Category: curling

curling · fitness

Curling for Christmas

Words & S’mores

It’s 2025—a new year for making resolutions and embracing growth. But before you tackle these goals, I want you to dream with me. Let’s go to 10ish months from now when bosses of large and small companies alike begin preparation for corporate holiday parties. Yes, we just passed this season, but I want to share what a company I work for has been doing annually for their Christmas party. And I want to share it now out of generosity, for you’ll likely want to borrow the idea for your next holiday shindig.

I work part-time as a report writer for a small environmental firm in the oil and gas sector. Every Christmas, to kick off the holiday break, all staff members, including employers, make their way across the city to a humble curling rink called the Shamrock—a clever name with a nod to the sport’s namesake stones. Here, they gather in teams and hit the ice to begin a multi-game curling tournament.

Seems simple enough, but what makes this event special is the personable and hilarious happenings that take place in the lead-up and throughout.

First, there’s the battle for Golden Tickets. These tickets, while not inviting you to an all-you-can-eat chocolate factory, serve as a form of immunity (hello Survivor watchers). Earned through winning trivia, participating in Hot Ones challenges, or other such activities, Golden Tickets allow the holder to place a star player on their team or, for sabotage, move a star player off another team.  As many only ever curl at the Christmas party, or for staff members like me who had never played before, a Golden Ticket could make or break your team’s success.

The coworkers in charge of these lead-up events, especially our power-woman of a safety officer who orchestrated all of these seamlessly with the main event, put personalized efforts into making them fun and inclusive. For example, if someone wasn’t able to be in the office for a trivia event, they had an online option. One coworker even set up watch parties for the classic Christmas movies that were to be one of the trivia themes. In doing this, some of them even disqualified themselves from a Golden Ticket win.

This brings me to the draw. The draw, conducted over a lunch hour in the office, involves all staff and is what determines the teams for the curling tournament. Assembled by assigning skips (those actually versed in curling) as captains and fishing the rest of the names out of a hat, the teams remain randomized each year to keep them competitively equal. There are, of course, those who ride their competitive nature strong and have been known to bribe their way into a stacked team— I may or may not have been traded off a team for a 6-pack of craft beer—but it’s all part of the fun.

Once teams are established, a hush spreads over the office as teammates collude in whispers about what their costumes could be. That’s right. Costumes. Tournaments can be uninviting if you’re not the competitive or athletic type. Knowing that there can only be one tournament winner, this office has devised two alternate manners of winning. One is through the toilet bowl—a final game between the teams with the least wins in the tournament. The other is through the costume contest. So, if you’re a team with questionable curling skills, you can choose to pour your efforts into the costume contest.

This year’s costumes did not disappoint. One team handcrafted themselves into Sim characters, another turned themselves into Christmas presents, and another kept to the sports theme and dressed themselves to look like some of the most popular athletes from the 2024 Summer Olympics: the Turkish pistol shooter, the Australian breakdancer, and the French pole vaulter—PVC pole positioned at the junk included.

Though the competition was fierce, I am proud to say that the team I belonged to won the contest with Grinch-inspired outfits. The tallest of us was Max, our skip was decked in a very convincing Grinch outfit, and the two of us girls were Whos. I believe it was our obvious effort on our hair that snagged us the win.

Taking my first crouch at the hack (what you push off from to curl), decked in Whoville attire.

A woman with decorative hair and wearing a long, red sweater crouches low at the hack on a curling sheet. She holds a yellow curling rock in her right hand and a balance tool in her left.

After the sporting and costuming, the staff enjoys a catered buffet supper in the rink’s upstairs lounge; and with perogies included, you can bet supper was enjoyed by all.

What follows is an enjoyable half hour of raffle draws. For simply attending and remaining at the Christmas party, each staff member is given a raffle ticket. These tickets offer everyone a chance to win one of a dozen prizes.

This part of the evening is special as it showcases the good relationships maintained between the company and their vendors and clients. Due to the company’s size, many clients and vendors know multiple staff members and are recognized when they step into the office. Phone calls are personable, and presents are often hand-delivered. A lounge table stacked with gift baskets, appliances, and other desired goods is a direct result of these friendly partnerships.

Sadly, neither my husband nor I won any raffles, but watching others win was still enjoyable.

