety, they will pay for themselves in one night. Dakota Curling Supplies has these for sale; they are called a “Slip-on Gripper“. Remember, members get a discount with Dakota Curling Supplies!

The only other piece of equipment that some curlers use, is wrestling knee pads. No curling did not become a contact sport. These soft flexible knee pads are at any sporting store for cheap. If you drag your back knee on the ice when delivering or tend to find that your drag knee bumps into the ice when delivering, these pads will give you that extra bit of protection against brusing your knee.

Curling is a fun sport that rarely sees injury. So if this will be your 1st time on the ice or your 100th, please consider getting 2 Grippers or Curling Shoes to help you keep your balance so that Curling can fully be about the fun and social aspect of the game.

Learn to Curl Clinic and Summer League

sdcanuck — Wed, 19 May 2010 06:30:09 +0000

Where else can you wear a scarf in the middle of summer?

Two new events have been scheduled for the summer. On June 5th at 5:30 we will be holding a learn to curl clinic open to all beginners. Spots are limited to 64 total – online registration is available here:

Learn to Curl Clinic – June 5th – 5:30 to 8:00 PM SOLD OUT! - next clinics will probably be late August/early September

We will also be holding a summer mini-league. This will be a four game league with two Saturdays in June and two in July. For more information and registration (only a few spots remain!), go here:

Summer Mini-League – SOLD OUT! – sign up for our sub list.

More Learn to Curl Clinics and a Second League Scheduled

sdcanuck — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 22:47:41 +0000

Sure curling is fun, but it's all about the hardware...

Registration is now open!

More learn to curl clinics are coming in April! We have confirmed the following dates and times for learn to curl clinics at the iceoplex in Escondido (Note: start times have been updated!):

Saturday, 4/10 7:45pm-10:15 pm (SOLD OUT)

Saturday, 4/17 5:00 pm- 7:30 pm (SOLD OUT)

Each clinic is open to anyone interested in learning the Olympic sport. The club provides the necessary equipment – all you need is clean, closed-toed shoes and comfortable semi-warm clothing.

The cost for each clinic is $20 per person.

We will also be holding an additional 5-week league starting April 24th. Registration and cost information will be e-mailed out in the next few weeks.

Good Curling!

Learn to Curl Schedule Set

sdcanuck — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 08:40:52 +0000

You too can learn to curl!

We have confirmed the following dates and times for learn to curl clinics at the iceoplex in Escondido:

Saturday, 1/30 9:00pm-11:30 pm

Monday, 2/15 4:30 pm- 7:00pm

Saturday, 2/27 8:00pm-10:30 pm (SOLD OUT!)

Saturday, 3/06 8:15pm-10:45 pm (SOLD OUT! Due to overwhelming attendance to the 2/27 event, the 3/6 event has sold out by the excess 150 people who could not participate in the 2/27 event)

Future Dates to be scheduled soon, check back for updates or sign up for our newsletter.

Each clinic is open to anyone interested in learning the Olympic sport. The club provides the necessary equipment – all you need is clean, closed-toed shoes and comfortable semi-warm clothing.

The cost for each clinic is $20 per person. With the interest generated by the Winter Olympics, it is likely that each clinic will successively have higher attendance.

Next Learn to Curl Clinic Schedule for January 30th!

sdcanuck — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 00:59:45 +0000

Lot of rocks in the house - always a good sign.

We finally have the date set for our next learn to curl clinic. Come out on Saturday, January 30th at 9PM - this may be your last chance to learn the sport before the Olympics begin! Think how much fun it will be watching the Olympics with your friends and explaining to them the finer points of the double-raise-take-out… Okay, we probably won’t cover that in the intro lesson, but we will have fun!

All you will need is comfortable, semi-warm clothes and clean, close-toed shoes (softer soles provide more grip). The club will provide brooms, sliders, rocks, instruction and everything else you need to learn the sport.

Cost for the 2-hour clinic is $20 per person.

New Club in Orange County

sdcanuck — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 04:57:14 +0000

For those of interested in curling but stuck between San Diego and Hollywood, you now have another option! A new curling club is starting up in Orange County and they are having a learn to curl this coming Saturday (1/9/10).

As a bonus, apparently there is a chance a few Ducks players might make it out. No promises, but that could be cool…

The curling will be at Westminster ICE, located at 13071 Springdale Ave, Westminster CA. The session will start at 9 PM.

Anyone interested in instructing, they could use the help.

For more info, contact Richard at 714-925-3647, or richard (at) occurling.com.

Learn to Curl – Sept 12th!

sdcanuck — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 19:38:56 +0000

: Last learn to curl clinic before the fall league starts!

We have our next learn to curl clinic scheduled – and our fall league! Come out to the clinic on 9/12 to learn the basics of curling or brush up on your skills! All you will need is clean, soft-soled shoes, comfortable semi-warm and flexible clothing, and a good attitude : )

Our recreational fall league, which will be open to all skill levels, will start the following week on 9/19. Playing a few nights a month, the league is great way to enjoy the game of curling and brush up on your knowledge of the sport so you can impress all your friends when the Olympics roll around in February…

Check out the League page for more info!

Summer Curling Continues on 8/8

sdcanuck — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 19:31:56 +0000

I missed the July summer curling night, but word on the street is that a good time was had by all : ) Our final summer curling night is coming up on August 8th, again at 7 PM at the Iceoplex in Escondido. We’ll put together pickup games for those who know how to curl, and for people who just want to learn, we’ll have a crash course on how to play.

Everyone is welcome, clean shoes are needed, we supply the fancy curling equipment, and all for a modest $15 (cash or California state issued IOU only, please…).

Check out the league page for more info.

Some pictures to get you excited about curling:

[Show as slideshow]

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Curling this Saturday

sdcanuck — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 23:24:33 +0000

Reminder to everyone that we have summer pickup curling this coming Saturday, 7/18 at 7PM. Great time to come out and chuck some stones and cool off from the summer heat (where else can you go to the beach and then straight to curling… : ). Everyone is welcome including beginners – we’ll set up some . . . → Read More: Curling this Saturday

More Curling on Saturday – 6/20

sdcanuck — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 21:57:37 +0000

Same deal as last time – everyone is welcome, we’ll put together pick-up games for people who have curled before. Brand new players – we will run a clinic – all you need is soft soled shoes, flexible clothing, and a good attitude : )

Cost will be $15, cash-only please. . . . → Read More: More Curling on Saturday – 6/20