Want More Curling?

This is part 5 and the final article of the New Member's Guide, a series of articles that help prepare new club members for their first season.

Can't get enough curling? There are many ways you can curl more outside of your regular league games and meet other curlers.

Bonspiels

A bonspiel is like a tournament. It is a multi-day event with much socializing and curling going on. A bonspiel is a great way to get a lot of practice in, because you’ll play multiple games (usually a minimum of 3) over a couple of days, rather than stretched out over multiple weeks.

Most bonspiels have a theme, and some have different structures. You will find that some bonspiels are more competitive than others, and some are mostly social. You can find information and dates for upcoming bonspiels on the club website at http://www.curlingseattle.org/bonspiels. However, there are a few of particular interest:

  • Holiday Spiel – A totally social bonspiel with a holiday theme (worst holiday sweater is a common competition)
  • 25 and Under Spiel – A fun spiel where the entire team’s years of curling experience must add up to 25 years or less.
  • 5 and Under Spiel – Another fun spiel where only GCC members with 5 or fewer years of curling experience may play. This is a great spiel to meet other newer members, is often less intimidating (because everyone is relatively new), and forces you to play at least once in every position (lead, 2nd, third, and skip).
  • April Spiel – The biggest GCC bonspiel of the year (it runs 4 days). Not to be missed!
  • Summer Spiel – The last event of the year, we melt the ice afterwards for the summer.

If you are interested in playing in a bonspiel, often teams are looking for extra players to fill in a spot. You can ask around the club, or email the bonspiel chair at bonspiels@curlingseattle.org to see if they know of a team that needs a player.

As you get more experienced, some players form teams to compete in bonspiels at other clubs, often in Canada. Also, Portland now has a club and will host bonspiels. This is a great way to experience curling outside of Seattle and meet fellow curlers from across the country or internationally.

Practice Ice

Practice ice is available to all members and available time slots are listed on the club calendar. All practice ice sessions must have a host to ensure the safety of the participants and the building. If practice ice is listed on the calendar as TENTATIVE, this means a host still needs to be identified before opening the slot to GCC members. If you are interested in hosting all or a portion of the listed practice slot time, please reach out to practice@curlingseattle.org.

Practice ice is a fantastic way to meet people, socialize with your teammates, and throw more stones. If you have any questions or are interested in serving as a host, reach out to practice@curlingseattle.org.

Substituting

People get sick, work runs overtime just like a curling match, and sometimes people (shockingly) choose to do things other than curling on a curling night. Each league has a subs list and teams often need substitutes last minute. If you want to get more curling, being a sub helps out another team and gets you extra practice in a real game. If you are not already on the subs list, please contact leaguesmgr@curlingseattle.org with a list of the leagues you would like to sub for.

Volunteering

Another good way to network at the club is through volunteering. This is a volunteer club, and we are only as strong as our volunteers. People often say that some of the best times occur when volunteering. It is never too early/late to start!

The most common volunteer opportunities are around helping with open houses and bonspiels; a lot of times the ice crew is looking for helpers, and leagues are always looking for people to help with pebbling and nipping. On the operation side, this web site and club social media are run and maintained by volunteers; even in the summer there are opportunities with house projects going on.

Please email volunteers@seattlecurling.org for opportunities to help.

Social

Most of all, curling is a social activity. The club is here to facilitate and promote the sport of curling, but also to be a social gathering place for people to meet, make friends, have fun, and socialize. To that end, feel free to introduce yourself to other members, get to know people, and make yourself comfortable.

This is the end of the New Member's Guide series. Want to talk more like a curler? Please check out the Curling Glossary. Thank you for taking the time to read through this New Member's Guide. We hope it has been useful to you. Please send any feedback to membership@curlingseattle.org, and thanks again!