Cheering each other on for raffles is one way to feel staff cohesion, but the best team-building activity of the night was probably speed darts, courtesy of the curling rink’s two dart boards. With all participants divided into two teams, the goal was to hit every number around the board in successive order. Once someone got their dart in space 1, we moved on to space 2, then 3, then 4, and so forth until the first team hit all the numbers and successfully hit the bullseye to win. It was a blast, though minorly dangerous. I highly suggest finding dart boards on opposite walls.

The Christmas party capped off with casual visiting and a little dancing when a song hit just right. A full-day event spent with coworkers was as enjoyable as if spent with friends. I look forward to doing this again.

So, with the holiday season approaching us in 11 months, you now have a head start on what to do: book a local curling rink, have some fun with your coworkers, and challenge yourself to make the most of learning new activities.

Stephanie Morris is a transcriptionist and writer based in Alberta, Canada. She is a wife, mom of two, and owner of writing services company, Words & S’mores. As a fancier of history and literature, she aspires to blend the two in fiction and nonfiction pieces. To follow Stephanie’s writing adventures, find her at @words.and.smores on Instagram or visit her website wordsandsmores.square.site.

curling · fitness · Guest Post

Curling Rocks (Guest Post)

Sam B1 Comment

by Karen (Kéké) Houle

Here are some things to really, really love about curling:

  1. It’s ridiculously fun. I laugh until I almost pee, at least 4 times a game. A game is under 2 hours, so that’s a belly laugh / half hour. While sporting! Pretty good, hey?
  2. For a sport, it’s not very expensive. When I was a kid, our extremely modest-single income family of 5 meant we could only do some sports, and only up until a certain $$. For instance, I was actually a very promising figure skater. But my parents pulled me out of it when I got to the level where, to go further, I needed competitive skates and private lessons and (!) a twirly dress. And then, myself, as a graduate student + single, sole-support parent of twins, who did not own a car, all sports were out of our reach, financially. The only sports my kids were able to do were the ones through their school. Thank goodness! As an adult, I learned how to play golf and hockey (there was no hockey when I was a girl. See note about figure skating). But lordy! The fees for a round, and the fees for joining a league, let alone all the equipment, are very prohibitive. And that is for someone whose body is not growing a full new size every year (well, trying not to). I cannot imagine how parents of modest income are able to put their kids into most sports, and to continue to support them if they are talented. Curling, on the other hand, is pretty darned affordable. You really don’t need much equipment, and in fact, most clubs have brooms and shoes you can borrow for a game here and there. 
  3. When I’m playing a game, and I look around me, I see every single body shape, size, age. Very big women and very small men. Anything goes! (I often think of the work of Sam Brennan on this point). There are teams made up of a 16 year old, a 35 year old, a 66 year old and a 92 year old. I think when I first played, in Cochrane, I was in high school. My women’s “Wednesday Night Team” was exactly like that! There are smart adaptations that keep you in the game, even if your knees or hips are blown out. 
  4. You can play very competitively when you are very pregnant. (Um…Pregnancy can really get in the way of life. Not with curling…) What other sports are like this? 
  5. I am a very, very mediocre curler. And proud of that. That is also something I love about the game. You can be crappy, mediocre or Monsieur Brad Gushue or Madame Ice-in-her-Veins Rachel Homan, and still make a shot or miss a shot. Curling just has a pretty sweet spot of skill-luck built into it. That is super great for keeping people in the game (I remember trying to play soccer. Once. I am a very very not-good soccer player… the ball almost never came to me. I was cold and lonely and miserable. When it did, I flubbed it. Rather than everyone laughing in a friendly way, and me going back to play the next week, I had that awful awful shame-y feeling that so many kids and then adults have had, in sport. CRAP! Come curl! You can undo that shittiness, friends!)
  6. So: Last night, I had the most hilariously over-the-top Scotties-Level-Game of my life. I made a QUADRUBLE-RAISE take-out, and stuck the button. I then made a TRIPLE-RAISE take-out, and stuck the button. Then I made a double take-out and stayed in the house. Um, for those of you who curl, you know how wild that is. Basically unheard of. Maybe ONE of those shots wins your team the pennant. Not 3 of them! It would be like hitting 4 walk-off home runs with bases loaded, in a single game! Like hitting 16, 3-pointers in a single game (take that, Klay Thompson!). Like scoring 10 goals in a soccer match (hello Mr. Messi! hello Ms. Sinclair!!) Like making 5 very far-running touchdowns (okay, you caught me, I know nothing about football except that that popular singer now dates a football guy. Okay you caught me, I know nothing about Taylor Swift, either). The point is not to brag. (Though I feel like I am within my rights to brag, lol). The point is that there is something about this game, this sport, that is completely unlike others. You can’t just be a mediocre gymnast or an average figure-skater and then, one night, because you are wearing the right sox, you do 4 triple lutz-es. You can’t. You just cannot. But with curling you can. It’s a lovely magical mystery that made everyone laugh their heads off last night, me included. (Yes, I’m going to buy a lottery ticket today)
  7. I met my wunderbar life-partner Rob, there. We played 2 or 3 games against one another the first season we both joined independently…that was almost 16 years ago. We got to know each other casually but meaningfully, socially, without being in a drinky-bar or under the pressure that comes with on-line dating. Curling is so dorky, like an old timey square dance, or a Friday night Euchre club — you really do “mix” with everyone. Rob is almost 20 years younger than me, and can’t spell his way out of a paper bag. I’m almost 20 years older than him and wildly over-educated. Those facts alone would have told our “dating algorithms” that we were not “matchable.” You know what? We are very well matched. Sometimes you really need to be in old-timey scrambler social situations to meet new people, people in totally different lines of work, in totally different income brackets, etc… There is a lovely etiquette to the game, regardless of the level of competition (shake hands and introduce yourselves beforehand, and say: “Good Curling!”… and then after, the 8 of you sit around a round table and chat for a bit. Or just listen to convos about something other than what you spend most of your time thinking and talking about. This is so very not a “shop-talk” space.  (A side bar: I think I’m quasi-responsible for getting at least 4 other couples, coupled, on account of urging to curl!) People: as we all know from experience and from stats:  loneliness is prevalent and it is a killer disease. Curling clubs (even if you are not curling!) are places you can go that are warm, busy, friendly and are not trying to sell you something you don’t need. I wish Eleanor Rigby had had a curling club nearby….
  8. I admit: it is still a very white and cis-g game, and pretty straight straight, but not totally. What I can see, though, is that it is a social space & a deeply open social game that can and will become more diverse, very easily and very happily, for all! In fact, the Guelph Curling Club just renovated and installed all-gender single-stall accessible washrooms on the main floor. I clapped!! I was NOT expecting that, there. And you know what? The curling people are such a multitude that an accepting, inclusive attitude is the norm.

