What a great night, we got to start throwing rocks like real curlers. Noticed I used the word 'like' and not the phrase 'same as'. I am a long way from that. Lisa, our instructor for the night, was great. She described the techniques for delivering rocks, demoed, then we practiced. The one-on-one teaching is invaluable!
Our group, on sheet 1 consisted of a few younger pups like me and few seasoned people. There were 4 other groups on other sheets going through the same drills. We all joked about who would be the first to fall and have to wear a 
helmet for the rest of the evening. Luckily, fear of the helmet and pain kept us upright for the nearly an hour of progressive balancing and sliding drills. Watching the other groups...several minor falls were echoed with laughter and "Can I try that again?". As we went through the drills, we were using 2 stabilizers to slide out of the hack, Lisa asked to lift out throwing hand to prove we had the proper balance. After a couple people made their attempts, our group got a little over confident so we started lifting both hands or did some other variations of what we were asked to do. Finally it happened. A gentlemen, who was fairly technically sound to this point (an obvious x-curler) dazzled us with a baton-like twirl move with the stabilizer....we cheered. When he stood up to relish in the awe of us, his adoring fans, he went ass-over-tea-kettle. Both legs left the ice and stabilizers went flying. After a second of panic, 3 instructors sprinting over to check him and him trying to get back to his feet before pretending that no one saw..... we all split a gut! Wish I got it on video.
helmet for the rest of the evening. Luckily, fear of the helmet and pain kept us upright for the nearly an hour of progressive balancing and sliding drills. Watching the other groups...several minor falls were echoed with laughter and "Can I try that again?". As we went through the drills, we were using 2 stabilizers to slide out of the hack, Lisa asked to lift out throwing hand to prove we had the proper balance. After a couple people made their attempts, our group got a little over confident so we started lifting both hands or did some other variations of what we were asked to do. Finally it happened. A gentlemen, who was fairly technically sound to this point (an obvious x-curler) dazzled us with a baton-like twirl move with the stabilizer....we cheered. When he stood up to relish in the awe of us, his adoring fans, he went ass-over-tea-kettle. Both legs left the ice and stabilizers went flying. After a second of panic, 3 instructors sprinting over to check him and him trying to get back to his feet before pretending that no one saw..... we all split a gut! Wish I got it on video.Here are a few videos of the progress.
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