Seriously. It’s so good.

May be an image of 1 person, playing hockey and text
Background image: a curling rink with the blue and red rings.

Overlaid: a man and a woman with cartoon characters of curling attire.

Bio : Former professor of Philosophy at the U of G, currently full-time social-environmental activist (artofsoil.ca). And curler. 

On Encouragement
curling · fitness · health · motivation · training

On Encouragement

elan.paulson

Earlier this year I started a new hobby: ringing in a handbell choir. (See what is a bell choir.) It’s not a physical activity per se, but we see health holistically around here and I’ll bring it back to the fitness stuff.

My previous experience with playing music is next to nil. My only musical training was when I was nine: less than two years of organ lessons and I faked sick for the final recital. I even missed mandatory band class later in my youth because we moved school systems.

So, without the ability to read music it’s no exaggeration that I’m a weak ringer. My mistakes are also easy to notice when I play with folks who have been ringing in church choirs for years. I am also the youngest person with the exception of the conductor, who motivates to keep ringing.

How? She is encouraging, and when she is not actively encouraging she still withholds any negativity. She maintains a neutral positive face, the kind you’re supposed to have when you interview someone for a job. Sometimes she asks only some of us to replay certain sections, and she slows us down, but she never draws attention to me when I make mistakes and I never catch disappointed looks.

I know it’s not always easy for more seasoned folks—especially in groups—to exercise patience around novices. On Monday nights at my curling club I see Scott McDonald giving “Learn to Curl” lessons, and I think: how does this high-ranking curler train these totally new curlers and not get frustrated? Perhaps good trainers are experts, but not all experts are good trainers.

Also, perhaps in times of declining numbers in bell choirs and curling clubs, some folks know they must check their impatience because of what will happen if they don’t. When errors are frequent and progress is slow, novices like me can get discouraged and feel like quitting, even in a supportive learning environment.

So here’s my point: My bell choir experience has reminded me that encouragement and praise are important, even when (especially when?) novices make mistakes. If you are good at something, you may notice mistakes that others make, but it may not help to point them out, even in the spirit of helpfulness. Newbies are probably trying even harder than you are to be patient with themselves. Instead, kind words (even if they seem unearned) might help folks stay in activities that need numbers—so you can keep doing them too.

Joanne Tarvit and Dale Curtis posing with an award at the 2018 Ontario Masters Curling Together: Interview with Dale Curtis and Joanne Tarvit
curling · family · interview · kids and exercise · team sports

Curling Together: Interview with Dale Curtis and Joanne Tarvit

elan.paulson

Joanne Tarvit has grown up curling competitively, just like Dale Curtis, her mother. This interview shares what it’s like for them to curl together as a family, what curling teaches kids, and how women can thrive in curling at any stage of life. The full recorded interview is below the edited transcript.

Would you describe how long you’ve curled and your greatest curling accomplishment? 
Joanne and Dale. Used with permission.

Dale Curtis: I’m not sure I want to say! It’s probably been 55 years. I think I only missed one season when I was living down in the United States. My greatest accomplishment in curling would be when I went to senior women’s nationals in Ottawa as skip. 

Joanne Tarvit: I’ve been curling for 28 years. Mom had me on the ice when I was about 5 and I don’t think I’ve missed a season. My greatest accomplishment in my curling career would be winning back-to-back silver medals at the Canadian National Championship with a group of girls from Brock. They’re a great team.

How long have you curled together, and when did you start?

Joanne: This is our fourth season playing together weekly at the St Thomas Curling Club, but we’ve been playing bonspiels together for 20 years.

Dale: I introduced Jo to curling when she was 3 or 4 years of age. My brother David, her uncle, was Icemaker at two different clubs in Brampton and we lived close together. The ice was installed in September or early October, and I would often help because it can be a 24-hour job. Jo would come with me. David would actually sit her on the rocks and push so she could ride them down the ice! 

Then we got Jo on the ice at 5, and I was an instructor in the Little Rocks program. The rocks the children use are about half the size and weight of the regular rocks that adults throw. It was a bit later, when she was skipping a team of kids at 9 or 10, and was handling the pressure of it all, that I thought, oh she can really do this!

Joanne: At our home curling club in Brampton, it was my mom, uncle, and grandparents as well! I felt a lot of pride knowing that my family was curling there and now, it was my turn. So I absolutely loved it as a kid. I was so lucky that mom was willing to come out, not just for those two hours on a Sunday afternoon for the Little Rocks but really anytime. I would want to go throw and she’d be like, yep let’s go and practice. I had a parent who not only loved the game but was really good at the instruction side of it as well when I was young. 

As I got more into the competitive side of the game, around 12 and 13, I started to feel a little more pressure, but only because our whole family has many provincial championship banners hanging out at the club. It was a constant reminder. At one point in our life we had three generations, all playing on the same team in a bonspiel, so those are some really special memories for us.

What does curling teach kids like Joanne who play at a young age? 

Dale: A curling team is only four players, so the team dynamics are much different than hockey teams or basketball teams. Curling teaches kids about their responsibility to the team, to the importance of committing for the season. 

The game itself is played over at least two hours, so patience is involved, too. When the game is not going your way, you have to learn to control yourself emotionally, to set little goals for yourself. Emotional control is so important because the game is not over until it’s over. Kids have to learn that their body language on the ice affects their teammates. It teaches young people about sportsmanship. So I think curling really does teach a lot of life skill lessons for young people.

Joanne: I will add there is kind of a leadership element to it as well, one that doesn’t necessarily have to come solely from the skill position, like a captain. Every player in curling has a unique role, so they need to be able to bring positivity to their position. Curling has really helped me in many aspects in life, knowing that I can bring something positive to a team or group of friends, or just collaborate well with whoever I work with.

Is it challenging for kids to acquire those self-regulation and interpersonal skills in curling? 

Dale: Yes, and you see it in the youngsters when they’re first starting out. We have a lot of broom banging when kids don’t make their shots or the game isn’t going their way. I think that’s why Jo likes the sweeping aspect to the game rather skip because sweeping offers an emotional release.

Joanne: Absolutely I was a broom slammer. I’ve slowly moved away from it, but every now and then I’ll still let one slip. So self awareness and being able to use strategies to work through that frustration, because you still got another rock to throw or you’ve got six other rocks that you have to have to play. You have to learn to be able to forget quickly. Curling has been the catalyst that has helped me learn that whenever I am stressed or any kind of anxiety comes up, my best release is any kind of physical activity. 

Now that you are both adults, what is it like curling on the same team? 

Joanne: We have been able to play together since I was 10. And now into my 30s being able to do that still and at a fairly good level has been a ton of fun. We could be continuing to do this for the next 20 years if mom wants to. It’s creating memories. We talk about bonspiels and events all the time around the dinner table. I think one thing we do have to be careful is that not everyone in the family curls so not that our dinners shouldn’t be solely about curling, but it does tend to happen.

One thing that’s unique about playing together is that we’ve watched each other play, well, for my entire life, at least, and so we know what it looks like when each other has a really good throw. We are able to provide that deep level of feedback. 

Dale: For me, there’s not too many people that I would even ask about how I’m throwing. Jo’s coaching and training has given her as much of a critical eye as I have, I would say. So I trust the feedback I’m getting from her, probably more than anybody else in the club.

When I’m skipping and Jo’s throwing I trying to give her feedback as to what I’m seeing. I can be far more direct with Jo, and possibly not always as positive, in part because most other people are not curling at the same level that Jo is. So I think, maybe that comes with the territory—the higher elite curlers want more direct feedback.

Joanne: Once in awhile it’d be nice to know that I’m doing something right, mom! [laughs]

But, yeah, every game we play is an opportunity to practice and to learn. Mom has a very important competition coming up, so I have been trying to use these games to remind her of habits for keeping sharp. It’s a long season, and you can get what we call “lazy on technique.” So, I help to support her competitive game when we play.

Are there advantages or disadvantages playing together as mother and daughter?

Joanne: Like any kind of teammate, any relationship dynamic, you’re going to have good days and you’re going to have your bad days. There’s the odd day that we’re really not on the same page, and there’s frustration there. But I think, because we’re family, it rolls off the shoulder, so we’re like, “All right well, love ya.”

Having played with mom and watching her, I know her body language and style of strategy. When it comes to calling shots not a whole lot has to be said at times. But I’m also really comfortable at letting her know when I don’t think that’s the call here, and we should go with something else.

Dale: We know each other so well that I think that, at times, our emotions aren’t as much in check with each other as they would be with another teammate. We can be more raw with each other. If I’m in a bad mood, Joanne’s going to know about it, whereas if it was another teammate they may not know that I was in a bad mood as much.

Why is curling a good sport for fitness and health? 

Dale: Curling is a wonderful sport to get involved in from a social aspect and from a fitness aspect. It is something you can do at any time during your life that you know we can adapt body types, to the skill at any at any age.

Joanne: Yes, the incredible thing about it is that you can start when you’re five or you can start when you’re 60. It’s a welcoming sport—there’s a spot for everybody in curling. And it’s more of a workout than most people think actually! I know when I come up from sweeping I’m usually huffing and puffing and working to get my heart rate back down.

The amount of empowerment that really comes with playing as a female I think is a ton of fun, because we can play the game right alongside the men, right alongside anybody. It really doesn’t really make a difference who you are in this sport. Everyone can play.

How important are role models for women who curl? 

Joanne: Growing up as a young female we always were able to watch the Scotties, which is the national curling event. It always had air time and it was on every single year, and I think that’s unique when it comes to women in sport. For young girls who are playing hockey, I feel like the only time they get to see their idols play is every four years of the Olympics. So I felt very fortunate that I got to watch my idols every year compete at the Scotties and they’ve just constantly been adding women’s events to slams. Today, it seems like once a month you’re watching women on TV play. Other women play on TV, so I had something to watch and strive for.

Dale: I sort of went through the same thing when I was growing up. My mother ran the junior program at our club. I played with my mother in a regular league at the club for many, many years, and we did bonspiels together. It’s part of our family tradition that we’ve grown up with, and I’ve learned that nothing has to stop curling! I remember when my brother and I would miss our family Christmas dinners because we’d be playing or training and it was never really questioned. We were supported.

No matter what your life situation is, you should still be able to play. I curled when I was pregnant. As long as you’re healthy, you can just modify your delivery a bit so there’s no issue. I mean your body balance is actually lower as you go through your pregnancy, so it makes it quite easy really as long as you’re healthy and can keep your leg strength up. It’s great!

Joanne: Yeah I blame mum for my cold hands and feet, nowadays, because she played so long into her pregnancy with me that I was so close to the ice all the time!

What’s one piece of advice you have for each other about curling? 
Elan, Joanne, and Dale

Dale: I just hope that if Jo wants to continue her competitive path that she’s able to find a team that can showcase her talent, whether she makes it to the Scotties or whatever. I hope she continues to love the game and pursue what she loves. Whether it takes her to a high competitive area, or to continue doing club curling, she should do what she is passionate about.

Joanne: For mom’s upcoming competition, I’d say just soak up the experience! I know how competitive my mom is because I get it from her. So I say enjoy it and not worry too much about the wins and losses. They’re going to come either way because it’s sport and it happens. You’re playing on a world stage, so make memories and enjoy every single moment of fun.

Oh, and have a good sharp release every time.

See the full video recording of our interview [32:50].

An image of curling sheets of ice with players on the ice watching the curling rock. Scoreboards on the back wall. In Praise of Rec Sports Volunteers
curling · team sports

In Praise of Rec Sports Volunteers

elan.paulson3 Comments

I like to express gratitude for things (like scrimmage) when I think more deeply about the positive impact they have had on my health and well being. Today, I want to praise recreation sports volunteers.

Elan smiles holding up a bottle of syrup, with the curling sheets behind her
Elan with her syrup.

I recently attended my first Sugar Shack curling tournament, called a bonspiel, as a member of the St. Thomas Curling Club. The bonspiel is named after the Eastern Canadian sugar shacks (in French, cabane à sucre) where sap is collected from sugar maple trees and boiled down into delicious maple syrup.

On bonspiel day, I played two games with my team, enjoyed chatting our opponents in the lounge afterwards, was served a delicious chilli lunch, and left with a big ol’ bottle of maple syrup. It was a great way to spend a winter Saturday.

Only after the bonspiel did I reflect on how smoothly the event ran, even with COVID restrictions still in place. Volunteers from the club took entry fee payment, assigned our teams’ sheets and times, and sold 50/50 fundraising tickets. They served food, cleaned up glasses and lunch dishes, and sanitized tables as people moved in and out of the lounge throughout the day. They kept scores, calculated winners, and gave away prizes. This amazing group of volunteers helped to make the event seamless and enjoyable for participants.

When have I noticed volunteers who support rec sports before? I think back to playing Pee-Wee softball as a kid, imagining there must have been many adults putting in time and effort to make our ball games happen each week. Among the volunteers was my mom–wrapped in blankets to brace against the Calgary spring weather–keeping score every game. She and other caregivers used the little free time they had to ensure we kids could run around outside and gain some important team skills.

In fact, it’s a bit overwhelming to think about the sheer number of volunteers that make children and adult rec sports happen worldwide. In villages, towns, and cities everywhere, people are showing up to sit on boards, apply for funding, coach teams, serve as referees or linespeople, organize events, take tickets, run concession, clean up afterwards, do the accounting. Some positions are paid, but I bet in most cases the time and effort outpace the financial compensation.

I could make a wild proposition and suggest that all volunteers should be paid. (For more of my economically unrealistic ideas, see my post on free exercise). But then I wonder whether the spirit of volunteerism–why people serve in the first place–gives people something that money couldn’t quite match. Maybe it’s not about the compensation: folks volunteers to support their family and friends, participate in a social activity, and give back to a sport that they love.

The word “volunteer” is from the Latin voluntarius “voluntary, of one’s free will,” which according to the etymology website was first used in the 14th century to refer to feelings rather than to action. To volunteer is an act the heart; one must have the will to serve others before the work itself gets done. Volunteering for rec sports is a labour of love.

I am so grateful to all those people who have volunteered in rec sports for my benefit (past and present); they laboured so I could have fun. How might I repay them for their efforts? Going forward, I could send notes of thanks, donate money to support volunteer programs, or carve out time to volunteer for rec sports myself.

At next year’s Sugar Shack bonspiel, it might just be sweeter to give out maple syrup than to receive it.

a hand hovers over a plastic tabletop curling sheet
Some curling lounge fun (i.e., more curling) with my team and our opponents between games.

What’s your take on volunteering in rec sports? If you volunteer, why do you do it?